BERNERS, JOHN BOURCHIER, 2ND LORD (1467-1553).--Translator, _b._ at Sherfield, Herts and _ed._ at Oxf., held various offices of state, including that of Chancellor of the Exchequer to Henry VIII., and Lieutenant of Calais, where he _d._ He translated, at the King's desire, _Froissart's Chronicles_ (1523-25), in such a manner as to make distinct advance in English historical writing, and the _Golden Book of Marcus Aurelius_ (1534); also _The History of Arthur of Lytell Brytaine_ (Brittany), and the romance of _Huon of Bordeaux_. BESANT, SIR WALTER (1836-1901).--Novelist and historian of London, _b._ at Portsmouth and _ed._ at King's Coll., London, and Camb., was for a few years a professor at Mauritius, but a breakdown in health compelled him to resign, and he returned to England and took the duties of Secretary to the Palestine Exploration Fund, which he held 1868-85. He _pub._ in 1868 _Studies in French Poetry_. Three years later he began his collaboration with James Rice (_q.v._). Among their joint productions are _Ready-money Mortiboy_ (1872), and the _Golden Butterfly_ (1876), both, especially the latter, very successful. This connection was brought to an end by the death of Rice in 1882. Thereafter B. continued to write voluminously at his own hand, his leading novels being _All in a Garden Fair_, _Dorothy Forster_ (his own favourite), _Children of Gibeon_, and _All Sorts and Conditions of Men_. The two latter belonged to a series in which he endeavoured to arouse the public conscience to a sense of the sadness of life among the poorest classes in cities. In this crusade B. had considerable success, the establishment of The People's Palace in the East of London being one result. In addition to his work in fiction B. wrote largely on the history and topography of London. His plans in this field were left unfinished: among his books on this subject is _London in the 18th Century_. Other works among novels are _My Little Girl_, _With Harp and Crown_, _This Son of Vulcan_, _The Monks of Thelema_, _By Celia's Arbour_, and _The Chaplain of the Fleet_, all with Rice; and _The Ivory Gate_, _Beyond the Dreams of Avarice_, _The Master Craftsman_, _The Fourth Generation_, etc., alone. _London under the Stuarts_, _London under the Tudors_ are historical. BICKERSTAFFE, ISAAC (_c._ 1735-1812?).--Dramatic writer, in early life a page to Lord Chesterfield when Lord Lieutenant of Ireland, produced between 1756 and 1771 many dramatic pieces, which had considerable popularity, the best known of which are _Love in a Village_ (1762), and _The Maid of the Mill_. Owing to misconduct he was dismissed from being an officer in the Marines, and had ultimately, in 1772, to fly the country. The remainder of his life seems to have been passed in penury and misery. The date of his death is unknown. He was alive in 1812.