James Ralph
Encyclopedia
This article is about the eighteenth-century American/British writer. For the cricket player, see James Ralph (cricketer)
.
James Ralph (? – 24 January 1762) was an American
born English
political writer
, historian
, reviewer, and Grub Street
hack writer
known for his works of history and his position in Alexander Pope
's Dunciad B. His History of England in two volumes (1744-6) and The Case of the Authors by Profession of 1758 became the dominant narratives of their time.
places Ralph's birth in New Jersey
, and probably in Elizabethtown and the year as 1705 (Kenny 331), but Okie gives a fifteen year range for birth (1695 - 1710) and suggests that he was born near Philadelphia
(Okie 873). These two Colonial cities were separated by seventy miles of indifferent roads, so the distance is considerable. One reason for the different locations is that the first solid fact about Ralph is his marriage to Mary Ogden in 1724 in Elizabethtown and the birth of the couple's daughter, Mary Ralph, that year in Elizabethtown. That same year, however, Ralph is in Philadelphia, working as a clerk and a part of a literary society that included Benjamin Franklin
(Okie 873). In his Autobiography, Franklin recalled Ralph as a man of exquisite manners and declares, "I think I never knew a prettier talker" (quoted in Okie 874). Franklin's account provides the details for the next years of Ralph's life. In the same year as his daughter's birth, Ralph had a falling out with his in-laws, and he deserted his family to sail with Franklin to London
, although, later, Ralph did correspond with his daughter.
Franklin returned to America in 1726, but Ralph stayed, and he attempted to be a poet. In 1727
, Ralph read James Thomson's Winter and imitated it with The Tempest, or the Terrors of Death, and he followed that in 1728
with Night. 1728 was also the year of the publication of the Dunciad A, and Ralph joined in the attacks on Pope with Sawney. Relatively far from the scene of literary life and not particularly noticed by either political party, Sawney needs explanation. Laird Okie suggests that Sawney, an Heroic Poem Occasion'd by the Dunciad was written to defend professional authors and hack writers, rather than to attack Pope for political reasons (Okie 874). Whatever the reason, Pope noticed and responded in the Dunciad Variorum. In Book III, 165-166, Pope wrote:
The answer was a tour de force and encompasses not only Ralph's grandiosity, but also his imitation of Thomson's verse. Ralph thought that the attack soured his reception with booksellers and that they would no longer publish him simply because of Pope's insult, and because Pope's notes dismissed Ralph as a "low writer." His belief is understandable, but it is unlikely, given the responses that James Moore Smythe
, Edward Cooke
, and Leonard Welsted
got from their mentions in Dunciad.
guides to London, and it gives its reader humorous advice on going about the town (as John Gay
's Trivia had done in 1716) and directs them toward London's seamier 'attractions.' In it, he suggested a series of plays that should be done based on English folklore, such as Tom Thumb. Martin Battestin, Kenny, and Okie all agree that this work brought Ralph to the attention of Henry Fielding
, who used the hints for his own Tragedy of Tragedies (Tom Thumb) in 1730. The idea of the mock tragedy on folklore figures could date to Jonathan Swift
's A Tale of a Tub
, where Swift suggests such things as important philosophical works. Fielding and Ralph became friends, and Ralph wrote the prologue to Fielding's The Temple Beau. Ralph owned shares of Fielding's Little Theatre, Haymarket.
Also in 1730, Ralph wrote a ballad opera
called The Fashionable Lady. It was staged, and Kenny argues that it is the first American play to be produced in London. His claim requires John Crowne
being disqualified for English birth, and it has the additional problem of defining "American" solely as the territories that would declare independence in 1775 (Kenny 332). Any stipulation of "first" is vexatious, but his play had mild success. Ralph also contributed to The Prompter while involved in the Little Theatre. In 1733, Ralph was made the Surveyor of Houses for Cambridgeshire
but continued to live in London (Okie 874).
Fielding and Ralph collaborated extensively over the next few years, and Fielding would remain a friend of Ralph's until his death. While some, such as Battestin, have argued that Ralph's politics and Fielding's diverged, the publication evidence is difficult to interpret with certainty. In 1737, the Licensing Act put an end to the Little Theatre and to Fielding's dramatic career. Fielding was heavily involved in the anti-Walpole
opposition, and Ralph joined him. In the 1730s, Ralph wrote for the anti-Walpolean Weekly Register and Daily Courant.
