Smiles: Memoir of John Murray

Thomas Campbell appeared like a meteor as early as 1799, when, in his twenty-second year, he published his ‘Pleasures of Hope.’ The world was taken by surprise at the vigour of thought and richness of fancy displayed in the poem. Shortly after its publication, Campbell went to Germany, and saw, from the Scottish Monastery of St. James’, the battle of Hohenlinden. On his return to Scotland, he published the beautiful lines beginning, “On Linden when the sun was low.” In 1801 he composed ‘The Exile of Erin,’ and ‘Ye Mariners of England.’ The ‘Battle of the Baltic,’ and ‘Locheil’s Warning’ followed; and in 1803 he published an edition of his poems. To have composed such noble lyrics was almost unprecedented in so young a man; for he was only twenty-six years of age when his collected edition appeared. He was treated as a lion, and became acquainted with Walter Scott and the leading men in Edinburgh. In December 1805 we find Constable writing to Murray, that Longman and Co. had offered the young poet £700 for a new volume of his poems.

Alison, the author of ‘Essays on Taste,’ is my particular friend. I am pretty sure he will give me important support. John Allen, a most admirably ingenious man, will assist me in a track of study which I mean immediately and eagerly to pursue—Spanish literature, as the little knowledge I possess of it may be easily improved, into what may usefully promote our magazine.

Professor Playfair, an elegant writer as well as philosopher, will contribute, I know, with my other northern friends, to give some éclat to our work. There are names I forgot to mention to you. Miss Baillie, I hope, will also give us a bit of poetry now and then. I have the honour to be her particular acquaintance. Let us by all means keep our scheme to ourselves till great aids are quite secure—till we are ready to step forward before the public without a hem or an apology, but boldly, and as becomes men conscious of deserving notice. I dread of all things the hue and cry getting up before we are ready. I trust, however, implicitly in the great degree of judgment and discretion which I know you to possess.

Scott entered into Campbell’s agreement with kindness and promptitude, and it was arranged, under certain stipulations, that the plan should have his zealous cooperation; but as the number and importance of his literary engagements increased, he declined to take an active part either in the magazine or the other undertaking. The loss of Scott’s name seems to have been fatal to the progress of the periodical, but Campbell continued to hold to his idea of preparing ‘Selections from the British

CAMPBELL’S FRIENDSHIP WITH MURRAY.

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Poets.’ Communications took place between Constable and Murray on the subject, Campbell proposing that Constable should be the publisher. Murray replied to Constable’s letter (19th December, 1806):—

“I saw Campbell two days ago, and he told me that Mr. Scott had declined, and modestly asked if it would do by himself alone; but this I declined in a way that did not leave us the less friends.”

Campbell continued writing about the publication of his work to Constable, who seems to have disregarded his letters. Then he wrote to Mr. Jeffrey, who gave him no answer. At last he wrote to Henry (afterwards Lord) Cockburn, expressing his regret at Constable’s and Jeffrey’s silence, and requesting his intercession. “If Jeffrey does not take any interest in this affair of the ‘Selections,’ will you do me the kindness to call upon Mr. Constable and request an answer?” But no answer came; and Campbell was at length driven back upon Mr. Murray. The friendship between them grew closer, and Campbell was a frequent guest at Murray’s literary parties. To one of these invitations he replied:—

At length, after many communications and much personal intercourse, Murray agreed with Campbell to bring out his work, without the commanding name of Walter Scott, and with the name of Thomas Campbell alone as Editor of the ‘Selections from the British Poets.’ The arrangement seems to have been made towards the end of 1808. Campbell’s letter describes the nature of the proposed work:—

Fortified with these admirable resolutions, Campbell proceeded with his work, but the labour it involved was perhaps greater than he had anticipated. It was his first important prose work; and prose requires continuous labour. It cannot, like a piece of poetry, be thrown off at a heat while the fit is on. Moreover, Campbell stopped occasionally in the midst of his work to write poems, by which he hoped to subsist. It is true he had already, in his twenty-eighth year, obtained a pension of £200 a year; but this was not enough. In 1809 he published his ‘Gertrude of Wyoming’ and other poems, which confirmed his poetical reputation. Murray sent a copy of the volume to Walter Scott, and requested a review for the Quarterly, which was then in its first year. What Campbell thought of the review will appear from the following letter:—

I received the review, for which I thank you, and beg leave through you to express my best acknowledgments to the unknown reviewer. I do not by this mean to say that I think every one of his censures just. On the contrary, if I had an opportunity of personal conference with so candid and sensible a man, I think I could in some degree acquit myself of a part of the faults he has found. But altogether I am pleased with his manner, and very proud of his approbation. He reviews like a gentleman, a Christian, and a scholar.

