Francis William Grey

Francis William Grey (1860–1939) was a British-born Canadian writer and academic.^[1] He was most noted for his 1899 novel The Curé of St. Philippe, which was republished by McClelland and Stewart's New Canadian Library series in 1970.^[2]

Born and educated in England, Grey was one of the sons of Admiral George Grey (1809–1891), a younger son of Charles Grey, 2nd Earl Grey.^[3]

Grey moved to Canada and became a professor of English at the University of Ottawa,^[4] later working for the National Archives of Canada.^[1]

On 22 December 1885, Grey married Jessie Macleod Rolland, a daughter of Charles Rolland, of Kilmorie House, Ottawa, who was seigneur of Sainte Marie de Manoir, Quebec.^[3] He became knowledgeable about French Canadian culture, and while The Curé of St. Philippe has been regarded as a weak in terms of storytelling, it is a strong and highly detailed portrait of French Canadian social and cultural organization in its era, depicting a small town in the process of building and launching its own new Roman Catholic church.^[5] It was Grey's only novel, although he published academic non-fiction, poetry and theatrical plays.^[1]

Grey's son George Archibald Grey (1886–1952) married Margery Campbell, a daughter of the poet William Wilfred Campbell, and their grandsons Richard and Philip Grey inherited the earldom in 1963 and 2013 respectively.^[3]