After the Licensing Act, Ralph co-edited The Champion with Fielding, where he wrote, primarily, the essays on politics (Okie 874). He also wrote attacks on the Walpole administration for its handling of the War of Jenkins' Ear
and general corruption and graft. These charges were a commonplace of both the Tory and Patriot Whig coalitions, and Ralph was more associated with the latter. Robert Walpole was elevated out of the House of Commons in 1742 but continued to effectively control ministry politics from Lords
, and in 1743 Ralph edited The Critical History of the Administration of Sir Robert Walpole. The same year, Fielding's most severe satire of Walpole appeared in the form of Jonathan Wild
. The Champion ran with Ralph's input to 1744.
Account of the Conduct of the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough, attacking her and her deceased husband as self-serving politicians. In 1743, Ralph began his association with his future patron
, George Bubb Dodington
by editing Old England with William Guthrie
. The journal was sponsored by Dodington and the Earl of Chesterfield
. He became Dodington's personal secretary and, when Dodington joined the administration briefly, received a £200 pension in 1744.
In 1744–46, Ralph wrote one of his two most important works, A history of England during the reigns of King William, Queen Anne, and King George I, with an introductory review of the royal brothers Charles and James. The work ran to two volumes and never got beyond William's reign. However, the work was a direct counter to the histories of John Oldmixon
and other whig historians. Okie characterizes Ralph's historical point of view as "country party." While that would usually equate to "tory" in the 1740s, Ralph wrote from the point of view of someone outside of London, someone without an interest in affairs of court. His history is superior to Rapin's London-bound history and addressed economic history
for the first time in English historiography (Okie 875). Ralph points out the corruption and absurdity of all the courtiers and Parliamentarians who had acted out of self-interest. Also in 1744, Ralph wrote The Use and Abuse of Parliaments in two volumes. These two vast works of history were remarkable feats of prolixity. This work was another somewhat cynical view of the history of Parliament in the 17th century.
Both Dodington and Ralph moved into opposition again, and in 1747 he began the pro-Frederick, Prince of Wales
The Remembrancer. He also acted as an intermediary for Frederick with Dodington in getting the latter out of the administration. The Prince of Wales's country party came to an effective end with the Prince's death in 1751, and Ralph began to work with the Duke of Bedford
in opposition again. With William Beckford
and the Duke of Bedford, Ralph began The Protestor in 1751. Of his political writing and party service, Kenny says that, although he wrote for pay, he was reliable, and "once bought, he stayed bought" (Kenny 332).
was instrumental in Ralph's obtaining a pension of £300 to renounce political writing for life (Kenny 332). Okie suggests, instead, that Ralph was "pensioned into silence" by the Pelham
administration in 1753 (Okie 875). Whether Garrick and his tory-leaning friends were instrumental or not, Ralph had to agree to disavow political writing to receive the pension.
In 1756, he began as a reviewer for The Monthly Review
, where he would review historical and political writing. He did, however, stay clear of reflections on contemporary matters. His expressions of political feeling were restrained to his letters, and Kenny points out that he was very free in his letters to the Duke of Newcastle
, where he even argued that the Stamp tax be expanded to the American colonies in 1756 (Kenny 331).
Ralph's second important work came in 1758
, with The Case of the Authors by Profession or Trade Stated. Because of his long history of political writing, he published this work anonymously. In this work, he argues that the old system of patronage
was ending and that writers were now completely at the mercy of booksellers and theater directors. They would write empty works without merit because they had no other choice. They would write party pieces because they could not survive otherwise. The marketplace was a poor master, he argued, as it was mercurial and mercenary. This portrait of the conditions of print culture would be influential, although it sold poorly in its day, and it would show up in histories by Oliver Goldsmith
, Isaac Disraeli, and Thomas Babington Macaulay (Okie 874). At the same time, the complaint that Ralph lodges is a later mirroring of what Pope had decried in Dunciad—the satire that had ended his poetic career.
When George III
acceded, Ralph began negotiating with the Bute
administration, and he received a new pension. He died in January of 1762 while he was preparing to edit a pro-Bute newspaper (Okie 874).
James Ralph (cricketer)
James Trevor Ralph is an English cricketer who played one first-class match for Worcestershire and later played minor counties cricket for Shropshire...
.
James Ralph (? – 24 January 1762) was an American
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
born English
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
political writer
Political history
Political history is the narrative and analysis of political events, ideas, movements, and leaders. It is distinct from, but related to, other fields of history such as Diplomatic history, social history, economic history, and military history, as well as constitutional history and public...