In the meantime Campbell undertook to give a course of eleven Lectures on Poetry at the Royal Institution, for which he received a hundred guineas. He enriched his Lectures with the Remarks and Selections collected for the ‘Specimens,’ for which the publisher had agreed to pay a handsome sum. The result was a momentary hesitation on the part of Mr. Murray to risk the publication of the work. On this, says Campbell’s biographer, a correspondence ensued between the poet and the publisher, which ended to the satisfaction of both. Mr. Murray only requested that Mr. Campbell should proceed with greater alacrity in finishing the long projected work. It is only right, however, to give the poet’s letter to Mr. Murray in reference to his application for payment on account:—

Mr. Davison (the printer) has some Government work, which has engrossed him too much of late. He now

CAMPBELL’S ‘LIVES OF THE POETS.’

333

promises to put all his force upon the ‘Specimens,’ and to make up for his recent delays. I take the opportunity of assuring you how much I feel obliged by the labour which you are now bestowing upon the ‘Lives,’ which have become very interesting, and cannot fail to do you honour. I will send you Hayley’s ‘Cowper;’ it affords material for a very long and a peculiarly interesting life,—in which you can weave innumerable passages of great beauty from his letters, and all the touching part of the life written by himself. I assure you I think, when you have given scope to yourself, that your prose is not to be surpassed. I expect very very great things in your ‘Life of Burns.’ Don’t be afraid of room.

I have already thanked you in person, but feel it due to repeat my acknowledgments for your very handsome and liberal allowance for the ‘Specimens’ beyond our formal contract. It would be the most avaricious and unreasonable spirit in me not to be perfectly satisfied with the honourable and gentlemanlike spirit which you have shown in estimating my remuneration. What I have to say in apology for thus applying to you sooner than I meant to have done, cannot possibly be misunderstood as at variance in the slightest degree with my sense of absolute obligation to you; but as an apology for this application I feel it no excuse to state that the time which I devoted to the ‘Specimens’ has involved me very much in debt. I discovered in truth too late that it was a work which none but an author who possessed an independent fortune, or a collection of books such as Mr. Heber’s, should have undertaken; and that it was impossible in the nature of things that it could remunerate either you or myself at the first edition. I saw through my difficulties, however, so far as to anticipate that, having conquered the first edition, it would ultimately be capable of yielding advantage to both in subsequent editions.* It is a great thing to have made myself master of the subject and acquainted with the books that relate to all its most important parts. On the scheme which you suggested regarding the ‘Dramatic Poets,’ I shall have the pleasure of talking with you fully when we meet.

Mr. Murray complied with Mr. Campbell’s request, and paid the money for the cheques presented, as he had desired. It appears that besides the £1000, which was double the sum originally proposed to be paid to Campbell for the ‘Selections,’ Mr. Murray, in October 1819, paid him £200 “for books,” doubtless for those he had purchased for the ‘Collections,’ and which he desired to retain.

We cannot conclude this account of Campbell’s dealing with Murray without referring to an often-quoted story which has for many years sailed under false colours. It was Thomas Campbell who wrote “Now Barabbas was a publisher,” whether in a Bible or otherwise is not authentically recorded, and forwarded it to a friend; but Mr. Murray was not the publisher to whom it referred, nor was Lord Byron, as has been so frequently stated, the author of the joke.

While Campbell’s ‘Selections’ were in slow and gradual progress through the press, Scott was throwing off his poems and novels with extraordinary rapidity; Murray had a share with Blackwood in some of the novels, but a number of other important works demanded his attention. Byron was now at the height of his fame; Southey was producing his works with prolific rapidity. Milman was beginning to issue his poems and dramas; Malthus was publishing his works on Rent and the Corn Laws; and numerous works on Voyages and Travels, on Philosophy, on Classics, on Antiquities, were issuing from the house in Albemarle Street. Murray himself was the head and front of the whole negotiations and corre-

GIFFORD’S FAILING HEALTH.

337

spondence. The great burden of the correspondence entailed by the Quarterly Review now fell on him, for Gifford was physically incapable of bearing it. On the other hand, Croker and Barrow were becoming more and more active helpers of the publisher in this branch of his responsibilities.

