Horace Pym (2 July 18445 May 1896) was a confidential solicitor, book collector and the editor of the best-selling private journal of the Quaker writer,

Caroline Fox Caroline Fox (24 May 1819 – 12 January 1871) was an English diarist and correspondent from Cornwall. Her diary records memories of major writers, who include John Stuart Mill and Thomas Carlyle. Biography Caroline Fox was born on 24 May 1819 ...

: ''Memories of Old Friends'', published in 1881.

Name, birth and parentage

He is more properly known as Horatio Noble Pym and sometimes as H.N. Pym, was born 2 July 1844. He was the son of Rev. William Wollaston Pym, Rector of Willian in Hertfordshire and his second wife, Edith Elizabeth Noble.The Peerage website
/ref> He is a descendant of

David Mathews David Mathews ( – July 28, 1800) was an American lawyer and politician from New York City. He was a Loyalist during the American Revolutionary War and was the 43rd and last Colonial Mayor of New York City from 1776 until 1783. As New York City ...

, the

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

Mayor of New York City The mayor of New York City, officially Mayor of the City of New York, is head of the executive branch of the government of New York City and the chief executive of New York City. The mayor's office administers all city services, public property ...

under the British during the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

- his daughter Catalina married British Lt. James Lamb Jr. and they settled at the Lamb homestead in

Rye, East Sussex is a small town and civil parish in the Rother district of East Sussex, England, two miles from the sea at the confluence of three rivers: the Rother, the Tillingham and the Brede. An important member of the mediaeval Cinque Ports confederatio ...

''Memories of Old Friends''

He is famous for editing the twelve manuscript volumes of Journals of

, under the supervision of her sister, Anna Maria. In 1881 Smith, Elder & Co. published the selection as ''Memories of Old Friends; being extracts from the journals and letters of Caroline Fox of Penjerrick, Cornwall from 1835 to 1871'', advertising the book in ''The Times'' for the Christmas Present market. Despite the "extreme timidity" with which he censored the text, the book was a surprise Victorian best-seller. A second edition was published the following year, with additional letters from

J.S. Mill John Stuart Mill (20 May 1806 – 7 May 1873) was an English philosopher, political economist, Member of Parliament (MP) and civil servant. One of the most influential thinkers in the history of classical liberalism, he contributed widely to ...

Family relations with the Falmouth Foxes

Pym married, successively to two of Caroline Fox's relations. On 12 September 1876 he married Sarah Juliet Backhouse, daughter of Edmund Backhouse and his wife, Juliet (daughter of Charles Fox, brother of Caroline's father, Robert Were Fox F.R.S.). There were three children, Julian (1877–1898), his brother Evelyn (1879–1971) and Juliet, who was born and died in 1880. Her mother, Sarah Juliet Pym, also died in 1880. Horace Pym then married Jane Hannah Backhouse Fox on 2 May 1881. She was the daughter of Barclay Fox, Caroline's brother and his wife, Jane (sister of Edmund Backhouse, Pym's first wife's father). Pym and Jane Fox Pym had two daughters, Juliet Caroline Fox Pym (1882–1905) and Yolande Nina Sylvia Noble Pym (1883–1928).

Work as Confidential Solicitor

He practised as a confidential solicitor as the Principal of Thathams & Pym, 3 Fredericks Place, Old Jewry, London EC.

Pym as a person

Some anecdotes concerning Horace Pym and his family occur in the memoirs of

Thomas Anstey Guthrie Thomas Anstey Guthrie (8 August 1856 – 10 March 1934) was an English author (writing as F. Anstey), most noted for his comic novel ''Vice Versa'' about a boarding-school boy and his father exchanging identities. His reputation was confirmed b ...

, the humorous writer (pen name "F. Anstey", who wrote the novel ''Vice Versa'') Guthrie describes him as a long-standing friend and a great raconteur. The Obituary in ''The Times'' (11 May 1896) asserts that he was greatly valued by his friends, who included some notable writers and painters. Among these was the writer and literary editor,

James Payn James Payn (; 28 February 1830 – 25 March 1898) was an English novelist and editor. Among the periodicals he edited were ''Chambers's Journal'' in Edinburgh and the ''Cornhill Magazine'' in London. Family Payn's father, William Payn (1774/17 ...

, who was also literary advisor to Smith, Elder & Co.,

ODNB The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...

article on

George Murray Smith George Murray Smith (19 March 1824 – 6 April 1901) was a British publisher. He was the son of George Smith (1789–1846), who, with Alexander Elder (1790–1876), started the Victorian publishing firm of Smith, Elder & Co. in 1816. His br ...

(1824-1901), giving an extensive history of Smith, Elder & Co. but does not mention ''Memories of old friends'' In his beautiful home, "Foxwold" at

Brasted Brasted is a village and civil parish in the Sevenoaks District of Kent, England. Brasted lies on the A25 road, between Sundridge and Westerham; the road is named Westerham Road, High Street and Main Road as it passes through the village east to ...

near

Sevenoaks Sevenoaks is a town in Kent with a population of 29,506 situated south-east of London, England. Also classified as a civil parishes in England, civil parish, Sevenoaks is served by a commuter South Eastern Main Line, main line railway into Lon ...

in Kent, he had an excellent library. Horace Pym wrote a number of small books, which he had privately printed for his friends. Some of these, held by the British Library are listed below. He died on 5 May 1896. ''The Times'' Obituary states that "Himself a man of great cultivation and taste, he held in affection the great masters of English literature, reverencing in particular Charles Dickens and all that pertained to him . . . . Mr. Pym's death took place with a painful suddenness owing to an affection of the heart induced by Russian influenza."

Notes and references

Books by Horace Pym listed in the catalogue of the British Library

*''A Tour round my Book-shelves''. 1891 (privately printed: 100 copies) *''Chats in the Book-room''. 1896 (privately printed) *PEPYS, Samuel. ''Excerpts from the Diary of Samuel Pepys''. From the "Mynors Bright" edition. With an introduction by H.N. Pym 1889 *FOX, Caroline. ''Memories of Old Friends; being extracts from the journals and letters of C. F. ... from 1835 to 1871''. Edited by H. N. Pym. pp. xxvii. 355. Smith, Elder & Co.: London, 1882 881 Available online a
The Internet Archive
*''A mother's memoir : being a fragmentary sketch of the life of the late Edith Elizabeth Pym'' / by H. N. P. .e. Horace Noble Pym (Privately printed: 50 copies) *''Odds and Ends at Foxwold. A guide for the inquiring guest ...'' Illustrated, etc. 1887 (privately printed)

External links

*Much of his personal library was sold at Sotheby's, Londo
23 April 1996
The catalogue includes "Aspects of a Victorian Bookman" by John Pym. {{DEFAULTSORT:Pym, Horace 1844 births 1896 deaths English book and manuscript collectors Fox family of Falmouth People from Brasted Schuyler family English people of Dutch descent