Frederick George Lee was a 19th-century English Anglican clergyman, author, antiquarian, and hymnwriter who stood as a prominent and controversial figure within the Anglo-Catholic movement. Born on January 6, 1832, in Thame, Oxfordshire, he received his education at St. Edmund Hall, Oxford, and Cuddesdon Theological College. Ordained into the ministry of the Church of England in 1856, he served his early clerical duties at St. John's Church in Aberdeen, Scotland. In 1867, he was appointed Vicar of All Saints' Church, Lambeth, in London, where he dedicated thirty-two years of his life to ministering in an impoverished urban parish.

Lee was a prolific writer whose published works spanned church history, archaeology, Christian liturgy, occult studies, and sacred poetry, alongside his editor roles for various high-church journals and newspapers. As a key founder of the Order of Corporate Reunion, he advocated passionately for the reunion of the Anglican Communion with the Roman Catholic Church. Retiring from active parish ministry at All Saints' in 1899, he formally converted to Roman Catholicism in 1901, shortly before his death.

In the realm of hymnody, Lee contributed several original hymns, translations, and metrical poems to prominent 19th-century collections, most notably The People's Hymnal (1867). His verse reflects a deep liturgical consciousness, rich Catholic symbolism, and pastoral sensitivity toward human mortality and spiritual comfort.

Among his published hymnological contributions are:

• "When day's shadows lengthen" — A widely used evening hymn and meditation on aging, mortality, and trust in God during life's twilight years.

• "Laud the grace of God victorious" — A festive feast-day hymn composed in honor of St. Alban, the first British martyr.

• "Sing of Maiden Mary" — A traditional Anglo-Catholic Marian hymn celebrating the Incarnation.

• "Slowly fall the snowflakes" — A tender seasonal and devotional carol.

• "Think gently of the erring one" (also beginning "Speak gently to the erring one") — A pastoral hymn calling for Christian compassion, mercy, and forgiveness.

• "In the early morning, early" and "When the world slept and night was on" — Sacred poems depicting early morning devotion and the quiet stillness of night prayer.

Frederick George Lee died in Lambeth, London, on January 2, 1902, just days before his seventieth birthday, leaving behind a complex legacy of scholarly literature, high-church advocacy, and devotional verse.