On one of Gifford’s letters we find these words in Murray’s handwriting: “By mistake I had made his draft for No. 29, £125 instead of £150. I sent the difference with an apology.” Gifford’s answer was as follows:—

Gifford was nothing the better for his stay at Dover. Shortly after his return he wrote to Murray from James Street, Buckingham Gate (1st Sept., 1816):—

Pray does ‘James’ advance with you? Is there a second sheet? If so I should like to have it. Mr. Gifford will give it a reading no doubt. I am sorry to say every one I have mentioned the subject to revolts from it as a thing quite untenable, and cares nothing about ‘James.’ This does not stop me from finishing. The weather and other things confine me to the house.

“I send you seven stories, which, with eleven you had before, brings us down to Richard III., and as I do not intend to come down beyond the Revolution, there remain nine stories still. I think you told me that you gave the first stories to your little boy to read. Perhaps you or Mrs. Murray would be so kind as to make a mark over against such words as he may not have understood, and to favour me with any criticism the child may have made, for on this occasion I should prefer a critic of 6 years old to one of 60.”

It may be mentioned that ‘Croker’s Stories for Children’ were published on the system of division of profits. Long after, when Mr. Murray was in correspondence with an author who wished him to pay a sum of money down before he had even seen the manuscript, the publisher recommended the author to publish his book on a division of profits, in like manner as Hallam, Milman, Mahon, Croker, and others had done. “Under this system,” he said, “I have been very successful. For Mr. Croker’s ‘Stories from the History of England,’ selling for 2s. 6d., if I had offered the small sum of twenty guineas, he would have thought it liberal. However, I printed it to divide profits, and he has already received from me the moiety of £1400. You will perhaps be startled at my assertion; for woeful experience convinces me that not more than one

SIR JOHN MALCOLM.

341

publication in fifty has a sale sufficient to defray its expenses.”

Sir John Malcolm was a great friend of Murray’s. When home from India in 1816, he dined often at Albemarle Street, where he made the acquaintance of Lord Byron, Campbell, Rogers, Hallam, and others. Murray published his ‘History of Persia,’ one of his greatest works. On his return to India, the ship in which he had embarked was lying in the Downs, waiting for a fair wind down Channel, when he wrote the following parting letter:—

Mr. Murray was inundated with productions of this kind, but could usually dispose of them without troubling his literary advisers. The authors of these rejected addresses did not always take the publisher’s decision in good part, and not a few retaliated by round, personal abuse.

This, however, was not generally the case. When Miss Jane Porter sent him a poem—‘Lord Ronald, by a Border Minstrel,’—and asked him to peruse it with a view to publication, he informed the lady (July 12th, 1817) that he had “waded through seven hundred rejected poems in the course of a year.” The lady assented to his view, and willingly took back the manuscript.

When Mr. Murray was in doubt about any manuscript, he usually conferred with Croker, Campbell, or Gifford, who always displayed the utmost kindness in helping him with their opinions. Croker was usually short and pithy. Of one poem he said: “Trash—the dullest stuff I ever read.” This was enough to ensure the condemnation of the manuscript. Campbell, when sending his “confidential opinion on the poem of ‘Woman,’”* said, “In my opinion, though there are many excellent lines in it, the poem is not such as will warrant a great sum being speculated upon it. But, as it is short, I think the public, not the author or publisher, will be in fault if it does not sell one edition.”

“Circumstances connected with my professional duties have prevented me from returning an answer to your letter. . . . I have by this day’s mail-coach sent to you the only copy which I possess of the ‘City of the Plague.’ I have relinquished the idea of publishing a larger volume, and now offer you that single dramatic poem by itself, and, if you choose, a few smaller ones of a different character, to make up the volume to 170 or 180 pages. If you think the Poem worth £100, and a dozen copies to the author, the copyright of it is yours; if not, you will return me the manuscript as soon as possible. You will peruse it yourself, and request Lord Byron to give you his opinion. I do not mention his name from believing that he entertains a favourable idea of my poetical character, as indeed I have some reason to think the contrary. But as he is a man of power and genius, I know that in his hands my poem will have the certainty of a fair trial by a good judge.”

It appears that Murray declined Wilson’s offer of his poem. A few days later Murray communicated his views to Blackwood of Edinburgh, when Blackwood replied:—

James Hogg, the Ettrick Shepherd, was another of Murray’s Scottish correspondents, with whom he had some interesting intercourse. The publication of ‘The Queen’s Wake’ in 1813 immediately brought Hogg into connection with the leading authors and publishers of the day. Hogg sent a copy of the volume to Lord Byron, his “brother poet,” whose influence he desired to enlist on behalf of a work which Hogg wished Murray to publish.

The poem which the Ettrick Shepherd referred to was ‘The Pilgrims of the Sun,’ and the result of Lord Byron’s conversation with Mr. Murray was, that the latter undertook to publish Hogg’s works. The first letter from him to Murray was dated “Grieve and Scott’s, Edinburgh, 26th December, 1814,” though the post-mark shows it was not delivered until the 12th of January, 1815.

