Peacock, Thomas Love

(1785-1866)

   Poet, novelist, and essayist, he was born at Weymouth, Dorset, and at sixteen he moved with his widowed mother to work in London, where he spent his spare time studying the classics and languages. Through his publisher he developed a lifelong friendship with Percy Bysshe Shelley (see entry) and his wife, and in 1816 he published Headlong Hall, a satirical novel. He was summoned to India House and offered an appointment as administrator of the East India Company and became a well-paid and trusted executive, representing the company on many parliamentary committees. He retired from the company in 1856 and died at his country residence at Lower Halliford, near Shepperton, Middlesex. Some of his poetry publications: The Monks of St. Mark, 1804. Palmyra and Other Poems, 1805. The Genius of the Thames Palmyra and Other Poems, 1812. The Philosophy of Melancholy, 1812. Sir Proteus: A Satirical Ballad, 1814. The Round Table, or King Arthur's Feast, 1817. Rhododaphne, or the Thessalian Spirit, 1818. Paper Money Lyrics, 1837. Some of his poems: "A Border Ballad," "Gryll Grange," "Newark Abbey," "Pindar on the Eclipse of the Sun."

   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 Brand-X Anthology of Poetry. William Zaranka, ed. AppleWood Books, 1981. The Chatto Book of Nonsense Poetry. Hugh Haughton, ed. Chatto and Windus, 1988. 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 New Oxford Book of Romantic Period Verse. Jerome J. McGann, ed. Oxford University Press, 1993. The New Oxford Book of Victorian Verse. Christopher Ricks, ed. Oxford University Press, 2002. The Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000. The Pleasure of Poetry: From His Daily Mirror Column. Kingsley Amis, ed. Cassell Publishers, 1990.