Herman Charles Merivale autobiography portrait

Herman Charles Merivale MA (27 January 1839 – 17 August 1906) was an English dramatist and poet, son of

Herman Merivale Herman Merivale CB (8 November 1806 – 8 February 1874) was an English civil servant and historian. He was the elder brother of Charles Merivale, and father of the poet Herman Charles Merivale. He was born at Dawlish, Devon to John Her ...

. He also used the

pun A pun, also known as paronomasia, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from the intentional use of homophoni ...

ning

pseudonym A pseudonym (; ) or alias () is a fictitious name that a person or group assumes for a particular purpose, which differs from their original or true name (orthonym). This also differs from a new name that entirely or legally replaces an individua ...

Felix Dale.

Life

Herman Charles Merivale was born in London on 27 January 1839, the only son of

(1806–1874), a

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and

civil servant The civil service is a collective term for a sector of government composed mainly of career civil servants hired on professional merit rather than appointed or elected, whose institutional tenure typically survives transitions of political leaders ...

who was permanent under-secretary of the India Office, and his wife, Caroline Penelope Robinson (d. 1881), daughter of the Revd William Villiers Robinson.Lee, Elizabeth, revised by William Baker
"Merivale, Herman Charles (1839–1906)"
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 23 September 2004, accessed 19 August 2021 Merivale was educated at

Harrow School (The Faithful Dispensation of the Gifts of God) , established = (Royal Charter) , closed = , type = Public schoolIndependent schoolBoarding school , religion = Church of E ...

and

Balliol College, Oxford Balliol College () is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. One of Oxford's oldest colleges, it was founded around 1263 by John I de Balliol, a landowner from Barnard Castle in County Durham, who provided the f ...

, where

Algernon Charles Swinburne Algernon Charles Swinburne (5 April 1837 – 10 April 1909) was an English poet, playwright, novelist, and critic. He wrote several novels and collections of poetry such as ''Poems and Ballads'', and contributed to the famous Eleventh Edition ...

and Charles Bowen were his contemporaries. He graduated BA in 1861. At his father's home he met many distinguished men, including Lord Robert Cecil (afterwards

Prime Minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

Lord Salisbury Robert Arthur Talbot Gascoyne-Cecil, 3rd Marquess of Salisbury (; 3 February 183022 August 1903) was a British statesman and Conservative politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom three times for a total of over thirteen y ...

), who became a lifelong friend. His friends in literary and dramatic circles included

William Makepeace Thackeray William Makepeace Thackeray (; 18 July 1811 – 24 December 1863) was a British novelist, author and illustrator. He is known for his satirical works, particularly his 1848 novel '' Vanity Fair'', a panoramic portrait of British society, and t ...

Edward Bulwer-Lytton Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton, PC (25 May 180318 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secret ...

Matthew Arnold Matthew Arnold (24 December 1822 – 15 April 1888) was an English poet and cultural critic who worked as an inspector of schools. He was the son of Thomas Arnold, the celebrated headmaster of Rugby School, and brother to both Tom Arnold, lite ...

Anthony Trollope Anthony Trollope (; 24 April 1815 – 6 December 1882) was an English novelist and civil servant of the Victorian era. Among his best-known works is a series of novels collectively known as the '' Chronicles of Barsetshire'', which revolves ar ...

W. S. Gilbert Sir William Schwenck Gilbert (18 November 1836 – 29 May 1911) was an English dramatist, librettist, poet and illustrator best known for his collaboration with composer Arthur Sullivan, which produced fourteen comic operas. The most f ...

Arthur Sullivan Sir Arthur Seymour Sullivan (13 May 1842 – 22 November 1900) was an English composer. He is best known for 14 comic opera, operatic Gilbert and Sullivan, collaborations with the dramatist W. S. Gilbert, including ''H.M.S. Pinaf ...

Edmund Yates Edmund Hodgson Yates (3 July 183120 May 1894) was a British journalist, novelist and dramatist. Early life He was born in Edinburgh to the actor and theatre manager Frederick Henry Yates and was educated at Highgate School in London from 1840 t ...

