born Jan. 8, 1824, London, Eng.
died Sept. 23, 1889, London
English novelist.
After working briefly in commerce and law, he took up writing and became associated with Charles Dickens , who had a formative influence on his career. For two works, he is remembered as one of the first and best writers of English mystery novels. The Woman in White (1860), inspired by an actual criminal case, made him famous. The Moonstone (1868), one of the first English detective novels, introduced features that became conventions in the genre.