A few days later Hogg again wrote a long letter, complaining that Blackwood’s name was placed above Murray’s in the advertisement of his book. This was followed by a third epistle.

The ‘Repository,’ which Hogg refers to in his letter, was intended to be a miscellaneous collection, edited by himself, of pieces written by the principal popular poets of the day. He afterwards altered the proposed name to ‘The Thistle and the Rose,’ or ‘The Poetic Mirror,’ and requested Byron and Scott to write for the ‘Miscellany,’ but they both eventually declined his proposition.

“I want Lord Byron’s promised assistance. If I had but thirty lines from him, I would be content; but I cannot consent to put the book to press without something from him. Though it would be a material loss to me to want his name engraved on ‘The Thistle and Rose,’ yet I would not for the world pester or dun him. Think seriously of these things, my dear friend; tell me, as usual, freely what you think; the conditions shall always be of your own making, for though I am somewhat needy I am not greedy. . . . The Duke of Buccleuch has been so kind as, all unsolicited, to give me a farm on Yarrow, rent free for life. I have that farm to stock, and a cottage to build this summer; so that you need not think it strange that I would like to raise a few pounds as soon as I can. However, do not let any casualty induce you to enter upon anything that appears contrary to your interest; for, as you shrewdly hinted formerly, whatever is against that will prove much more against mine finally. But let me hear from you soon. . . . ”

Could you not write a poetical epistle, a lively one, to Lady Byron—she is a good mathematician, writes poetry, understands French, Italian, Latin and Greek—and tell her that as she has prevented Lord B. from fulfilling his promise to you, she is bound to insist upon its execution, and to add a poem of her own to it by way of interest.

I have forgotten to tell you that Gifford tells me that he would receive, with every disposition to favour it, any critique which you like to send of new Scottish works. If I had been aware of it in time I certainly would have
348 MEMOIRS OF JOHN MURRAY
invited your remarks on ‘Mannering.’ Our article is not good and our praise is by no means adequate, I allow, but I suspect you very greatly overrate the novel. “Meg Merrilies” is worthy of Shakespeare, but all the rest of the novel might have been written by Scott’s brother or any other body. Adieu for the present: pray write to me immediately to tell me that you forgive my silence, and believe me, dear Sir,

Your faithful friend,

John Murray.

Hogg’s reply was as follows:—

Mr. Hogg to John Murray.

April 17th, 1815,

My dear Sir,

On reading your kind and enthusiastic letter, I determined to come to London and join the illustrious bards, but to my great grief I find I cannot accomplish it. I enter to my farm at May-day, which is fast approaching, and at that time I must be in Yarrow; and besides I have not money to spare. I am, however, much vexed and disappointed because I cannot accept your warm invitation; and I am only comforted by the hope that by-and-by I may be enabled to appear among you to more advantage than I could have done at present . I am obliged to you for your fair statement of the sale. Such a thing lets one see precisely what they may expect, and when to expect it. I never had the slightest apprehension that you were dilatory or careless about pushing the works, and I do not know how I came to mention it. . . .

If Southey’s ‘Roderick’ is not bespoke, I should be very happy to review it, but I must warn you that I am very partial to that bard’s productions. It would be a most interesting thing to have a small piece of Lady Byron’s in ‘The Thistle and Rose,’ and the thing which you propose for me to do is a good subject both for humour and compliment. But there is nothing I am so afraid of as teazing or pestering my superiors for favours. Lord B. knows well enough that without his support at first, the thing will not go on, and as I am sure he is a kind soul, I think I will for the present trust to himself.

Most truly,

James Hogg.

A STRANGE REQUEST.

349

Murray sent the Shepherd some “timeous” help, to which Hogg replied—still from Edinburgh—by asking a novel favour; no less than that Mr. and Mrs. Murray should look out for a wife for him!

Mr. Hogg to John Murray.

May 7th, 1815.

My dear Sir,

I thank you with all my heart for the little timeous supply you have lent me at present. I did intend shortly to have asked from you what little you could spare from the copies of ‘The Wake’ sold, but I had no thought that the final payment of ‘The Pilgrims’ would have been made to me sooner than November. You are the prince of booksellers, if people would but leave you to your own judgment and natural generous disposition.

