D'Urfey, Thomas

(1653-1723)

   Generally known as "Tom Durfey," he was born at Exeter, of Huguenot descent, and remained a Protestant until he died. He was writing in the reigns of four monarchs: Charles II, James II, William and Mary, and Queen Anne. His output of tales, satires, melodramas and farces was enormous, and many of his songs were set to music by Henry Purcell, Thomas Farmer, and Dr. John Blow, and were highly popular. Although troubled by a stammer in speech, he sang his own songs in public. He was buried at St. James's Church, Piccadilly, at the expense of the Earl of Dorset. Some of his publications: Madam Fickle, or, the Witty False One, 1677. New Collection of Songs and Poems, 1683. A Fool's Preferment, 1688. Hymn to Piety, to My Dear Mother, 1698. Songs Compleat by Tom D'Urfey. 1720 (six volumes). Some of his other poems: "A Shepherd Kept Sheep on a Hill So High," "Bright Was the Morning," "Chloe Divine," "The Bath, or, The Western Lass," "The Crown's Far Too Weighty," "The Fisherman's Song," "The Winchester Wedding."

   Sources: Dictionary of National Biography. Electronic Edition 1.1. Oxford University Press, 1997. English Poetry: Author Search. Chadwyck-Healey Ltd., 1995 (http://www.lib.utexas.edu:8080/search/epoetry/author.html). 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 Common Muse, an Anthology of Popular British Ballad Poetry, XVth-XXth Century. Vivian de Sola Pinto and Allan Edwin Rodway, eds. Philosophical Library, 1957. The Contemplator's Short Biography of Thomas D'Urfey (http://www.contemplator.com/history/durfey.html). The Oxford Book of Seventeenth Century Verse. H.J.C. Grierson and G. Bullough, eds. Oxford University Press, 1934. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000. Thomas d'Urfey, texts set to music (http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/u/durfey/). Thomas Durfey and the Restoration Drama: The Work of a Forgotten Writer. John McVeagh. Ashgate Publishing, Limited, 2000.