Alfred Henry Miles (26 February 1848 - 30 October 1929) was a prolific Victorian-age author, editor, anthologist, journalist, composer and lecturer who published hundreds of works on a wide range of topics, ranging from poetry (The Poets and the Poetry of the Century, 10 vols. (London: Hutchinson, 1891)), warfare (Wars of the Olden Times, Abraham to Cromwell) to household encyclopaedias with information for every conceivable contingency (The Household Oracle : A Popular Referee on Subjects of Household Enquiry), and even advice to the lovelorn (Wooing: Stories of the Course that Never Did Run Smooth by R. E. Francillon and others. Issued as a volume in The Idle Hour Series, London: Hutchinson, [1891]). He was Guardian of the Poor for six years and a member of the London Borough of Lewisham