I leave Edinburgh on Thursday for my little farm on Yarrow. I will have a confused summer, for I have as yet no home that I can dwell in; but I hope by-and-by to have some fine fun there with you, fishing in Saint Mary’s Loch and the Yarrow, eating bull-trout, singing songs, and drinking whisky. This little possession is what I stood much in need of—a habitation among my native hills was what of all the world I desired; and if I had a little more money at command, I would just be as happy a man as I know of; but that is an article of which I am ever in want. I wish you or Mrs. Murray would speer me out a good wife with a few thousands. I dare say there is many a romantic girl about London who would think it a fine ploy to become a Yarrow Shepherdess!

Believe me, dear Murray,
Very sincerely yours,

James Hogg.

Here, for the present, we come to an end of the Shepherd’s letters; but we shall find him turning up again, and Mr. Murray still continuing his devoted friend and adviser.

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Archibald Alison (1757-1839) Scottish Episcopal clergyman and author of Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste (1790).

Joanna Baillie (1762-1851) Scottish poet and dramatist whose Plays on the Passions (1798-1812) were much admired, especially the gothic De Montfort, produced at Drury Lane in 1800.

James Ballantyne (1772-1833) Edinburgh printer in partnership with his younger brother John; the company failed in the financial collapse of 1826.

Sir John Barrow, first baronet (1764-1848) English traveler, secretary of the Admiralty, and author of over two hundred articles in the Quarterly Review; he is remembered for his Mutiny on the Bounty (1831).

William Beattie (1793-1875) Scottish physician and poet, friend of Thomas Campbell and Lady Byron; he published The Life and Letters of Thomas Campbell, 3 vols (1849).

Sir Charles Bell (1774-1842) Scottish surgeon and anatomical illustrator; his first publication was The Anatomy of the Brain, Explained in a Series of Engravings (1802). He was a close friend of Francis Jeffrey.

William Blackwood (1776-1834) Edinburgh bookseller; he began business 1804 and for a time was John Murray's Scottish agent. He launched Blackwood's Magazine in 1817.

Sir David Brewster (1781-1868) Scottish natural philosopher and editor of the Edinburgh Encyclopaedia (1807-1830). He contributed to the Literary Gazette and invented the kaleidoscope.

Anne Isabella Noel Byron [née Milbanke] [Annabella] (1792-1860) The only child of Sir Ralph Milbanke; married Byron in 1815, separating shortly after the birth of their daughter Ada in January 1816.

George Gordon Byron, sixth Baron Byron (1788-1824) The author of Childe Harold and Don Juan.

Thomas Cadell the younger (1773-1836) London bookseller, son of his better-known father; the younger Cadell entered into partnership with William Davies in 1793. In 1802 he married Sophia Smith, sister of James and Horace Smith of the Rejected Addresses.

Matilda Campbell [née Sinclair] (1780 c.-1828) The wife (and cousin) of the poet Thomas Campbell, whom she married in 1803.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) Scottish poet and man of letters; author of The Pleasures of Hope (1799), Gertrude of Wyoming (1808) and lyric odes. He edited the New Monthly Magazine (1821-30).

Geoffrey Chaucer (1340 c.-1400) English Poet, the author of The Canterbury Tales (1390 c.).

Henry Cockburn, Lord Cockburn (1779-1854) Scottish judge, reformer, and friend of Francis Jeffrey; he wrote a Life of Lord Jeffrey (1852) and Memorials of his Time (1856).

Archibald Constable (1774-1827) Edinburgh bookseller who published the Edinburgh Review and works of Sir Walter Scott; he went bankrupt in 1826.

John Wilson Croker (1780-1857) Secretary of the Admiralty (1810) and writer for the Quarterly Review; he edited an elaborate edition of Boswell's Life of Johnson (1831).

Isaac D'Israeli (1766-1848) English essayist and literary biographer; author of Curiosities of Literature (1791). Father of the prime minister.

Thomas Davison (1766-1831) London printer who worked for Thomas Longman and John Murray.

John Dryden (1631-1700) English poet laureate, dramatist, and critic; author of Of Dramatick Poesie (1667), Absalom and Achitophel (1681), Alexander's Feast; or the Power of Musique (1697), The Works of Virgil translated into English Verse (1697), and Fables (1700).

William Gifford (1756-1826) Poet, scholar, and editor who began as a shoemaker's apprentice; after Oxford he published The Baviad (1794), The Maeviad (1795), and The Satires of Juvenal translated (1802) before becoming the founding editor of the Quarterly Review (1809-24).

Oliver Goldsmith (1728 c.-1774) Irish miscellaneous writer; his works include The Vicar of Wakefield (1766), The Deserted Village (1770), and She Stoops to Conquer (1773).

