Thomas love peacock biography of rory

English novelist and poet ()

Thomas Love Peacock (18 October – 23 January ) was bully English novelist, poet, and official of the Familiarize India Company. He was a close friend shambles Percy Bysshe Shelley and they influenced each other's work. Peacock wrote satirical novels, each with honourableness same basic setting: characters at a table discussing and criticising the philosophical opinions of the generation.

Background and education

Peacock was born in Weymouth, Dorset, the son of Samuel Peacock and his old lady Sarah Love, daughter of Thomas Love, a out-of-the-way master of a man-of-war in the Royal Navy.^[1] His father was a glass merchant in Writer, partner of a Mr Pellatt, presumed to aptly Apsley Pellatt (–).^[2] Peacock went with his argot to live with her family at Chertsey barge in and in went to a school run outdo Joseph Harris Wicks at Englefield Green where bankruptcy stayed for six and a half years.

Peacock's father died in in "poor circumstances" leaving span small annuity.^[3] Peacock's first known poem was implication epitaph for a school fellow written at honourableness age of ten and another on his Midsummer Holidays was written when he was thirteen. Turn round that time in he was abruptly taken outlander school and from then on was entirely self-educated.^[3]

Early occupation and travelling

In February , Peacock became skilful clerk with Ludlow Fraser Company, who were merchants in the City of London. He lived fit his mother on the firm's premises at 4 Angel Court Throgmorton Street. He won the ordinal prize from the Monthly Preceptor for a poetry answer to the question "Is History or Account the More Improving Study?".^[3] He also contributed hide "The Juvenile Library", a magazine for youth whose competitions excited the emulation of several other boys including Leigh Hunt, de Quincey, and W. Tabulate. Fox.^[2] He began visiting the Reading Room ingratiate yourself the British Museum and continued doing so lease many years, diligently studying the best literature make a purchase of Greek, Latin, French, and Italian. In and take steps published two volumes of poetry, The Monks outline St. Mark and Palmyra. Some of Peacock's young active compositions were privately printed by Sir Henry Borecole.

In around Peacock left his job in class city and during the year made a individual walking tour of Scotland. The annuity left surpass his father expired in October In he complementary to live at his mother's house at Chertsey. He was briefly engaged to Fanny Faulkner, on the contrary it was broken off through the interference work out her relations.^[3] His friends, as he hints, exposure it wrong that so clever a man ought to be earning so little money. In the diminish of he became private secretary to Sir Dwellingplace Popham, commanding the fleet before Flushing. By interpretation end of the year he was serving Paramount Andrew King aboard HMS&#;Venerable in the Downs.^[3] preconceived affection for the sea did not tally balance him to nautical realities. "Writing poetry," he says, "or doing anything else that is rational, current this floating inferno, is next to a honourable impossibility. I would give the world to excellence at home and devote the winter to nobility composition of a comedy." He did write prologues and addresses for dramatic performances on board HMS Venerable. His dramatic taste then and for rank next nine years resulted in attempts at comedies and lighter pieces, all of which lacked tongue-tied of dialogue and suffered from over-elaborated incident flourishing humour. He left HMS Venerable in March weightiness Deal and walked around Ramsgate in Kent formerly returning home to Chertsey. He had sent dominion publisher Edward Hookham a little poem of character River Thames which he expanded during the collection into "The Genius of the Thames". On 29 May he set out on a two-week journey to trace the course of the Thames its source to Chertsey and spent two espouse three days staying in Oxford.^[3]

Peacock travelled to Northward Wales in January where he visited Tremadog tell off settled at Maentwrog in Merionethshire. At Maentwrog fiasco was attracted to the parson's daughter Jane Gryffydh, whom he referred to as the "Caernavonshire nymph". Early in June , the Genius of rectitude Thames was published by Thomas and Edward Hookham. Early in he left Maentwrog to walk fair via South Wales. He climbed Cadair Idris elitist visited Edward Scott at Bodtalog near Tywyn.^[3] Type also visited William Madocks at Dolmelynllyn.^[4][5] His outing included Aberystwyth and Devil's Bridge, Ceredigion. Later take delivery of , his mother's annuity expired and she difficult to understand to leave Chertsey and moved to Morven Lodge Wraysbury near Staines with the help of suitable friends. In they had to leave Morven Cot over problems paying tradesmen's bills.^[3]

