From en.wikipedia.org:
[English critic, essayist and poet (1784–1859)] [the 19th-century English poet
and essayist]
[date=April 2020] [date=January 2013]
<!-- see Category:1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica articles with no significant
updates --> <!--Comment added by Stbalbach on 21 November 2005: It's pretty
bad. Would be great to see it re-written from scratch with a modern approach,
with an external link to the original EB1911 article. --> {{Infobox person |
name = Leigh Hunt | image = James Henry Leigh Hunt by Benjamin Robert
Haydon.jpg | alt = <!-- descriptive text for use by speech synthesis
(text-to-speech) software --> | caption = Leigh Hunt; portrait by Benjamin
Haydon | birth_name = James Henry Leigh Hunt | birth_date = [1784] |
birth_place = Southgate, London, England | death_date = [1859] | death_place =
Putney, London, England | burial_place = Kensal Green Cemetery | other_names =
| education = Christ's Hospital, Newgate Street, London | occupation = |
years_active = | known_for = | notable_works = | spouse = [Marianne Kent] |
children = 10, including Thornton Leigh Hunt | relatives = {{Plainlist|
- John Hunt (brother)
- Robert Hunt (brother)
- Elizabeth Kent (sister-in-law)
- Chandos Leigh Hunt Wallace (grand-niece)
}} }}
JAMES HENRY LEIGH HUNT (19 October 1784[snd]28 August 1859), best known as
LEIGH HUNT, was an English critic, essayist and poet.
Hunt co-founded _The Examiner_, a leading intellectual journal expounding
radical principles. He was the centre of the Hampstead-based group that
included William Hazlitt and Charles Lamb, known as the "Hunt circle". Hunt
also introduced John Keats, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Robert Browning and Alfred
Tennyson to the public.
He may be best remembered for being sentenced to prison for two years on
charges of libel against the Prince Regent (1813–1815).
Hunt's presence at Shelley's funeral on the beach near Viareggio was
immortalised in the painting by Louis Édouard Fournier. Hunt inspired aspects
of the Harold Skimpole character in Charles Dickens' novel _Bleak House_.[1]
** Early life
James Henry Leigh Hunt was born on 19 October 1784, at Southgate, London,
where his parents had settled after leaving the United States. His father,
Isaac, a lawyer from Philadelphia, and his mother, Mary Shewell, a merchant's
daughter and a devout Quaker, had been forced to come to Britain because of
their Loyalist sympathies during the American War of Independence.
Once in England, Isaac Hunt became a popular preacher but was unsuccessful in
obtaining a permanent living. He was then employed by James Brydges, 3rd Duke
of Chandos, as tutor to his nephew, James Henry Leigh<ref name=DNB00>{{cite
DNB |wstitle =Hunt, James Henry Leigh |first =Alexander |last = Ireland
|author-link=Alexander Ireland (journalist) |volume=60 }} for whom Isaac named
his son.
** Education
Leigh Hunt was educated at Christ's Hospital in London from 1791 to 1799, a
period that Hunt described in his autobiography. Thomas Barnes was a school
friend. One of the boarding houses at Christ's Hospital is named after Hunt.
As a boy, Hunt was an admirer of Thomas Gray and William Collins, writing many
verses in imitation of them. A speech impediment, later cured, prevented Hunt
from going to university. "For some time after I left school," he says, "I
did nothing but visit my school-fellows, haunt the book-stalls and write
verses."
Hunt's first poems were published in 1801 under the title of _Juvenilia_,
introducing him into British literary and theatrical society. He began to
write for the newspapers and published in 1807 a volume of theatre criticism,
and a series of _Classic Tales_ with critical essays on the authors.
Hunt's early essays were published by Edward Quin, editor and owner of _The
Traveller_.<ref name=dnb>[wstitle=Quin, Edward]
** Family
In 1809, Leigh Hunt married Marianne Kent, whose parents were Thomas and Ann.
Over the next 20 years, the couple had ten children: Thornton Leigh (1810–73),
John Horatio Leigh (1812–46), Mary Florimel Leigh (1813–49), Swinburne Percy
Leigh (1816–27), Percy Bysshe Shelley Leigh (1817–99), Henry Sylvan Leigh
(1819–76), Vincent Leigh (1823–52), Julia Trelawney Leigh (1826–72), Jacyntha
Leigh (1828–1914), and Arabella Leigh (1829–30).[2]
Marianne Hunt, in poor health for most of her life, died on 26 January 1857,
at the age of 69. Leigh Hunt made little mention of his family in his
autobiography. Marianne's sister, Elizabeth Kent (Hunt's sister-in-law),
became his amanuensis.[Hay]
** Newspapers
*** _The Examiner_
In 1808, Hunt left the War Office, where he had been working as a clerk, to
become editor of _The Examiner_, a newspaper founded by his brother, John
Hunt. His brother Robert Hunt contributed to its columns.
