Farrar, Frederic William (1831-1903), was an English clergyman, author, and schoolmaster. He is best remembered as the author of three moralistic and sentimental novels for children—Eric, or Little by Little (1858), Julian Home: A Tale of College Life (1859), and St. Winifred’s or, The World of School (1862). Farrar also wrote a number of theological works that were popular in Victorian times. These works include The Life of Christ (1874) and The Life and Works of St. Paul (1879). In Eternal Hope (1877), a collection of sermons, he questioned the doctrine of eternal punishment for sinners, a view that caused some controversy. Farrar was an expert on language, writing the highly praised Essay on the Origin of Language (1860).
Farrar was born on Aug. 7, 1831, in Bombay (now Mumbai), India. He was educated at London University and Trinity Hall, Cambridge University. From 1871 to 1876, Farrar was headmaster of Marlborough College, a private school in Marlborough, Wiltshire, England. He was appointed dean of Canterbury Cathedral in 1895. He died on March 22, 1903.