, historian
Historian
A historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
, reviewer, and Grub Street
Grub Street
Until the early 19th century, Grub Street was a street close to London's impoverished Moorfields district that ran from Fore Street east of St Giles-without-Cripplegate north to Chiswell Street...
hack writer
Hack writer
Hack writer is a colloquial and usually pejorative term used to refer to a writer who is paid to write low-quality, rushed articles or books "to order", often with a short deadline. In a fiction-writing context, the term is used to describe writers who are paid to churn out sensational,...
known for his works of history and his position in Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope
Alexander Pope was an 18th-century English poet, best known for his satirical verse and for his translation of Homer. He is the third-most frequently quoted writer in The Oxford Dictionary of Quotations, after Shakespeare and Tennyson...
's Dunciad B. His History of England in two volumes (1744-6) and The Case of the Authors by Profession of 1758 became the dominant narratives of their time.
Life in America
The Dictionary of American BiographyDictionary of American Biography
The Dictionary of American Biography was published in New York City by Charles Scribner's Sons under the auspices of the American Council of Learned Societies. The first edition was published in 20 volumes from 1928 to 1936. These 20 volumes contained 15,000 biographies...
places Ralph's birth in New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
, and probably in Elizabethtown and the year as 1705 (Kenny 331), but Okie gives a fifteen year range for birth (1695 - 1710) and suggests that he was born near Philadelphia
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Philadelphia is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania and the county seat of Philadelphia County, with which it is coterminous. The city is located in the Northeastern United States along the Delaware and Schuylkill rivers. It is the fifth-most-populous city in the United States,...
(Okie 873). These two Colonial cities were separated by seventy miles of indifferent roads, so the distance is considerable. One reason for the different locations is that the first solid fact about Ralph is his marriage to Mary Ogden in 1724 in Elizabethtown and the birth of the couple's daughter, Mary Ralph, that year in Elizabethtown. That same year, however, Ralph is in Philadelphia, working as a clerk and a part of a literary society that included Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
(Okie 873). In his Autobiography, Franklin recalled Ralph as a man of exquisite manners and declares, "I think I never knew a prettier talker" (quoted in Okie 874). Franklin's account provides the details for the next years of Ralph's life. In the same year as his daughter's birth, Ralph had a falling out with his in-laws, and he deserted his family to sail with Franklin to London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, although, later, Ralph did correspond with his daughter.
Arrival in London and poetry
When the men arrived in London, they both sought to become writers. Franklin's Poor Richard's Almanack was a success, but Ralph was unsuccessful in trying to find work as a copyist, editor, or actor (Okie 874). Franklin loaned Ralph money for living expenses, and Ralph eventually found work as a village school master in Berkshire, under Franklin's name. Ralph had taken a milliner for a mistress in London, and when he left for Berkshire he asked Franklin to take care of his mistress. Franklin attempted to do so by making advances to her. She rejected him, and Ralph quarreled with Franklin and used the argument to renege on the loans Franklin had made him (Autobiography of Franklin, Okie 874). Franklin dedicated his Dissertation Upon Liberty and Necessity, Pleasure and Pain, to Ralph because he felt responsible for weakening Ralph's religious convictions (Kenny 331).Franklin returned to America in 1726, but Ralph stayed, and he attempted to be a poet. In 1727
1727 in literature
The year 1727 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Richard Savage is arrested for the murder of James Sinclair in a drunken quarrel...
, Ralph read James Thomson's Winter and imitated it with The Tempest, or the Terrors of Death, and he followed that in 1728
1728 in literature
The year 1728 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The Universal Spectator and Weekly Journal is founded by Daniel Defoe and Henry Baker*Jonathan Swift and Thomas Sheridan launch The Intelligencer ....
with Night. 1728 was also the year of the publication of the Dunciad A, and Ralph joined in the attacks on Pope with Sawney. Relatively far from the scene of literary life and not particularly noticed by either political party, Sawney needs explanation. Laird Okie suggests that Sawney, an Heroic Poem Occasion'd by the Dunciad was written to defend professional authors and hack writers, rather than to attack Pope for political reasons (Okie 874). Whatever the reason, Pope noticed and responded in the Dunciad Variorum. In Book III, 165-166, Pope wrote:
-
- "Silence, ye Wolves! while Ralph to Cynthia howls
- And makes Night hideous — Answer him, ye Owls!"