John Grieve (1781-1836) Scottish poet and haberdasher; he was a close friend of James Hogg, who dedicated Mador of the Moor to him.

Henry Hallam (1777-1859) English historian and contributor to the Edinburgh Review, author of Introduction to the Literature of Europe, 4 vols (1837-39) and other works. He was the father of Tennyson's Arthur Hallam.

William Hayley (1745-1820) English poet, patron of George Romney, William Cowper, and William Blake. His best-known poem, Triumphs of Temper (1781) was several times reprinted. Robert Southey said of him, “everything about that man is good except his poetry.”

Richard Heber (1774-1833) English book collector, he was the elder half-brother of the poet Reginald Heber and the friend of Walter Scott: member of the Roxburghe Club and MP for Oxford 1821-1826.

Felicia Dorothea Hemans [née Browne] (1793-1835) English poet; author of Tales, and Historic Scenes (1819), Records of Woman (1828), and other volumes. She was much in demand as a contributor to the literary annuals.

John Cam Hobhouse, baron Broughton (1786-1869) Founder of the Cambridge Whig Club; traveled with Byron in the orient, radical MP for Westminster (1820); Byron's executor; after a long career in politics published Some Account of a Long Life (1865) later augmented as Recollections of a Long Life, 6 vols (1909-1911).

James Hogg [The Ettrick Shepherd] (1770-1835) Scottish autodidact, poet, and novelist; author of The Queen's Wake (1813) and Private Memoirs and Confessions of a Justified Sinner (1824).

Thomas Hood the elder (1759-1811) London bookseller, the father of the poet Thomas Hood.

James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784-1859) English poet, journalist, and man of letters; editor of The Examiner and The Liberal; friend of Byron, Keats, and Shelley.

Francis Jeffrey, Lord Jeffrey (1773-1850) Scottish barrister, Whig MP, and co-founder and editor of the Edinburgh Review (1802-29). As a reviewer he was the implacable foe of the Lake School of poetry.

Thomas Norton Longman (1771-1842) A leading London publisher whose authors included Southey, Wordsworth, Scott, and Moore.

Sir John Malcolm (1769-1833) Indian administrator and diplomat; author of Political History of India (1811); his life of Clive was posthumously published in 1836.

Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) English political economist educated at Jesus College, Cambridge; he was author of An Essay on the Principles of Population (1798; 1803).

Henry Hart Milman (1791-1868) Educated at Eton and Brasenose College, Oxford, he was a poet, historian and dean of St Paul's (1849) who wrote for the Quarterly Review.

John Milton (1608-1674) English poet and controversialist; author of Comus (1634), Lycidas (1638), Areopagitica (1644), Paradise Lost (1667), and other works.

Anne Murray [née Elliot] (1782-1854) The daughter of the Scottish bookseller Charles Elliot; she married the second John Murray in 1807.

John Murray II (1778-1843) The second John Murray began the Quarterly Review in 1809 and published works by Scott, Byron, Austen, Crabbe, and other literary notables.

John Murray III (1808-1892) The son of the Anak of publishers; he successfully carried on the family publishing business.

John Playfair (1748-1819) Professor of Mathematics at Edinburgh University and Whig man of letters who contributed to the Edinburgh Review.

Alexander Pope (1688-1744) English poet and satirist; author of The Rape of the Lock (1714) and The Dunciad (1728).

Jane Porter (1776-1850) English novelist, sister of the poet and novelist Anna Maria Porter (1778-1832); she wrote The Scottish Chiefs (1810).

Owen Rees (1770-1837) London bookseller; he was the partner of Thomas Norton Longman and friend of the poet Thomas Moore.

Richard III, king of England (1452-1485) He assumed the throne after the murder of Edward V. in 1483 and ruled until he was killed at the battle of Bosworth in 1485.

Samuel Rogers (1763-1855) English poet, banker, and aesthete, author of the ever-popular Pleasures of Memory (1792), Columbus (1810), Jaqueline (1814), and Italy (1822-28).

Charles William Henry Montagu- Scott, fourth duke of Buccleuch (1772-1819) Son of the third duke and friend of Walter Scott; he was a Tory MP before succeeding to the title in 1812.

Thomas Scott (1774-1823) The younger brother of Walter Scott rumored to have written Waverley; after working in the family legal business he was an officer in the Manx Fencibles (1806-10) and Paymaster of the 70th Foot (1812-14). He died in Canada.

Sir Walter Scott, baronet (1771-1832) Scottish poet, novelist, antiquary, biographer, editor, and sheriff.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616) The Bard of Avon.

