Editing William Combe (section)

== Early life ==
Combe's father, Robert Combes, was a rich Bristol ironmonger who died in 1756; his mother, Susannah Hill (died 1748), was from a Quaker background. He was educated at [[Eton College]], but was withdrawn from the school by William Alexander, his guardian, on his father's death; Alexander died in 1762. He inherited from both his father and guardian, aspired to the status of gentleman, and changed his name to Combe. He spent his fortune, travelled and was nicknamed "Count Combe"; and in the period 1769–1773 was low in funds, existing in France, Wales and the [[West Midlands (region)|West Midlands]].<ref name="ODNB">{{cite ODNB|id=6022|first=Vincent|last=Carretta|title=Combe, William}}</ref>

In 1773 [[Robert Berkeley (writer)|Robert Berkeley]] employed Combe to edit [[Thomas Falkner]]'s ''Description of Patagonia''. Combe then settled to work as a writer and book editor.<ref name="ODNB"/>