Burnand, Sir Francis Cowley

(1836-1917)

   Burnand was the only son of Francis Burnand, a London stockbroker of French-Swiss origin; his mother, Emma Cowley, was a descendant of Hannah Cowley (see entry). Educated at Eton College and Trinity College, Cambridge, he studied for the Church, then was called to the bar, which he abandoned for the stage and dramatic writing. In all he wrote more than 100 farces, burlesque librettos of opera, and adaptations from the French; two of his burlesques were Black-Eyed Susan (1866) and The Colonel (1881). He wrote the libretto for Gilbert and Sullivan's Cox and Box, or the Long Lost Brother, performed in 1867. He was editor of Punch from 1880 until 1906, and his series Happy Thoughts ran from 1863 to 1864. He was knighted in 1902. Though not a great poet, his humor shows through in His Heart Was True to Poll ('His' refers to a man called William Kidd). Some of his other poems: "Fishing for Sticklebacks, with Rod and Line," "Oh, My Geraldine," "Tubby or Not Tubby-There's the Rub."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. Gilbert and Sullivan Archive Arthur Sullivan Major Works (http://math.boisestate.edu/gas/other_sullivan/html/othersul.html). New Catholic Dictionary (www.catholic-forum.com/saints/ncd01507.htm). Pith and Vinegar: An Anthology of Short Humorous Poetry. William Cole, ed. Simon & Schuster, 1969. The Brand-X Anthology of Poetry. William Zaranka, ed. Apple-Wood Books, 1981. The Columbia Granger's Index to Poetry. 11th ed. The Columbia Granger's World of Poetry, Columbia University Press, 2005 (http://www.columbiagrangers.org). The National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk). The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.