Robert Southey (1774-1843) Poet laureate and man of letters whose contemporary reputation depended upon his prose works, among them the Life of Nelson, 2 vols (1813), History of the Peninsular War, 3 vols (1823-32) and The Doctor, 7 vols (1834-47).

Edmund Spenser (1552 c.-1599) English poet, author of The Shepheards Calender (1579) and The Faerie Queene (1590, 1596).

Philip Henry Stanhope, fifth earl Stanhope (1805-1875) Historian and man of letters, the son of the fourth earl; he published The History of England from the Peace of Utrecht to the Peace of Versailles, 1713-1783, 7 vols, (1836-53).

James Thomson (1700-1748) Anglo-Scottish poet and playwright; while his descriptive poem, The Seasons (1726-30), was perhaps the most popular poem of the eighteenth century, the poets tended to admire more his Spenserian burlesque, The Castle of Indolence (1748).

John Wilson [Christopher North] (1785-1854) Scottish poet and Tory essayist, the chief writer for the “Noctes Ambrosianae” in Blackwood's Magazine and professor of moral philosophy at Edinburgh University (1820).

Sir Henry Worsley (1768-1841) Born on the Isle of Wight, he was an officer in the East India Company.

Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine. (1817-1980). Begun as the Edinburgh Monthly Magazine, Blackwood's assumed the name of its proprietor, William Blackwood after the sixth number. Blackwood was the nominal editor until 1834.

The Quarterly Review. (1809-1967). Published by John Murray, the Quarterly was instigated by Walter Scott as a Tory rival to the Edinburgh Review. It was edited by William Gifford to 1824, and by John Gibson Lockhart from 1826 to 1853.

The Traveller. (1801-1822). A London daily newspaper edited by Edward Quin and Walter Coulson; Leigh Hunt was a contributor.

Archibald Alison (1757-1839) Essays on the Nature and Principles of Taste. (Edinburgh: J. J. G. and G. Robinson, 1790). Reprinted in 2 volumes, 1811.

Sir David Brewster (1781-1868) The Edinburgh Encyclopædia. 18 vols (Edinburgh: William Blackwood, 1808-1830). Edited by Sir David Brewster.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) “Battle of the Baltic” in Gertrude of Wyoming; a Pennsylvanian Tale. And other Poems. (London: Longman, 1809). Composed in 1805.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) “The Exile of Erin” in Morning Chronicle. (28 January 1801). Campbell's authorship of this much-reprinted poem was sometimes challenged; it first appeared in the Morning Chronicle.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) Gertrude of Wyoming; a Pennsylvanian Tale. And other Poems. (London: Longman, 1809). If Campbell's long-awaited successor to the Pleasures of Hope initially proved something of a disappointment it had a lasting influence on descriptive poems in Spenserian stanzas.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) “Hohenlinden” in Pleasures of Hope, with other Poems. (Edinburgh: Mundell, 1800). A heroic ode celebrating the victory of the French over the Austrians; Campbell visited the site of the Battle 3 December 1800.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) “Lochiel's Warning” in Pleasures of Hope, with other Poems. (Edinburgh: Mundell, 1799). A lyrical dialogue concerning a Scottish chief at the battle of Culloden.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) Specimens of the British Poets: with Biographical and Critical Notices, and an Essay on English Poetry. 7 vols (London: Murray, 1819). Campbell's prefatory remarks sparked the “Pope Controversy” between advocates of the classical and romantic schools in English poetry.

Thomas Campbell (1777-1844) “Ye Mariners of England” in Pleasures of Hope, with other Poems. (Edinburgh: Mundell, 1800). A patriotic song written by Campbell as an “Alteration of the Old Ballad Ye Gentlemen of England, composed on the prospect of a Russian War.”

John Wilson Croker (1780-1857) “Guy Mannering, or the Astrologer” in Quarterly Review. Vol. 12 No. 24 (January 1818): 501-09. A review of Walter Scott's novel.

John Wilson Croker (1780-1857) Stories selected from the History of England, from the Conquest to the Revolution, for Children. (London: J. Murray, 1817). Frequently reprinted down to the twentieth century.

Isaac D'Israeli (1766-1848) An Inquiry into the Literary and Political Character of James the First. (London: J. Murray, 1816). James the Sixth and First.

William Gifford (1756-1826) The Works of Ben Jonson in Nine Volumes: with Notes Critical and Explanatory, and a Biographical Memoir. 9 vols (London: G. and W. Nicol, 1816). Edited by William Gifford.

Oliver Goldsmith (1728 c.-1774) The Deserted Village, a Poem. (London: W. Griffin, 1770).

