Gaslight and Daylight: With Some London Scenes They Shine Upon

George Augustus Sala was born in born in New Street, London, on 24th November 1828. He was a precocious child. Having learnt French he wrote a French tragedy ‘Fredegonde’ before he turned 10. From 1839 to 1842 he studied in Paris alongside fellow pupil Alexandre Dumas. At 15, now a capable draughtsman and an insatiable reader, he was allowed to follow his own path. Stints as a clerk were followed by an engagement to draw railway plans during the railway mania of 1845. His mother and brother then