Robert Hunt's criticism earned the enmity of William Blake, who described the
office of _The Examiner_ as containing a "nest of villains".[3] Blake's
response also included Leigh Hunt, who had published several vitriolic reviews
in 1808 and 1809 and had added Blake's name to a list of so-called
"quacks".[4]
_The Examiner_ soon acquired a reputation for unusual political independence;
it would attack any worthy target "from a principle of taste", as John Keats
expressed it. In 1813 (or 1812), _The Examiner_ attacked Prince Regent
George, describing his physique as "corpulent"; the British government tried
the three Hunt brothers and sentenced them to two years in prison.[5] Leigh
Hunt served his term at the Surrey County Gaol.<ref name=Roe>Roe, Nicholas.
"'The Hunt Era': Jeffrey N. Cox, Poetry and Politics in the Cockney School:
Keats, Shelley, Hunt and their Circle and The Examiner, 1818–1822, introduced
by Yasuo Deguchi." Romanticism on the Net (see
http://www.erudit.org/revue/ron/1999/v/n14/005854ar.html) 14 (May 1999).
Accessed 19 December 2006.
Leigh Hunt's visitors at Surrey County Gaol included Lord Byron, Thomas
Moore,[6] Lord Henry Brougham, and Charles Lamb. The stoicism with which
Leigh Hunt bore his imprisonment attracted general attention and sympathy.
His imprisonment allowed him many luxuries and access to friends and family,
and Lamb described his decorations of the cell as something not found outside
a fairy tale. When Jeremy Bentham called on him, he found Hunt playing
battledore.<ref name=DNB00 />
From 1814 to 1817, Leigh Hunt and Hazlitt wrote a series of essays in _The
Examiner_ that they titled "The Round Table". These essays were published in
two volumes in 1817 in _The Round Table_. Twelve of the 52 essays were
written by Hunt, the rest by Hazlitt.[7]
*** _The Reflector_
From 1810 to 1812, Leigh Hunt edited a quarterly magazine, _The Reflector_,
for his brother John. He wrote _The Feast of the Poets_ for publication. His
work was a satire that offended many contemporary poets, particularly William
Gifford.
*** _The Indicator_
From 1819 to 1821, Hunt edited _The Indicator_, a weekly literary periodical
that was published by Joseph Appleyard. Hunt probably wrote much of the
content, which included reviews, essays, stories and poems.[8][9]
*** _The Companion_
From January to July 1828, Hunt edited _The Companion_, a weekly literary
periodical that was published by Hunt and Clarke. The journal dealt with
books, theatrical productions and miscellaneous topics.[10]
** Poetry
In 1816, Hunt published the poem _Story of Rimini_. The work was based on the
tragic episode of Francesca da Rimini, as told in Dante's _Inferno_.[11]
Hunt's preference was decidedly for Geoffrey Chaucer's verse style, as adapted
to Modern English by John Dryden. That was in contrast to the epigrammatic
couplet of Alexander Pope. The _Story of Rimini_ is an optimistic narrative
that runs contrary to the tragic nature of its subject. Hunt's flippancy and
familiarity, often degenerating into the ludicrous, subsequently made him a
target for ridicule and parody.
In 1818, Hunt published a collection of poems entitled _Foliage_, followed in
1819 by _Hero and Leander_, and _Bacchus and Ariadne_. In the same year, he
reprinted _The Story of Rimini_ and _The Descent of Liberty_ with the title of
_Poetical Works_. Hunt also started the _Indicator_.
Both Keats and Percy Bysshe Shelley belonged to a literary group that gathered
around Hunt at Hampstead. The Hunt Circle also included Hazlitt, Lamb, Bryan
Procter, Benjamin Haydon, Charles Cowden Clarke, C. W. Dilke, Walter Coulson
and John Hamilton Reynolds. The group was known pejoratively as the Cockney
School.<ref name=Roe/>
Some of Hunt's most popular poems are "Jenny kiss'd Me", "Abou Ben Adhem"
(1834) and "A Night-Rain in Summer".
