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Britain Unlimited covers 250 Great British people and what made them famous
Who was He? Poet Laureate, Historian, and Biographer.
Date and Place of Birth: 12th August 1774, Bristol , Avon, England.
Family Background: The son of a linen draper.
Education: Westminster School (Expelled for his radical ideas and denouncing flogging in the School magazine). Oxford University (Left without taking degree).
Chronology:
1794: Met Samuel Taylor Coleridge in Bristol and the two became great friends. They developed their own politico-religious views which they called Pantiscocracy and decided to set up a settlement in Pennsylvania, USA with their girlfriends the Fricker sisters. They eventually abandoned the plans and stayed in England.
1795: Published his first volume of poems. Visits Lisbon.
1796: Began writing ballads.
1798: Wrote "The Battle of Blenheim". His poetry did not make him much money and he had to rely on an allowance made to him by a friend.
1800: Makes another visit to Lisbon.
1807: Gets an allowance from the Government.
1809: Joined the staff of the literary magazine "The Quarterly Review".
1813: Appointed as the Poet Laureate. Heavily criticised by his former friends William Hazlitt and Lord Byron for betraying his radical ideas for money. Writes a biography of Lord Nelson.
1820: Writes a biography of Wesley.
1821: Commemorated the Death of King George the Third in a Poem "A Vision of Judgment" which was heavily satirised by Byron. He began to turn his attention to biographies and historical works.
1824: Writes "The Book of the Church."
1829: Writes "The Lives of the British Admirals."
1830: Writes a biography of John Bunyan.
1834: Published "The Doctor" which contained the now famous fairy tale "The Three Bears".
1835: The Prime Minister SIr Robert Peel increased his pension.
Written Works:
- 1794: “The Fall of Robesspierre” (With Coleridge)
- 1796: “Joan of Arc”.
- 1797: “Letters Written from Spain and Portugal”. “Poems”.
- 1801: “Thalaba the Destroyer”.
- 1803: “Amadis of Gaul”.
- 1808: “The Chronicle of Cid”.
- 1812: “The History of Brazil”. “The Curse of Kehama”. “Omniana” (With Coleridge).
- 1813: “The Life of Nelson”.
- 1814: “Odes to the Prince Regent, The Emperor of Russia and the King of Prussia”. “Roderick The Last of the Gauls”.
- 1816: “The Lay of the Laureate”. “A Poet's Pilgrimage to Waterloo”.
- 1817: “Wat Tyler”.
- 1820: “The Life of John Wesley”.
- 1821: “The Life of Cromwell”. “Carmen Triumphale”. “A Vision of Judgement”.
- 1823: “History of the Peninsular War”.
- 1825: “A Tale of Paraguay”.
- 1829: “Sir Thomas More”.
- 1834: “The Doctor”.
- (1845): “Oliver Newman and other Poetical Remains”.
- (1849): “Commonplace Book”.
Marriage: 13th November 1795 to Edith Fricker at St. Mary Redcliffe, Bristol . Edith was the sister of Sarah Fricker who became the wife of Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
Places of Interest:
CUMBRIA:
Dove Cottage and Museum, Grasmere, LA22 9SH. (Wordsworth Trust.)
Greta Hall, Keswick. (Now a Guesthouse run by Jeronime Palmer - see their website for details) Southey lived here with (amongst other people) Coleridge and his wife Sarah.
Wordsworth House, Cockermouth has a set of chairs said to belong to Southey.DEVON:
The Valley of the Rocks, Lynton, Devon. (Southey walked here many times inspired by Coleridge and was a great rock climber).
Watersmeet, near LynmouthLONDON:
National Portrait Gallery.
Date and Place of Death: 21st March 1843, Keswick, Cumbria, England.
Age at death: 68.
Site of Grave: St. Kentigern's Churchyard, Crosthwaite, Keswick, Cumbria. Grave monument restored in 1961 with a Grant form the Brazilian Government.
