and topography of London. His plans for this topic were left unfinished: among his books on this subject is London in the 18th Century. Besant was a freemason, joining the Lodge of Harmony in Mauritius in 1862. He became Master of Marquis of Dalhousie Lodge, London in 1873, having joined in 1869. He was one of the founders of the first Masonic research lodge, Quatuor Coronati Lodge No 2076, of which he was the first treasurer from 1886. He was also one of the founders and first chair of the Society of Authors in 1884. He was knighted in the 1895 Birthday Honours. He was treasurer of the "Atlantic Union", an association which sought to improve social relations between Britons and Americans. He died in Frognal in London on 9 June 1901, aged 64. Works Fiction The Alabaster Box. 1900. Alfred. 3rd ed. 1899. All in a Garden Fair. 3 vols. 1883. All Sorts and Conditions of Men. 3 vols. 1882. Armorel of Lyonesse. 3 vols. 1890. The Bell of St. Paul's. 3 vols. 1889. Beyond the Dreams of Avarice. 1895. Blind Love. By Wilkie Collins, completed and with preface by W. Besant. 3 vols. 1890. By Celia’s Arbour: A tale of Portsmouth town. With James Rice. Reprinted from The Graphic. 3 vols. 1878. The Captains' Room etc.. 3 vols. The Case of Mr. Lucraft and other tales. By the authors of Ready Money Mortiboy (with James Rice). 2 vols. 1876. The Changeling. 1898. The Chaplain of the Fleet. With James Rice 3 vols. 1881. Children of Gibeon. 2nd ed. 3 vols. 1886. The City of Refuge. 3 vols. 1896. Dorothy Forster. 3 vols. 1884. Doubts of Dives. [Speculative fiction in which a rich and poor man exchange bodies]. A Five Years' Tryst and other stories. 1902. For Britain's Soldiers. By W.L. Alden, Sir W. Besant etc., with preface by C.J.C. Hyne. 1900. For Faith and Freedom. 3 vols. 1889. The History of London, 1894. A Fountain Sealed. 1897. The Fourth Generation. 1900. The Golden Butterfly. With James Rice. 3 vols. 1876. Herr Paulus. 3 vols. 1888. The Holy Rose &c. 1890. In Deacon's Orders &c. 1895. The Inner House. 1888. [Dystopian fiction about a society that has discovered immortality] The Ivory Gate. 3 vols. 1893. The Lady of Lynn. 1901. The Master Craftsman. 2 vols. 1896. The Monks of Thelema. With James Rice. 3 vols. 1878. My Little Girl.