18th/19th-century English writer
Sir Herbert Croft, 5th Baronet
(1 November 1751 ? 26 April 1816), English author best known for his novel
Love and Madness
.
Life
[
edit
]
Croft was born at Dunston Park,
Berkshire
, son of the son of Herbert Croft and Elizabeth Young. He matriculated at
University College, Oxford
, in March 1771, and was subsequently entered at
Lincoln's Inn
. He was called to the bar, but in 1782 returned to Oxford with a view to preparing for holy orders. In 1786 he received the vicarage of
Prittlewell
, Essex, but he remained at Oxford for some years accumulating materials for a proposed English dictionary.
[2]
Croft spent years on this project and he also took on preparation work made by
Joseph Priestley
. However, despite compiling thousands of entries not found in other dictionaries, the project was finally abandoned because of a failure to find sufficient subscribers.
[3]
He was twice married, and on the day after his second wedding day he was imprisoned at Exeter for debt.
[2]
He then retired to
Hamburg
, and two years later his library was sold. He had succeeded in 1797 to the
baronetcy
, but not to the estates, of a distant cousin,
Sir John Croft, 4th Baronet
. He returned to England in 1800, but went abroad once more in 1802. He lived near
Amiens
at a house owned by
Lady Mary Hamilton
, the daughter of
Alexander Leslie, 5th Earl of Leven
. Later he removed to Paris, where he died on 26 April 1816.
[2]
In some of his numerous literary enterprises he had the help of
Charles Nodier
. Croft wrote the
Life
of
Edward Young
inserted in
Samuel Johnson
's
Lives of the Poets
.
[2]
In 1780 he published
Love and Madness, a Story too true, in a series of letters between Parties whose names could perhaps be mentioned were they less known or less lamented
. This book, which passed through seven editions, narrates the passion of the soldier-turned-clergyman
James Hackman
for
Martha Ray
, mistress of the
earl of Sandwich
, who was shot by her lover as she was leaving Covent Garden in 1779 (see the
Case and Memoirs of the late Rev. Mr James Hackman
, 1779).
[2]
Love and Madness
has permanent interest because Croft inserted, among other miscellaneous matter, information about
Thomas Chatterton
gained from letters which he obtained from the poet's sister, Mrs Newton, under false pretences, stealing them from her and used without payment nor permission.
Robert Southey
, when about to publish an edition of Chatterton's works for the benefit of his family, published (November 1799) details of Croft's proceedings in the
Monthly
To this attack Croft wrote a reply addressed to
John Nichols
in the
Gentleman's Magazine
, and afterwards printed separately as
Chatterton and Love and Madness ...
(1800).
[2]
This tract evades the main accusation, and contains much abuse of Southey.
[2]
In revealing Croft's villainous acts, Southey and Cottle worked together, with both the desire to help Chatterton's widowed and impoverished sister, and to turn themselves into the primary editors of Chatterton's works.
[
citation needed
]
Croft supplied the material for the exhaustive account of Chatterton in
Andrew Kippis
's
Biographia Britannica
(vol. iv., 1789).
[2]
In 1788 he addressed a letter to
William Pitt
on the subject of a new dictionary. He criticized Samuel Johnson's efforts, and in 1790 he claimed to have collected 11,000 words used by excellent authorities but omitted by Johnson. Two years later he issued proposals for a revised edition of
Johnson's Dictionary
, but subscribers were lacking and his 200 vols. of manuscript remained unused. Croft was a good scholar and linguist, and the author of some curious books in French.
[2]
Charles Nodier
was working as a secretary to the elderly Croft and his platonic friend, the novelist
Lady Mary Hamilton
in France. During this time Nodier translated Hamilton's book
Munster Village
and helped her write
La famille du duc de Popoli
or
The Duc de Popoli
which was published in 1810.
[4]
The Love Letters of Mr H. and Miss R. 1775?1779
were edited from Croft's book by Mr Gilbert Burgess (1895). See also John Nichols's
Illustrations ...
(1828), v. 202?218.
[2]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
Kidd, Charles,
Debrett's peerage & Baronetage
2015 Edition, London, 2015, p.P306
- ^
a
b
c
d
e
f
g
h
i
j
One or more of the preceding sentences incorporates text from a publication now in the
public domain
:
Chisholm, Hugh
, ed. (1911). "
Croft, Sir Herbert
".
Encyclopædia Britannica
. Vol. 7 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. p. 480.
- ^
Dorothy McMillan
, ‘Walker , Lady Mary (1736?1822)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 2004
accessed 4 Jan 2015
- ^
Dahan, Charles Nodier ; edition etablie, presentee et annotee par Jacques-Remi (1995).
Correspondance de jeunesse
. Geneve: Droz. p. 331.
ISBN
2600000690
.
{{
cite book
}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (
link
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