Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Bicknell, Alexander

by Charles William Sutton

BICKNELL, ALEXANDER (d. 1796), author, was an industrious litterateur of the last quarter of the eighteenth century, whose writings received their due meed of ridicule or faint praise in the 'Monthly Review,' and are now forgotten. He died 22 Aug. 1796 in St. Thomas's Hospital, London.

He published the following books and pamphlets:

1. 'History of Edward Prince of Wales, commonly termed the Black Prince,' 8vo, 1777.
2. 'Life of Alfred the Great, King of the Anglo-Saxons,' 8vo, 1777.
3. 'The Putrid Soul, a Poetical Epistle to Joseph Priestley, LL.D.,' 4to, 1780.
4. 'The Patriot King, or Alfred and Elvida, an Historical Tragedy,' 8vo., 1788.
5. 'History of Lady Anne Neville.'
6. 'Isabella, or the Rewards of Good Nature.'
7. 'The Benevolent Man, a Novel.'
8. 'Prince Arthur, an Allegorical Romance.'
9. 'Doncaster Races, or the History of Miss Maitland, a True Tale, in a series of letters,' 2 vols. 12mo, 1790.
10. 'A History of England and the British Empire,' 12mo, 1791.
11. 'The Grammatical Wreath, or a Complete System of English Grammar,' 12mo, 1790.
12. 'Instances of the Mutability of Fortune, selected from Ancient and Modern History,' 8vo, 1792.
13. 'Philosophical Disquisitions on the Christian Religion, addressed to Soame Jenyns, Esq., and Dr. Kenrick.'

It is stated on the title-page of No. 9 that Bicknell edited Captain J. Carver's 'Travels through the Interior Parts of North America,' 8vo, 1778, and Mrs. George Anne Bellamy's 'Apology for her Life,' 6 vols. 12mo, 1785.

[Monthly Review, vols. lvii. lviii. lxiii. lxxviii., New Series, ii. iv. v. ix.; Gent. Mag.; Watt's Bibl. Brit.]

C. W. S.