James and Horace Smith
Encyclopedia
James Smith and Horace Smith (31 December 1779- 12 July 1849), authors of the Rejected Addresses, sons of a solicitor, were both born in London
.
The occasion of their happy jeu d'esprit was the rebuilding of Drury Lane
theatre in 1812, after a fire in which it had been burnt down. The managers had offered a prize of 50 for an address to be recited at the reopening in October. Six weeks before that date the happy thought occurred to the brothers Smith of feigning that the most popular poets of the time had been among the competitors and assuing a volume of unsuccessful addresses in parody
of their various styles. They divided the task between them, James taking William Wordsworth
, Robert Southey
, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
and George Crabbe
, while George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
, Thomas Moore
, Walter Scott
and Bowles
were assigned to Horace.
Seven editions were called for within three months. The Rejected Addresses are the most widely popular parodies ever published in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
, and take classical rank in literature. The brothers fairly divided the honors: the elder brother's Wordsworth is evenly balanced by the younger's Scott, and both had a hand in Byron. A striking feature is the absence of malice; none of the poets caricature
d took offence, while the imitation is so clever that both Byron and Scott are recorded to have said that they could hardly believe they had not written the addresses ascribed to them.
The only other undertaking of the two brothers was Horace in London (1813). James Smith made another hit in writing Country Cousins, A Trip to Paris, A Trip to America, and other lively skits for Charles Mathews
, who said he was "the only man who can write clever nonsense." His social reputation as a wit stood high. He was reputed one of the best of talkers in an age when the art was studied, and it was remarked that he held his own without falling into the great error of wits sarcasm. But in his old age the irreverent Fraser's put him in its gallery of living portraits as a gouty and elderly but painstaking joker. He died in London on the 24th of December 1839.
After making a fortune as a stockbroker, Horace Smith followed in the wake of Scott and wrote about a score of historical novels Brambletye House (1826), Tor Hill (1826), Reuben Apsley (1827), Zillah (1828), The New Forest (1829), Walter Colylon (1830), etc. His sketches of eccentric character are brilliant and amusing; but he was more of an essayist than a story-teller. Three volumes of Gaieties and Gravities, published by him in 1826, contain many witty essays both in prose and in verse, but the only single piece that has taken a permanent place is the Address to the Mummy in Belzoni's Exhibition.
In private life Horace Smith was not less popular than his brother, though less ambitious as a talker. It was of him that Percy Bysshe Shelley
said: "Is it not odd that the only truly generous person I ever knew who had money enough to be generous with should be a stockbroker? He writes poetry and pastoral dramas and yet knows how to make money, and does make it, and is still generous." Horace Smith died at Tunbridge Wells
on 12 July 1849.
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...
.
The occasion of their happy jeu d'esprit was the rebuilding of Drury Lane
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
theatre in 1812, after a fire in which it had been burnt down. The managers had offered a prize of 50 for an address to be recited at the reopening in October. Six weeks before that date the happy thought occurred to the brothers Smith of feigning that the most popular poets of the time had been among the competitors and assuing a volume of unsuccessful addresses in parody
Parody
A parody , in current usage, is an imitative work created to mock, comment on, or trivialise an original work, its subject, author, style, or some other target, by means of humorous, satiric or ironic imitation...
of their various styles. They divided the task between them, James taking William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, Robert Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
and George Crabbe
George Crabbe
George Crabbe was an English poet and naturalist.-Biography:He was born in Aldeburgh, Suffolk, the son of a tax collector, and developed his love of poetry as a child. In 1768, he was apprenticed to a local doctor, who taught him little, and in 1771 he changed masters and moved to Woodbridge...
, while George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron
George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron, later George Gordon Noel, 6th Baron Byron, FRS , commonly known simply as Lord Byron, was a British poet and a leading figure in the Romantic movement...
, Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
, Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
and Bowles
William Lisle Bowles
William Lisle Bowles was an English poet and critic.-Life and career:He was born at King's Sutton, Northamptonshire, where his father was vicar. At the age of fourteen he entered Winchester College, the headmaster at the time being Dr Joseph Warton...
were assigned to Horace.
Seven editions were called for within three months. The Rejected Addresses are the most widely popular parodies ever published in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
, and take classical rank in literature. The brothers fairly divided the honors: the elder brother's Wordsworth is evenly balanced by the younger's Scott, and both had a hand in Byron. A striking feature is the absence of malice; none of the poets caricature
Caricature
A caricature is a portrait that exaggerates or distorts the essence of a person or thing to create an easily identifiable visual likeness. In literature, a caricature is a description of a person using exaggeration of some characteristics and oversimplification of others.Caricatures can be...
d took offence, while the imitation is so clever that both Byron and Scott are recorded to have said that they could hardly believe they had not written the addresses ascribed to them.
The only other undertaking of the two brothers was Horace in London (1813). James Smith made another hit in writing Country Cousins, A Trip to Paris, A Trip to America, and other lively skits for Charles Mathews
Charles Mathews
Charles Mathews was an English theatre manager and comic actor, well-known during his time for his gift of impersonation and skill at table entertainment...
, who said he was "the only man who can write clever nonsense." His social reputation as a wit stood high. He was reputed one of the best of talkers in an age when the art was studied, and it was remarked that he held his own without falling into the great error of wits sarcasm. But in his old age the irreverent Fraser's put him in its gallery of living portraits as a gouty and elderly but painstaking joker. He died in London on the 24th of December 1839.
After making a fortune as a stockbroker, Horace Smith followed in the wake of Scott and wrote about a score of historical novels Brambletye House (1826), Tor Hill (1826), Reuben Apsley (1827), Zillah (1828), The New Forest (1829), Walter Colylon (1830), etc. His sketches of eccentric character are brilliant and amusing; but he was more of an essayist than a story-teller. Three volumes of Gaieties and Gravities, published by him in 1826, contain many witty essays both in prose and in verse, but the only single piece that has taken a permanent place is the Address to the Mummy in Belzoni's Exhibition.
In private life Horace Smith was not less popular than his brother, though less ambitious as a talker. It was of him that Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley
Percy Bysshe Shelley was one of the major English Romantic poets and is critically regarded as among the finest lyric poets in the English language. Shelley was famous for his association with John Keats and Lord Byron...
said: "Is it not odd that the only truly generous person I ever knew who had money enough to be generous with should be a stockbroker? He writes poetry and pastoral dramas and yet knows how to make money, and does make it, and is still generous." Horace Smith died at Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells
Royal Tunbridge Wells is a town in west Kent, England, about south-east of central London by road, by rail. The town is close to the border of the county of East Sussex...
on 12 July 1849.