The answer was a tour de force and encompasses not only Ralph's grandiosity, but also his imitation of Thomson's verse. Ralph thought that the attack soured his reception with booksellers and that they would no longer publish him simply because of Pope's insult, and because Pope's notes dismissed Ralph as a "low writer." His belief is understandable, but it is unlikely, given the responses that James Moore Smythe
James Moore Smythe
James Moore Smythe was an English playwright, fop,and wastrel. He was appointed by the King to the Office of, Co-Paymaster of the Honourable Corps of Gentlemen at Arms. He was born James Moore.He was the son of Arthur Moore M.P. , for Great Grimsby, and his 2nd wife Theophila Smythe, dau...
, Edward Cooke
Edward Cooke
Edward Tiffin Cook, Jr. was an American athlete who competed in the men's pole vault. He competed at the 1908 Summer Olympics and tied for gold with fellow American vaulter Alfred Gilbert....
, and Leonard Welsted
Leonard Welsted
Leonard Welsted was an English poet and "dunce" in Alexander Pope's writings . Welsted was an accomplished writer who composed in a relaxed, light hearted vein...
got from their mentions in Dunciad.
Association with Henry Fielding
In 1728, Ralph published The Touchstone. It was a burlesque of the toutTout
In British English, a tout is any person who solicits business or employment in a persistent and annoying manner...
guides to London, and it gives its reader humorous advice on going about the town (as John Gay
John Gay
John Gay was an English poet and dramatist and member of the Scriblerus Club. He is best remembered for The Beggar's Opera , set to music by Johann Christoph Pepusch...
's Trivia had done in 1716) and directs them toward London's seamier 'attractions.' In it, he suggested a series of plays that should be done based on English folklore, such as Tom Thumb. Martin Battestin, Kenny, and Okie all agree that this work brought Ralph to the attention of Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding
Henry Fielding was an English novelist and dramatist known for his rich earthy humour and satirical prowess, and as the author of the novel Tom Jones....
, who used the hints for his own Tragedy of Tragedies (Tom Thumb) in 1730. The idea of the mock tragedy on folklore figures could date to Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift
Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer , poet and cleric who became Dean of St...
's A Tale of a Tub
A Tale of a Tub
A Tale of a Tub was the first major work written by Jonathan Swift, composed between 1694 and 1697 and published in 1704. It is arguably his most difficult satire, and perhaps his most masterly...
, where Swift suggests such things as important philosophical works. Fielding and Ralph became friends, and Ralph wrote the prologue to Fielding's The Temple Beau. Ralph owned shares of Fielding's Little Theatre, Haymarket.
Also in 1730, Ralph wrote a ballad opera
Ballad opera
The term ballad opera is used to refer to a genre of English stage entertainment originating in the 18th century and continuing to develop in the following century and later. There are many types of ballad opera...
called The Fashionable Lady. It was staged, and Kenny argues that it is the first American play to be produced in London. His claim requires John Crowne
John Crowne
John Crowne was a British dramatist and a native of Nova Scotia.His father "Colonel" William Crowne, accompanied the earl of Arundel on a diplomatic mission to Vienna in 1637, and wrote an account of his journey...
being disqualified for English birth, and it has the additional problem of defining "American" solely as the territories that would declare independence in 1775 (Kenny 332). Any stipulation of "first" is vexatious, but his play had mild success. Ralph also contributed to The Prompter while involved in the Little Theatre. In 1733, Ralph was made the Surveyor of Houses for Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
but continued to live in London (Okie 874).
Fielding and Ralph collaborated extensively over the next few years, and Fielding would remain a friend of Ralph's until his death. While some, such as Battestin, have argued that Ralph's politics and Fielding's diverged, the publication evidence is difficult to interpret with certainty. In 1737, the Licensing Act put an end to the Little Theatre and to Fielding's dramatic career. Fielding was heavily involved in the anti-Walpole
Robert Walpole
Robert Walpole, 1st Earl of Orford, KG, KB, PC , known before 1742 as Sir Robert Walpole, was a British statesman who is generally regarded as having been the first Prime Minister of Great Britain....
opposition, and Ralph joined him. In the 1730s, Ralph wrote for the anti-Walpolean Weekly Register and Daily Courant.