** Friendship with Keats and Shelley
Hunt maintained close friendships with both Keats and Shelley. Financial help
from Shelley saved Hunt from ruin. In return, Hunt provided Shelley with
support during his family problems and defended him in _The Examiner_. Hunt
introduced Keats to Shelley and wrote a very generous appreciation of him in
_The Indicator_. Keats seemingly, however, later felt that Hunt's example as
a poet had been in some respects detrimental to him.
After Shelley's departure for Italy in 1818, Hunt experienced more financial
difficulties. In addition, both his health and that of his wife Marianne
failed. As a result, Hunt was forced to discontinue _The Indicator_
(1819–1821) and stated that he had "almost died over the last numbers".
** Trip to Italy
Shelley suggested that Hunt could join him and Byron in Italy to establish a
quarterly magazine. The advantage was that they would be able to publish
liberal opinions without repression from the British government. Byron's
motive for this proposal was allegedly to acquire more influence over _The
Examiner_ with Hunt out of England. However, Byron soon discovered that Hunt
was no longer interested in _The Examiner_.
Hunt left England for Italy in November 1821, but storm, sickness, and
misadventure delayed his arrival until 1 July 1822. Thomas Love Peacock
compared their voyage to that of the character Ulysses in Homer's _Odyssey_.
One week after Hunt arrived in Italy, Shelley died. Hunt was now virtually
dependent upon Byron, who was not interested in supporting him and his family.
Byron's friends also scorned Hunt. The _Liberal_ lived through four quarterly
numbers, containing contributions no less memorable than Byron's "Vision of
Judgment" and Shelley's translations from _Faust_.
In 1823, Byron left Italy for Greece, abandoning the quarterly. Hunt,
remaining in Genoa, enjoyed the Italian climate and culture and stayed in
Italy until 1825. Meanwhile, he created _Ultra-Crepidarius: a Satire on
William Gifford_ (1823), and his translation (1825) of Francesco Redi's _Bacco
in Toscana_.
** Return to England
In 1825, a lawsuit with one of his brothers made Hunt return to England. In
1828, Hunt published _Lord Byron and some of his Contemporaries_. The work
was designed to counter what Hunt perceived as an inaccurate public image of
Byron. The public was shocked that Hunt, who had been obliged to Byron for so
much, would "bite the hand that fed him". Hunt especially writhed under the
withering satire of Moore.
During his later years, Hunt continued to suffer from poverty and sickness.
He worked unremittingly, but one effort failed after another. Two
journalistic ventures, the _Tatler_ (1830–1832), a daily devoted to literary
and dramatic criticism, and _London Journal_ (1834–1835) failed even though
the latter contained some of his best writing. Hunt's editorship (1837–1838)
of the _Monthly Repository_ was also unsuccessful.
In 1832, Hunt published by subscription a collected edition of his poems. The
subscribers included many of his opponents. Also in 1832, Hunt printed for
private circulation _Christianism_, the work afterward published (1853) as
_The Religion of the Heart_. A copy sent to Thomas Carlyle secured his
friendship, and Hunt went to live next door to him in Cheyne Row in 1833.
Hunt's romance, _Sir Ralph Esher_, about Charles II was successful. _Captain
Sword and Captain Pen_, published in 1835, a spirited contrast between the
victories of peace and the victories of war, deserves to be ranked among his
best poems.[12]
In 1840, Hunt's play _Legend of Florence_ had a successful engagement at
Covent Garden, which helped him financially. _Lover's Amazements_, a comedy,
was acted several years afterwards and was printed in _Journal_ (1850–1851);
other plays remained in manuscript.
Also in 1840, Hunt wrote introductory notices to the work of Richard Brinsley
Sheridan and to Edward Moxon's edition of the works of William Wycherley,
William Congreve, John Vanbrugh and George Farquhar, a work that furnished the
occasion of Macaulay's essay on the Dramatists of the Restoration. A
narrative poem, _The Palfrey_, was published in 1842.
During the 1830s, Hunt also wrote for the _Edinburgh Review_
** Final years
In 1844 Mary Shelley and her son, on succeeding to the family estates, settled
an annuity of £120 upon Hunt (Rossetti 1890). In 1847 Lord John Russell set
up a pension of £200 for Hunt.
