Pye, Henry James

(1745-1813)

   Born in London, the son of Henry Pye, a member of Parliament for Berkshire from 1746 until his death in 1766, he was created M.A. on 3 July 1766 and doctor of civil law in 1772. His father left huge debts, the family house burned down, and Henry was forced to sell the estate. He was a member of Parliament for a short while and a police magistrate for Westminster, and published a valued document, Summary of the Duties of a Justice of the Peace out of Sessions, in 1808. His appointment by William Pitt as poet laureate was scorned in 1790 by an unnamed author in "Epistle to the Poet Laureate." His epic poem in six books, Alfred, was published in 1801. Some of his other publications: Verses on Several Subjects, 1802. Translation of the Hymns and Epigrams of Homer, 1810. The Siege of Meaux, 1794 (drama, performed at Covent Garden). Adelaide, 1800 (tragedy, performed at Drury Lane). Some of his poems: "Bacchus; or, The Pirates," "Ode on the Birth of the Prince of Wales," "On Midas," "The Myrtle and Bramble," "The Parsonage Improved," "The Snow-drop."

   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 National Portrait Gallery (www.npg.org.uk). Poems on Various Subjects: Volume I of Henry James Pye. John Stockdale, 1787. The Batrachomuomachia: Or the Battle of the Frogs and Mice. J. Sharpe, 1810. 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 Oxford Companion to English Literature. 6th edition. Margaret Drabble, ed. Oxford University Press, 2000.