After the Licensing Act, Ralph co-edited The Champion with Fielding, where he wrote, primarily, the essays on politics (Okie 874). He also wrote attacks on the Walpole administration for its handling of the War of Jenkins' Ear
War of Jenkins' Ear
The War of Jenkins' Ear was a conflict between Great Britain and Spain that lasted from 1739 to 1748, with major operations largely ended by 1742. Its unusual name, coined by Thomas Carlyle in 1858, relates to Robert Jenkins, captain of a British merchant ship, who exhibited his severed ear in...
and general corruption and graft. These charges were a commonplace of both the Tory and Patriot Whig coalitions, and Ralph was more associated with the latter. Robert Walpole was elevated out of the House of Commons in 1742 but continued to effectively control ministry politics from Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, and in 1743 Ralph edited The Critical History of the Administration of Sir Robert Walpole. The same year, Fielding's most severe satire of Walpole appeared in the form of Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild
Jonathan Wild was perhaps the most infamous criminal of London — and possibly Great Britain — during the 18th century, both because of his own actions and the uses novelists, playwrights, and political satirists made of them...
. The Champion ran with Ralph's input to 1744.
Association with Dodington and party politics
In 1742, Ralph wrote a counter to Sarah Churchill'sSarah Churchill, Duchess of Marlborough
Sarah Churchill , Duchess of Marlborough rose to be one of the most influential women in British history as a result of her close friendship with Queen Anne of Great Britain.Sarah's friendship and influence with Princess Anne was widely known, and leading public figures...
Account of the Conduct of the Dowager Duchess of Marlborough, attacking her and her deceased husband as self-serving politicians. In 1743, Ralph began his association with his future patron
Patrón
Patrón is a luxury brand of tequila produced in Mexico and sold in hand-blown, individually numbered bottles.Made entirely from Blue Agave "piñas" , Patrón comes in five varieties: Silver, Añejo, Reposado, Gran Patrón Platinum and Gran Patrón Burdeos. Patrón also sells a tequila-coffee blend known...
, George Bubb Dodington
George Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe
George Bubb Dodington, 1st Baron Melcombe PC was an English politician and nobleman.Christened simply George Bubb, he acquired the surname Dodington around the time his uncle George Dodington died in 1720 and left him his estate...
by editing Old England with William Guthrie
William Guthrie (historian)
William Guthrie was a Scottish writer and journalist, now remembered as a historian.-Life:The son of an Episcopalian clergyman, he was born at Brechin, Forfarshire, in 1708...
. The journal was sponsored by Dodington and the Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield
Philip Dormer Stanhope, 4th Earl of Chesterfield PC KG was a British statesman and man of letters.A Whig, Lord Stanhope, as he was known until his father's death in 1726, was born in London. After being educated at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, he went on the Grand Tour of the continent...
. He became Dodington's personal secretary and, when Dodington joined the administration briefly, received a £200 pension in 1744.
In 1744–46, Ralph wrote one of his two most important works, A history of England during the reigns of King William, Queen Anne, and King George I, with an introductory review of the royal brothers Charles and James. The work ran to two volumes and never got beyond William's reign. However, the work was a direct counter to the histories of John Oldmixon
John Oldmixon
John Oldmixon was an English historian.He was a son of John Oldmixon of Oldmixon, Weston-super-Mare in Somerset. His first writings were poetry and dramas, among them being Amores Britannici; Epistles historical and gallant ; and a tragedy, The Governor of Cyprus...
and other whig historians. Okie characterizes Ralph's historical point of view as "country party." While that would usually equate to "tory" in the 1740s, Ralph wrote from the point of view of someone outside of London, someone without an interest in affairs of court. His history is superior to Rapin's London-bound history and addressed economic history
Economic history
Economic history is the study of economies or economic phenomena in the past. Analysis in economic history is undertaken using a combination of historical methods, statistical methods and by applying economic theory to historical situations and institutions...
for the first time in English historiography (Okie 875). Ralph points out the corruption and absurdity of all the courtiers and Parliamentarians who had acted out of self-interest. Also in 1744, Ralph wrote The Use and Abuse of Parliaments in two volumes. These two vast works of history were remarkable feats of prolixity. This work was another somewhat cynical view of the history of Parliament in the 17th century.
Both Dodington and Ralph moved into opposition again, and in 1747 he began the pro-Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales
Frederick, Prince of Wales was a member of the House of Hanover and therefore of the Hanoverian and later British Royal Family, the eldest son of George II and father of George III, as well as the great-grandfather of Queen Victoria...