With his finances in better shape, Hunt published the companion books
_Imagination and Fancy_ (1844) and _Wit and Humour_ (1846). These were two
volumes of selections from English poets, which displayed his refined,
discriminating critical tastes. Hunt also published a book on the pastoral
poetry of Sicily, _A Jar of Honey from Mount Hybla_ (1848). _The Town_ (2
vols., 1848) and _Men, Women and Books_ (2 vols., 1847) are partly made up
from former material. _The Old Court Suburb_ (2 vols., 1855; ed. A Dobson,
2002) is a sketch of Kensington, where Hunt long resided.
In 1850 Hunt published his _Autobiography_ (3 vols.). It has been described
as a naive and affected, but accurate, piece of self-portraiture. Hunt
published _A Book for a Corner_ (2 vols.) in 1849 and _Table Talk_ appeared in
1851. In 1855, he published his narrative poems, both original and
translated, under the title _Stories in Verse_.
Hunt died in Putney in London on 28 August 1859. He was buried at Kensal
Green Cemetery. In September 1966, Christ's Hospital named one of its houses
in the memory of Hunt. Today, a residential street in his birthplace of
Southgate is named Leigh Hunt Drive in his honour.
** Depiction by Charles Dickens
In a letter of 25 September 1853, Charles Dickens stated that Hunt had
inspired the character of Harold Skimpole in _Bleak House_; "I suppose he is
the most exact portrait that was ever painted in words! ... It is an absolute
reproduction of a real man". A contemporary critic commented, "I recognized
Skimpole instantaneously; ... and so did every person whom I talked with
about it who had ever had Leigh Hunt's acquaintance."[13] G. K. Chesterton
suggested that Dickens ”may never once have had the unfriendly thought,
'Suppose Hunt behaved like a rascal!'; he may have only had the fanciful
thought, 'Suppose a rascal behaved like Hunt!'" (Chesterton 1906).
** Other works
- _Amyntas, A Tale of the Woods_ (1820), a translation of Tasso's _Aminta_
- _The Seer, or Common-Places refreshed_ (2 pts., 1840–1841)
- Three of the _Canterbury Tales_ in _The Poems of Geoffrey Chaucer_ modernized (1841)
- _Stories from the Italian Poets_ (1846)
- Compilations such as _One Hundred Romances of Real Life_ (1843)
- Selections from Beaumont and Fletcher (1855)
- _The Book of the Sonnet_ (Boston, 1867), with S Adams Lee.
His _Poetical Works_ (2 vols.), revised by himself and edited by Lee, were
printed at Boston in 1857, and an edition (London and New York) by his son,
Thornton Hunt, appeared in 1860. Among volumes of selections are _Essays_
(1887), ed. A. Symons; _Leigh Hunt as Poet and Essayist_ (1889), ed. C.
Kent; _Essays and Poems_ (1891), ed. R. B. Johnson for the "Temple
Library".
Elizabeth Kent also incorporated many of his suggestions into her anonymously
published [ title=Flora Domestica, Or, The Portable Flower-garden: with
Directions for the Treatment of Plants in Pots and Illustrations From the
Works of the Poets][14]
Hunt's _Autobiography_ was revised shortly before his death, and edited (1859)
by Thornton Hunt, who also arranged his _Correspondence_ (2 vols., 1862).
Additional letters were printed by the Cowden Clarkes in their _Recollections
of Writers_ (1878). The _Autobiography_ was edited (2 vols., 1903) with full
bibliographical note by Roger Ingpen.
A bibliography of Hunt's works was compiled by Alexander Ireland (_List of the
Writings of William Hazlitt and Leigh Hunt_, 1868). There are short lives of
Hunt by Cosmo Monkhouse ("Great Writers," 1893) and by RB Johnson (1896).
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography Volume 28 (2004).
** Notes
[30em]
** References
[30em]
- [wstitle=Hunt, James Henry Leigh]
- Blainey, Ann, _Immortal Boy: A Portrait of Leigh Hunt_ . Croom Helm, 1985
- Blunden, Edmund , _Leigh Hunt. A Biography_ . Cobden-Sanderson, 1930
- Blunden, Edmund, _Leigh Hunt's Examiner Examined_ . Cobden-Sanderson, 1928
- Cox, Jeffrey N., _Poetry and Politics in the Cockney School: Keats, Shelley, Hunt and their Circle_ . Cambridge University Press, 1999 [978-0-521-63100-6]
- Eberle-Sinatra, Michael, _Leigh Hunt and the London Literary Scene: A Reception History of His Major Works, 1805–1828_ . Routledge, 2005
- Holden, Anthony, _The Wit in the Dungeon: The Life of Leigh Hunt_ . Little, Brown, 2005 [978-0-316-85927-1]
- Kent, Charles (ed.), _Leigh Hunt as Poet and Essayist_ . London: Frederick Warne, 1889.