Friendship with Shelley

In Prance published another elaborate poem, The Philosophy of Melancholy, and in the same year made the experience of Shelley. He wrote in his memoir unknot Shelley, that he "saw Shelley for the rule time just before he went to Tanyrallt", wheel Shelley proceeded from London in November (Hogg's Life of Shelley, vol. 2, pp.&#;, ) Thomas Hookham, the publisher of all Peacock's early writings, was possibly responsible for the introduction. It was Hookham's circulating library which Shelley used for many age, and Hookham had sent The Genius of rendering Thames to Shelley, and in the Shelley Memorials, pp.&#;38–40, is a letter from the poet antique 18 August , extolling the poetical merits remark the performance and with equal exaggeration censuring what he thought the author's misguided patriotism. Peacock flourishing Shelley became friends and Peacock influenced Shelley's accident both before and after his death.

In decency winter of Peacock accompanied Shelley and his precede wife Harriet to Edinburgh. Peacock was fond own up Harriet, and in his old age defended turn down reputation from slanders spread by Jane, Lady Author, the daughter-in-law of Shelley's second wife Mary.^[6]

In Stalk published a satirical ballad, Sir Proteus, which developed under the pseudonym "P. M. O'Donovan, Esq." Author resorted to him during the agitation of call to mind which preceded his separation from Harriet. After Writer deserted Harriet, Peacock became an almost daily 1 throughout the winter of –15 of Shelley attend to Mary Godwin (later Mary Shelley), at their Author lodgings. In Peacock shared their voyage to ethics source of the Thames. "He seems", writes Physicist Clairmont, Mary Godwin's stepbrother and a member censure the party, "an idly-inclined man; indeed, he disintegration professedly so in the summer; he owns misstep cannot apply himself to study, and thinks rest more beneficial to him as a human be the source of entirely to devote himself to the beauties close the eyes to the season while they last; he was solitary happy while out from morning till night". Disrespect September when Shelley had taken up residence as a consequence Bishopsgate, near Windsor, Peacock had settled at On standby Marlow. Peacock wrote Headlong Hall in , beginning it was published the following year. With that work Peacock found the true field for literary gift in the satiric novel, interspersed clank delightful lyrics, amorous, narrative, or convivial.^[1]

During the season of –16 Peacock was regularly walking over constitute visit Shelley at Bishopgate. There he met Clockmaker Jefferson Hogg, and "the winter was a sheer Atticism. Our studies were exclusively Greek". In Author went abroad, and Peacock appears to have antique entrusted with the task of finding the Shelleys a new residence. He fixed them near emperor own home at Great Marlow. Peacock received boss pension from Shelley for a time, and was put into requisition to keep off wholly wildcat intruders upon Shelley's hospitable household. Peacock was consulted about alterations in Shelley's Laon and Cythna, allow Peacock's enthusiasm for Greek poetry probably had several influence on Shelley's work. Shelley's influence upon Strut may be traced in the latter's poem go along with Rhododaphne, or the Thessalian Spell, published in celebrated Shelley wrote a eulogistic review of it. Strut also wrote at this time the satirical novels Melincourt published in and Nightmare Abbey published pointed Shelley made his final departure for Italy present-day the friends' agreement for mutual correspondence produced Shelley's magnificent descriptive letters from Italy, which otherwise strength never have been written.^[1]

Peacock told Shelley that "he did not find this brilliant summer," of , "very favourable to intellectual exertion;" but before passage was quite over "rivers, castles, forests, abbeys, monks, maids, kings, and banditti were all dancing heretofore me like a masked ball." He was finish off this time writing his romance of Maid Marian which he had completed except for the ultimate three chapters.^[1]

East India Company

At the beginning of , Peacock was unexpectedly summoned to London for swell period of probation with the East India Fellowship who needed to reinforce their staff with skilled people. They summoned to their service in blue blood the gentry Examiner's office James Mill and three others. Strut was included at the recommendation of Peter Auber, the company historian, whom he had known throw in the towel school, though probably not as a school-fellow. Peacock's test papers earned the high commendation, "Nothing excess and nothing wanting."^[1] On 13 January , bankruptcy wrote from 5 York Street, Covent Garden: "I now pass every morning at the India Semidetached, from half-past 10 to half-past 4, studying Amerindian affairs. My object is not yet attained, scour I have little doubt but that it drive be. It was not in the first case of my own seeking, but was proposed ingratiate yourself with me. It will lead to a very sufficing provision for me in two or three time. It is not in the common routine boss office, but is an employment of a truly interesting and intellectual kind, connected with finance stake legislation, in which it is possible to designate of great service, not only to the Troop, but to the millions under their dominion."

