Christopher Anstey
Encyclopedia
Christopher Anstey was an English writer and poet.
Anstey was the son of Dr. Anstey, a wealthy clergyman, the rector of Brinkley (Cambridgeshire)
where he was born. He was educated at Eton College
and King's College, Cambridge
, where he distinguished himself for his Latin verses. He became a fellow of his college (1745); but the degree of M.A. was withheld from him, owing to the offence caused by a speech made by him beginning: "" (Doctors without doctrine, artless Masters of Arts, and Bachelors more worthy of the rod than the laurel). In 1754 he succeeded to the family estates and left Cambridge; and two years later he married the daughter of Felix Calvert of Albury Hall, Herts. For some time Anstey published nothing of any note, though he cultivated letters as well as his estates. Some visits to Bath, however, where from 1770 until his death in 1805, he made No. 4 Royal Crescent
his permanent home, (albeit the plaque recording this is actually displayed outside No. 5) where in 1766 he penned his famous rhymed letters, The New Bath Guide or Memoirs of the Blunderhead Family..., a satirical poem of considerable sparkle, about the adventures of the "Blunderhead" family in Bath, from which Tobias Smollett
is said to have drawn largely in his The Expedition of Humphry Clinker. The work had immediate success, and was enthusiastically praised for its original kind of humour by Walpole and Gray. The Election Ball, in Poetical Letters from Mr Inkle at Bath to his Wife at Gloucester (1776) sustained the reputation won by the Guide. He made many other excursions into literature which are hardly remembered, and ended his days as a country squire at the age of eighty. His Poetical Works were collected in 1808 (2 vols.) by the author's son John Anstey
(d. 1819), himself author of The Pleader's Guide (1796), in the same vein with the New Bath Guide.
Anstey was buried at St. Swithin's Church in Bath but has a white marble memorial tablet in Poets' Corner (the South Transept) of Westminster Abbey
.
Anstey was the son of Dr. Anstey, a wealthy clergyman, the rector of Brinkley (Cambridgeshire)
Brinkley, Cambridgeshire
Brinkley is a small village in Cambridgeshire, England. It is situated about 15 miles east of Cambridge and 5 miles south of Newmarket, the horse racing centre. It features a pub, The Red Lion, but its Post Office closed down in the 1990s. Children go to school in the neighbouring village, Burrough...
where he was born. He was educated at Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
and King's College, Cambridge
King's College, Cambridge
King's College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge, England. The college's full name is "The King's College of our Lady and Saint Nicholas in Cambridge", but it is usually referred to simply as "King's" within the University....
, where he distinguished himself for his Latin verses. He became a fellow of his college (1745); but the degree of M.A. was withheld from him, owing to the offence caused by a speech made by him beginning: "" (Doctors without doctrine, artless Masters of Arts, and Bachelors more worthy of the rod than the laurel). In 1754 he succeeded to the family estates and left Cambridge; and two years later he married the daughter of Felix Calvert of Albury Hall, Herts. For some time Anstey published nothing of any note, though he cultivated letters as well as his estates. Some visits to Bath, however, where from 1770 until his death in 1805, he made No. 4 Royal Crescent
Royal Crescent
The Royal Crescent is a residential road of 30 houses laid out in a crescent in the city of Bath, England. Designed by the architect John Wood the Younger and built between 1767 and 1774, it is among the greatest examples of Georgian architecture to be found in the United Kingdom and is a grade I...
his permanent home, (albeit the plaque recording this is actually displayed outside No. 5) where in 1766 he penned his famous rhymed letters, The New Bath Guide or Memoirs of the Blunderhead Family..., a satirical poem of considerable sparkle, about the adventures of the "Blunderhead" family in Bath, from which Tobias Smollett
Tobias Smollett
Tobias George Smollett was a Scottish poet and author. He was best known for his picaresque novels, such as The Adventures of Roderick Random and The Adventures of Peregrine Pickle , which influenced later novelists such as Charles Dickens.-Life:Smollett was born at Dalquhurn, now part of Renton,...
is said to have drawn largely in his The Expedition of Humphry Clinker. The work had immediate success, and was enthusiastically praised for its original kind of humour by Walpole and Gray. The Election Ball, in Poetical Letters from Mr Inkle at Bath to his Wife at Gloucester (1776) sustained the reputation won by the Guide. He made many other excursions into literature which are hardly remembered, and ended his days as a country squire at the age of eighty. His Poetical Works were collected in 1808 (2 vols.) by the author's son John Anstey
John Anstey (poet)
John Anstey was an English poet and barrister. He was the second son of Christopher Anstey, and was a barrister of Lincoln's Inn and a commissioner for auditing public accounts...
(d. 1819), himself author of The Pleader's Guide (1796), in the same vein with the New Bath Guide.
Anstey was buried at St. Swithin's Church in Bath but has a white marble memorial tablet in Poets' Corner (the South Transept) of Westminster Abbey
Westminster Abbey
The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...
.