- Lulofs, Timothy J. and Hans Ostrom , _Leigh Hunt: A Reference Guide_ . Boston: G.K. Hall, 1985 [978-0-415-31676-7]
- Olsen, Flemming, _Leigh Hunt and What is Poetry? Romanticism and the Purpose of Poetry_ . Liverpool University Press, 2010 [978-1-84519-443-7]
- Roe, Nicholas, _Fiery Heart: The First Life of Leigh Hunt_ . Pimlico, 2005 [978-0-7126-0224-2]
- The Autobiography of Leigh Hunt (3rd Edition) – With an introduction by Edmund Blunden. Oxford University Press "The World's Classics" Series 1928
- [last1=Hay]
[refend]
** External links
[wikiquote] [works=or] [Commons category]
- Archival material at [qualifier]
- [id=Hunt,+Leigh ]
- [sname=Leigh Hunt]
- [id=1604]
- Leigh Hunt Letters – The University of Iowa Libraries (see https://web.archive.org/web/20161024162533/http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/leighhunt/index.html)
- Essays by Leigh Hunt at Quotidiana.org (see http://essays.quotidiana.org/hunt/)
- Selection of poems by Leigh Hunt (see https://rpo.library.utoronto.ca/poets/hunt-leigh) at Representative Poetry Online
- The Trial of Leigh and John Hunt (see https://www.exclassics.com/newgate/ng561.htm)
- "Leigh Hunt and Anna Maria Dashwood: A Shelleyan Romance" (see https://web.archive.org/web/20181003222345/http://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/bai/gates.htm) by Eleanor M. Gates
- "An imprisoned wit" (see http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/incomingFeeds/article746556.ece) [date=January 2025] [bot=medic] article on the life and writings of Leigh Hunt in _The Times Literary Supplement_ by Kelly Grovier
- _Mrs. Shelley_ (see http://library.beau.org/gutenberg/etext04/8mshl10.txt) by Lucy M. Rossetti (1890). [url=https://archive.today/20130112125446/http://library.beau.org/gutenberg/etext04/8mshl10.txt ]
- Ann Blainey, _Immortal Boy: A Portrait of Leigh Hunt_ . New York: St.. Martins, 1985. (see http://www.iammelba.com/static/store.htm)
- Leigh Hunt (see http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person.php?sText=Leigh+Hunt&search=ss&OConly=true&firstRun=true&LinkID=mp02327) at the National Portrait Gallery
- Hunt's house in the Vale of Health, Hampstead (see https://web.archive.org/web/20160304022718/http://collage.cityoflondon.gov.uk/collage/app;jsessionid=199378E05B8B8C4B9C728922BC2FF156?service=external%2FItem&sp=ZLeigh+Hunt&sp=7312&sp=X)
- Hunt's house in Chelsea (see https://web.archive.org/web/20110927162827/http://collage.cityoflondon.gov.uk/collage/app?service=external%2FItem&sp=ZLeigh+Hunt&sp=6448&sp=X)
- [n80032721]
- Poems by James Henry Leigh Hunt (see http://www.eng-poetry.ru/english/Poet.php?PoetId=74)
- Leigh Hunt Letters (see https://digital.lib.uiowa.edu/islandora/object/ui%3Aleighhunt)
[Leigh Hunt] [Romanticism] [Authority control]
[DEFAULTSORT:Hunt, Leigh] Category:1784 births Category:1859 deaths
Category:18th-century English people Category:19th-century English journalists
Category:19th-century English dramatists and playwrights Category:19th-century
English memoirists Category:19th-century English poets Category:19th-century
English essayists Category:Writers from the London Borough of Barnet
Category:English male journalists Category:Burials at Kensal Green Cemetery
Category:Victorian poets Category:People educated at Christ's Hospital
Category:People from Southgate, London Category:English literary critics
Category:English autobiographers Category:English male essayists
Category:English male poets Category:English people of American descent
Category:People with speech disorders Category:English newspaper editors
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set in the early modern period