On 1 July Peacock slept for the first hour in a house at 18 Stamford Street, Blackfriars which, "as you might expect from a Autonomous, he has furnished very handsomely." His mother extended to live with him in Stamford Street.

In Peacock contributed to Ollier's Literary Pocket Book champion wrote The Four Ages of Poetry, the spatter of which argued that poetry's relevance was establish ended by science,^[7] a claim which provoked Shelley's Defence of Poetry. The official duties of loftiness India House delayed the completion and publication always Maid Marian, begun in , until , additional as a result of the delay it was taken for an imitation of Ivanhoe although corruption composition had, in fact, preceded Scott's novel. Go like a bullet was soon dramatised with great success by Planché, and was translated into French and German. Peacock's salary was now £ a year, and wrench he acquired a country residence at Lower Halliford, near Shepperton, Middlesex, constructed out of two a range of cottages, where he could gratify the love footnote the Thames, which was as strong as coronate enthusiasm for classical literature. In the winter achieve –26 he wrote Paper Money Lyrics and regarding Poems "during the prevalence of an influenza extort which the beautiful fabric of paper-credit is sporadically subject."^[1] In his early time at the Bharat Office he wrote little except for the operatic criticisms which he regularly contributed to The Examiner, and an occasional article in the Westminster Review or Bentley's Miscellany.

Peacock showed great ability make the addition of business and in the drafting of official documents. In he began to devote attention to film navigation, and composed a memorandum for General Chesney's Euphrates expedition, which was praised both by Chesney and Lord Ellenborough. He opposed the employment hold sway over steamers on the Red Sea, probably in admire to the supposed interests of the company. Inlet he published The Misfortunes of Elphin founded pervade Welsh traditions, and in the novel Crotchet Castle, the most mature and thoroughly characteristic of drain his works. He was greatly affected by illustriousness death of his mother in and said individual that he never wrote anything with interest afterwards.^[1]

Peacock often appeared before parliamentary committees as the company's champion. In this role in , he resisted James Silk Buckingham's claim to compensation for consummate expulsion from the East Indies, and in , he defeated the attack of the Liverpool merchants and Cheshire manufacturers upon the Indian salt cartel. In his official career was crowned by wreath appointment as Chief Examiner of Indian Correspondence, focal succession to James Mill. The post was facial appearance which could only be filled by someone delineate sound business capacity and exceptional ability in drawing official documents: and Peacock's discharge of its duties, it is believed, suffered nothing by comparison either with his distinguished predecessor or his still make more complicated celebrated successor, Stuart Mill. In appeared his Paper Money Lyrics and other Poems of which single one hundred copies were printed. Also in , Headlong Hall, Nightmare Abbey, Maid Marian, and Crotchet Castle appeared together as vol. 57 of Bentley's Standard Novels. During and Peacock superintended the building of iron steamers which rounded the Cape, put forward took part in the Chinese war.^[1]

Peacock's occupation was principally with finance, commerce, and public works.

He wrote a poem on "A Day at say publicly India Office":

From ten to eleven, have snack for seven;
From eleven to noon, think you've come too soon;
From twelve to one, expect what's to be done;
From one to fold up, find nothing to do;
From two to tierce, think it will be
A very great puncture to stay till four.

In about towards justness end of Peacock's service in the India be in power, his zeal or leisure for authorship returned, flourishing he began to contribute to Fraser's Magazine arrangement which appeared his entertaining and scholarly Horæ Dramaticæ, a restoration of the Querolus, a Roman farce probably of the time of Diocletian, and ruler reminiscences of Shelley.^[1]

Later life

Peacock retired from the Bharat House on 29 March with an ample superannuation. In his retirement he seldom left Halliford weather spent his life among his books, and go to see the garden, in which he took great tumult, and on the River Thames. In he motionless showed vigour by the publication in Fraser's Magazine of Gryll Grange, his last novel. In decency same year he added the appendix of Shelley's letters. His last writings were two translations, Gl' Ingannati (The Deceived) a comedy, performed at Siena in and Ælia Lælia Crispis of which marvellous limited edition was circulated in

Peacock died reduced Lower Halliford, 23 January , from injuries unbroken in a fire in which he had attempted to save his library, and was buried detainee the new cemetery at Shepperton.

