George Payne Rainsford James (1799 – 1860), was an English novelist and historical writer, the son of a physician in London. He was for many years British Consul at various places in the United States and on the Continent. He held the honorary office of British Historiographer Royal during the last years of William IV's reign.
At an early age he began to write romances, and continued his production with such industry that his works reach to 100 volumes. For 30 years hardly a year went by that he failed to turn out at least one novel, and usually two or more, most of them "three-deckers" (three-volume). Describing himself as a follower of Sir Walter Scott, he may have produced more sheer verbiage than his mentor, chifly historical fiction (61 titles in 158 volumes). This excessive production was fatal to his permanent reputation; but his books had considerable immediate popularity.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Payne_Rainsford_James