The Remembrancer. He also acted as an intermediary for Frederick with Dodington in getting the latter out of the administration. The Prince of Wales's country party came to an effective end with the Prince's death in 1751, and Ralph began to work with the Duke of Bedford
John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford
John Russell, 4th Duke of Bedford KG, PC, FRS was an 18th century British statesman. He was the fourth son of Wriothesley Russell, 2nd Duke of Bedford, by his wife, Elizabeth, daughter and heiress of John Howland of Streatham, Surrey...
in opposition again. With William Beckford
William Beckford
William Beckford may refer to:* William Beckford , English businessman, often called "Alderman Beckford", father of William Thomas* William Beckford of Somerley , Jamaican slave-owner and writer...
and the Duke of Bedford, Ralph began The Protestor in 1751. Of his political writing and party service, Kenny says that, although he wrote for pay, he was reliable, and "once bought, he stayed bought" (Kenny 332).
After politics
According to Kenny, David GarrickDavid Garrick
David Garrick was an English actor, playwright, theatre manager and producer who influenced nearly all aspects of theatrical practice throughout the 18th century and was a pupil and friend of Dr Samuel Johnson...
was instrumental in Ralph's obtaining a pension of £300 to renounce political writing for life (Kenny 332). Okie suggests, instead, that Ralph was "pensioned into silence" by the Pelham
Henry Pelham
Henry Pelham was a British Whig statesman, who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain from 27 August 1743 until his death in 1754...
administration in 1753 (Okie 875). Whether Garrick and his tory-leaning friends were instrumental or not, Ralph had to agree to disavow political writing to receive the pension.
In 1756, he began as a reviewer for The Monthly Review
Monthly Review (London)
The Monthly Review was an English periodical founded by Ralph Griffiths, a Nonconformist bookseller. The first periodical in England to offer reviews, it featured the novelist and poet Oliver Goldsmith as an early contributor. William Kenrick, the "superlative scoundrel", was editor from 1759 to...
, where he would review historical and political writing. He did, however, stay clear of reflections on contemporary matters. His expressions of political feeling were restrained to his letters, and Kenny points out that he was very free in his letters to the Duke of Newcastle
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne
Thomas Pelham-Holles, 1st Duke of Newcastle-upon-Tyne and 1st Duke of Newcastle-under-Lyne, KG, PC was a British Whig statesman, whose official life extended throughout the Whig supremacy of the 18th century. He is commonly known as the Duke of Newcastle.A protégé of Sir Robert Walpole, he served...
, where he even argued that the Stamp tax be expanded to the American colonies in 1756 (Kenny 331).
Ralph's second important work came in 1758
1758 in literature
See also: 1757 in literature, other events of 1758, 1759 in literature, list of years in literature.-Events:* Voltaire buys estate at Ferney.* Annual Register founded by Edmund Burke and Robert Dodsley....
, with The Case of the Authors by Profession or Trade Stated. Because of his long history of political writing, he published this work anonymously. In this work, he argues that the old system of patronage
Patronage
Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...
was ending and that writers were now completely at the mercy of booksellers and theater directors. They would write empty works without merit because they had no other choice. They would write party pieces because they could not survive otherwise. The marketplace was a poor master, he argued, as it was mercurial and mercenary. This portrait of the conditions of print culture would be influential, although it sold poorly in its day, and it would show up in histories by Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith
Oliver Goldsmith was an Irish writer, poet and physician known for his novel The Vicar of Wakefield , his pastoral poem The Deserted Village , and his plays The Good-Natur'd Man and She Stoops to Conquer...
, Isaac Disraeli, and Thomas Babington Macaulay (Okie 874). At the same time, the complaint that Ralph lodges is a later mirroring of what Pope had decried in Dunciad—the satire that had ended his poetic career.
When George III
George III of the United Kingdom
George III was King of Great Britain and King of Ireland from 25 October 1760 until the union of these two countries on 1 January 1801, after which he was King of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland until his death...
acceded, Ralph began negotiating with the Bute
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute
John Stuart, 3rd Earl of Bute KG, PC , styled Lord Mount Stuart before 1723, was a Scottish nobleman who served as Prime Minister of Great Britain under George III, and was arguably the last important favourite in British politics...
administration, and he received a new pension. He died in January of 1762 while he was preparing to edit a pro-Bute newspaper (Okie 874).
Further reading
- Okie, Laird. Augustan historical writing. 1991.