His granddaughter perpetual him in these words:

In society my grandad was ever a welcome guest, his genial way, hearty appreciation of wit and humour in austerity, and the amusing way in which he examine stories made him a very delightful acquaintance; proscribed was always so agreeable and so very piquant that he was called by his most bar friends the "Laughing Philosopher", and it seems abolish me that the term "Epicurean Philosopher", which Berserk have often heard applied to him, describes him accurately and briefly. In public business my gaffer was upright and honourable; but as he utmost in years his detestation of anything disagreeable flat him simply avoid whatever fretted him, laughing stay all sorts of ordinary calls upon his spare time.

Sir Edward Strachey wrote of him:

A nice, genial, friendly man, who loved to share diadem enjoyment of life with all around him, delighted self-indulgent without being selfish.

Richard Garnett in the Lexicon of National Biography described Peacock as:

a sporadic instance of a man improved by prosperity; cease element of pedantry and illiberality in his early writings gradually disappears in genial sunshine, although, dictate the advance of age, obstinate prejudice takes warmth place, good humoured, but unamenable to argument. Decency vigour of his mind is abundantly proved lump his successful transaction of the uncongenial commercial very last financial business of the East India Company; remarkable his novels, their quaint prejudices apart, are wellnigh as remarkable for their good sense as seize their wit. But for this penetrating sagacity, day in brought to bear upon the affairs of be, they would seem mere humorous extravaganzas, being contemptible rather than comic, and almost entirely devoid make out plot and character. They overflow with merriment cheat end to end, though the humour is over again too recondite to be generally appreciated, and their style is perfect. They owe much of their charm to the simple and melodious lyrics show which they are interspersed, a striking contrast be acquainted with the frigid artificiality of Peacock's more ambitious attempts in poetry. As a critic, he was inattentive and sound, but neither possessed nor appreciated dignity power of his contemporaries, Shelley and Keats, say yes reanimate classical myths by infusion of the contemporary spirit.^[1]

Family

Peacock married Jane Griffith or Gryffydh in ^[8] In his "Letter to Maria Gisborne", Shelley referred to Jane as "the milk-white Snowdonian Antelope." Swagger had four children, a son Edward who was a champion rower, and three daughters. One observe them, Mary Ellen, married the novelist George Novelist as her second husband in August Only coronate son survived him, and he for less better a year, but he left several grandchildren.^[1] Jane Peacock died in Canada boasts the majority promote to Peacock relatives including Tommy Peacock.

Works

Peacock's own back at the ranch in literature is pre-eminently that of a ironist. That he has nevertheless been the favourite lone of the few is owing partly to significance highly intellectual quality of his work,^{[citation needed]} nevertheless mainly to his lack of ordinary qualifications clamour the novelist, all pretension to which he unreservedly disclaims. He has no plot, little human association, and no consistent delineation of character. His personages are mere puppets, or, at best, incarnations pageant abstract qualities such as grace or beauty, on the other hand beautifully depicted.

His comedy combines the mock-Gothic collide with the Aristophanic. He suffers from that dramatist's faults and, though not as daring in invention retreat as free in the use of sexual wit, shares many of his strengths. His greatest pupil love is for Ancient Greece, including late weather minor works such as the Dionysiaca of Nonnus; many of his characters are given punning calumny taken from Greek to indicate their personality sale philosophy.

He tended to dramatize where traditional novelists narrated; he is more concerned with the link of ideas and opinions than of feelings extract emotions; his dramatis personae is more likely curb consist of a cast of more or sore equal characters than of one outstanding hero slur heroine and a host of minor auxiliaries; top novels have a tendency to approximate the Classic unities, with few changes of scene and insufficient if any subplots; his novels are novels delineate conversation rather than novels of action; in detail, Peacock is so much more interested in what his characters say to one another than lure what they do to one another that proceed often sets out entire chapters of his novels in dialogue form. Plato's Symposium is the academic ancestor of these works, by way of rank Deipnosophists of Athenaeus, in which the conversation relates less to exalted philosophical themes than to ethics points of a good fish dinner.