Oliver Goldsmith (1728 c.-1774) The Traveller, or a Prospect of Society. A Poem.. 2 vols (London: J. Newbery, 1764). Published anonymously.

William Hayley (1745-1820) The Life and Posthumous Writings of William Cowper, Esqr.. 3 vols (Chichester: J. Johnson, 1803-1804).

Felicia Dorothea Hemans [née Browne] (1793-1835) Records of Woman, with other Poems. (Edinburgh: W. Blackwood, 1828).

John Cam Hobhouse, baron Broughton (1786-1869) A Journey through Albania, and other Provinces of Turkey in Europe and Asia, to Constantinople, during the Years 1809 and 1810. (London: J. Cawthorn, 1813). Recounting the journey to Greece with Lord Byron.

John Cam Hobhouse, baron Broughton (1786-1869) The Substance of some Letters, written by an Englishman resident at Paris during the last Reign of the Emperor Napoleon. 2 vols (London: Ridgways, 1816). The letters were addressed to Lord Byron; there were three editions.

James Hogg [The Ettrick Shepherd] (1770-1835) The Pilgrims of the Sun; a Poem. (Edinburgh: Blackwood, 1815).

James Hogg [The Ettrick Shepherd] (1770-1835) The Poetic Mirror: or, The living Bards of Britain. (London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1816). A collection of clever parodies of the leading authors of the day.

James Hogg [The Ettrick Shepherd] (1770-1835) The Queen's Wake: a Legendary Poem. (Edinburgh: George Goldie, 1813). A collection of poems and ballads presented by fictional Scottish bards to Mary Queen of Scots at Holyrood.

James Henry Leigh Hunt (1784-1859) The Story of Rimini, a Poem. (London: Murray, 1816). Hunt's Italian tale of illicit love, despite or because of the storm of criticism it aroused, was several times reprinted in Britain and the United States.

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) The Alchemist. (London: 1612). A comedy first performed in 1610.

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) “The Vision of Delight” in The Workes of Benjamin Jonson. The Second Volume. (London: 1641). A masque thought to have been first performed in 1617.

Ben Jonson (1572-1637) Volpone, or the Fox. (London: 1607). A comedy first performed 1605-06.

Vicesimus Knox (1752-1821) Elegant Extracts: or useful and entertaining Passages in Poetry, selected for the Improvement of Youth, in Speaking, Reading, Thinking, Composing, and the Conduct of Life. 2 vols (London: Charles Dilly, 1789). Frequently reprinted with additions.

Sir John Malcolm (1769-1833) The History of Persia, from the most early Period to the present Time: containing an Account of the Religion, Government, Usages, and Character of the Inhabitants of that Kingdom. 2 vols (London: J. Murray, 1815).

Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) An Inquiry into the Nature and Progress of Rent and the Principles by which it is regulated. (London: J. Murray, 1815).

Thomas Robert Malthus (1766-1834) Observations on the Effects of the Corn Laws and of a Rise or Fall in the Price of Corn on the Agriculture and general Wealth of the Country. (London: J. Murray, 1815).

Sir Walter Scott, baronet (1771-1832) “Gertrude of Wyoming” in Quarterly Review. Vol. 1 No. 2 (May 1809): 241-58. A review of Thomas Campbell's poem.

Sir Walter Scott, baronet (1771-1832) Guy Mannering, or, the Astrologer. 3 vols (Edinburgh: Ballantyne, 1815). The second of Scott's historical novels, published only a few months after Waverley.

Sir Walter Scott, baronet (1771-1832) Tales of a Grandfather; being Stories taken from Scottish History. 3 vols (Edinburgh: Cadell and Co., 1828-1831). Written for juvenile readers; a fourth series was published in 1831.

Robert Southey (1774-1843) Roderick: the Last of the Goths. (London: Murray, 1814). A narrative poem in blank verse; Roderick was the last of the Gothic kings of Spain.

John Wilson [Christopher North] (1785-1854) The City of the Plague, and other Poems. (Edinburgh: A. Constable and Co., 1817). A second edition was published in 1817.

INFORMATION FROM TEI HEADER

Source Description:

Author: Smiles, Samuel, 1812-1904

Title: Memoir of John Murray 2 Vols (London: John Murray, 1891).

Electronic Edition:

Series: Lord Byron and his Times: http://lordbyron.org

Encoding Description: Any dashes occurring in line breaks have been removed. Obvious and unambiguous compositors’ errors have been silently corrected.

Markup and editing by: David Hill Radcliffe

Completed April 2009

Publication Statement:

Publisher: Center for Applied Technologies in the Humanities, Virginia Tech

Availability: Published under Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 3.0 Unported License