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English writer and social critic. He created some of the world's best-known fictional characters and is regarded by many as the greatest novelist of the Victorian e ...

and others. Following his father's death in 1874 he gave up the law in favour of literature and the theatre. Merivale wrote many farces and burlesques. For

John Hollingshead John Hollingshead (9 September 1827 – 9 October 1904) was an English theatrical impresario, journalist and writer during the latter half of the 19th century. After a journalism career, Hollingshead managed the Alhambra Theatre and was later th ...

he produced a

burlesque A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects.

, ''The Lady of Lyons Married and Settled'', performed at the Gaiety Theatre (1878), and ''Called There and Back'' (1884). ''The Butler'' (1886) and ''The Don'' (1888) were both written for the actor J. L. Toole. In writing ''The Don'', and other works, Merivale was assisted by his wife, Elizabeth, the daughter of John Pittman, whom he married in London on 13 May 1878. During the 1870s, he was a resident of

Ticehurst House Hospital Ticehurst House Hospital was a mental health facility. It opened in 1792 and was owned and run by five generations of members of the Newington family until 1970. In 2000, the hospital name changed from Ticehurst House Hospital to The Priory Ticehu ...

after suffering depression for many years following a breakdown. He wrote of his experiences there in a book called ''My Experiences in a Lunatic Asylum by a Sane Patient''. In 1879 he went to Australia on the advice of his physician, and then returned with his health recovered, only to discover that the power of attorney he had left with a defaulting solicitor had cost him his entire fortune. A few years before his death Merivale became a

Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...

. He died suddenly of heart failure on 14 January 1906 at 69 Woodstock Road,

Acton Acton may refer to: Places Antarctica * Mount Acton Australia * Acton, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb of Canberra * Acton, Tasmania, a suburb of Burnie * Acton Park, Tasmania, a suburb of Hobart, Tasmania, formerly known as Acton Canada ...

Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, historic county in South East England, southeast England. Its area is almost entirely within the wider urbanised area of London and mostly within the Ceremonial counties of ...

,The Times Obituary 17 January 1906 and was buried in his father's grave in

Brompton Cemetery Brompton Cemetery (originally the West of London and Westminster Cemetery) is a London cemetery, managed by The Royal Parks, in West Brompton in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. It is one of the Magnificent Seven cemeteries. Estab ...

. He had no children and his widow was granted a civil-list pension of £50 in 1906.

Works

*A Husband in Clover (1873), farce *All For Her (1875), drama *Forget Me Not (1879), drama (with

Florence Crauford Grove Florence Crauford Grove (12 March 1838 – 17 August 1902) was an English mountaineer and author, sometimes known as F. Crauford Grove. He led the first expedition to ascend the higher summit of Mount Elbrus and was at one time president of t ...

) *My Experience in a Lunatic Asylum, by a Sane Patient. London: Chatto and Windus (1879) *Faucit Of Balliol (1882), novel *The White Pilgrim (1883), drama *Binko's Blues (1884) *Florien (1884), drama *The Butler (1886), drama *The Don (1888) *A Life of Thackeray (1891) biography, with Frank T. Marzials *The Lady of Lyons Married and Settled,

Victorian burlesque Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian era, Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody music, parod ...

of ''

The Lady of Lyons ''The Lady of Lyons; or, Love and Pride'', commonly known as ''The Lady of Lyons'', is a five act romantic melodrama written in 1838 by Edward Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton. It was first produced in London at Covent Garden Theatre on 15 Februar ...

'' *Peacock's Holiday, farce *A Son of the Soil, drama *Bar, Stage and Platform, autobiographical memories (1902)

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Merivale, Charles Merivale 1839 births 1906 deaths People educated at Harrow School People associated with Gilbert and Sullivan Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford Burials at Brompton Cemetery English male dramatists and playwrights English male poets 19th-century English poets 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century British male writers