The Autobiography of William Jerdan
Frederick Mansell Reynolds to William Jerdan, [1829 c.?]
“I have gone through so many misfortunes, that I
scarcely know how to commence the recapitulation of them.—In the first place,
Lockhart does not come on Saturday;
in the next place, Theodore Hook, nor
Lockhart, nor Luttrell can come on Wednesday, but Theodore
Hook, Luttrell,
Lockhart, Lord
Normanby, Coleridge,
H. Harris the Covent Garden
proprietor, and Tom Hill can come on Monday week.—Now, my dear Jerdan, my fate is in your hands, I stand before you like a
criminal at the bar, and await your decision—I shall call for it at half-past four, when I understand you will be here.
Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1772-1834)
English poet and philosopher who projected
Lyrical Ballads (1798)
with William Wordsworth; author of
Biographia Literaria (1817),
On the Constitution of the Church and State (1829) and other
works.
Henry Harris (1783 c.-1839)
The son of Thomas Harris, whom he succeeded as manager of Covent Garden Theater, 1809-22;
he was an acquaintance of Thomas Moore.
Thomas Hill (1760-1840)
English book-collector who entertained members of Leigh Hunt's circle at his cottage at
Sydenham in Kent. He was a proprietor of the
Monthly Mirror and
later a writer for the
Morning Chronicle. Charles Lamb described him
as “the wettest of dry salters.”
Theodore Edward Hook (1788-1841)
English novelist, wit, and friend of the Prince of Wales; he edited the
John Bull (1820) and appears as the Lucian Gay of Disraeli's
Conigsby and as Mr. Wagg in
Vanity Fair.
William Jerdan (1782-1869)
Scottish journalist who for decades edited the
Literary Gazette;
he was author of
Autobiography (1853) and
Men I
have Known (1866).
John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1854)
Editor of the
Quarterly Review (1825-1853); son-in-law of Walter
Scott and author of the
Life of Scott 5 vols (1838).
Henry Luttrell (1768-1851)
English wit, dandy, and friend of Thomas Moore and Samuel Rogers; he was the author of
Advice to Julia, a Letter in Rhyme (1820).
Constantine Henry Phipps, first marquess of Normanby (1797-1863)
The son of Henry Phipps, first earl of Mulgrave; educated at Harrow and Trinity College,
Cambridge, he was a Whig MP, governor of Jamaica (1832-34), lord privy seal (1834),
lord-lieutenant of Ireland (1835), and ambassador at Paris (1846-52).
Frederic Mansel Reynolds (1801-1850)
Son of the dramatist Frederick Reynolds; he edited
The Keepsake
and published a novel,
Miserrimus: a Tale (1833).