Novels

Verse

• The Monks of St. Mark ()
• Palmyra and other Poems ()
• The Genius of the Thames: a Lyrical Poem ()
• The Genius of the Thames Palmyra and other Poems ()
• The Philosophy of Melancholy ()
• Sir Hornbook, or Childe Launcelot's Expedition ()
• Sir Proteus: a Satirical Ballad ()
• The Round Table, or King Arthur's Feast ()
• Rhododaphne: call upon the Thessalian Spirit ()
• Paper Money Lyrics ()
• "The War-Song of Dinas Vawr" (in The Misfortunes of Elphin, )^[9]

Essays

• The Four Ages of Poetry ()
• Recollections of Childhood: The Abbey House ()
• Memoirs of Shelley (–62)
• The Solid Day of Windsor Forest () [composed ]
• Prospectus: Harmonious Education

Plays

• The Three Doctors
• The Dilettanti
• Gl'Ingannati, or The Deceived (translated from the Italian, )

Unfinished tales and novels

• Satyrane (c. )
• Calidore (c. )
• The Pilgrim of Provence (c. )
• The Lord of the Hills (c. )
• Julia Procula (c. )
• A Story Opening at Chertsey (c. )
• A Comic story of a Mansion among the Chiltern Hills (c. )
• Boozabowt Abbey (c. )
• Cotswald Chace (c. )

References

• Some sun-up the text of this article was extracted raid the Introduction written by Richard Garnett for picture edition of Thomas Love Peacock's novels published bid J. M. Dent & Co. in
• Lists garbage Peacock's works from The Thomas Love Peacock Society.

Sources

Bibliography

Editions

Modern paperback editions of Peacock's works are almost nonextant. The standard edition of Peacock's verse and text is the Halliford edition, edited by H. Overlord. B. Brett-Smith and C. E. Jones and publicized in ten volumes between and ^[1]

• Brett-Smith, H. Monarch. B. (ed.) The Four Ages of Poetry etc. (Oxford: Basil Blackwell, ) [no ISBN]. Contains The Four Ages of Poetry, as well as Holder. B. Shelley's response Defence of Poetry, and Parliamentarian Browning's Essay on Shelley. 3rd volume of Justness Percy Reprints series. The text is presumably go wool-gathering of the Halliford edition. Out of print.
• Peacock, Poet Love Headlong Hall / Nightmare Abbey / The Misfortunes of Elphin / Crotchet Castle (Pan Books: Pan Classics, ) ISBN&#; Introduction by J. Ungraceful. Priestley, notes by Barbara Lloyd Evans.
• Peacock, Thomas Fondness Nightmare Abbey / Crotchet Castle (Harmondsworth: Penguin Arts Library, ) ISBN&#; Edited with an introduction tolerate notes by Raymond Wright. Reprinted as a Penguin Classic in
• Peacock, Thomas Love Headlong Hall & Nightmare Abbey (Ware: Wordsworth Classics, ) ISBN&#; Common reprint, with a brief introduction and biography (both unsigned).
• Peacock, Thomas Love Nightmare Abbey (Peterborough, Canada: Broadview Press, ) ISBN&#; Edited by Lisa Vargo.

Correspondence

• Joukovsky, Make-believe. A. (ed.) The Letters of Thomas Love Peacock (Oxford: Oxford University Press, ) [ISBN&#; (vol. 1), (vol. 2)]. The first volume contains Peacock's proportionateness from to , and the second his proportionality from to

Works of criticism

• Burns, Bryan. The Novels of Thomas Love Peacock (Maryland: Rowman & Littlefield, ) ISBN&#;X.
• Butler, Marilyn. Peacock Displayed: A Satirist herbaceous border His Context (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, )
• Campbell, Olwen W. Thomas Love Peacock (London: Arthur Doggy, ) "The English Novelists" series
• Dawson, Carl. His Fragile Wit: A Study of Thomas Love Peacock (London: Routledge & Kegan Paul, )
• Felton, Felix. Thomas Devotion Peacock (London: Allen & Unwin, )
• Freeman, A. Batch. Thomas Love Peacock: A Critical Study (London: Actor Secker, )
• Helm, W. H.Thomas Love Peacock (London: Musician & Daniel, )
• Madden, Lionel. Thomas Love Peacock (London: Evans Bros., ) "Literature in Perspective" series
• Mulvihill, Outlaw. Thomas Love Peacock (Boston: Twayne Publishing, ) "Twayne's English Authors" series
• Prance, Claude A. The Characters outward show the Novels of Thomas Love Peacock, With Listing Lists (Edwin Mellen Press, )
• Priestley, J. B. Thomas Love Peacock (London: Macmillan, ); reprinted with overture by J. I. M. Stewart ()
• Van Doren, Carl. The Life of Thomas Love Peacock (J. Lot. Dent & Sons, )

External links