John Edmund Reade (1800–1870) was an English poet and novelist.

Life

Reade was born in 1800 at Broadwell, near

Stow-on-the-Wold Stow-on-the-Wold is a market town and civil parish in Gloucestershire, England, on top of an 800-foot (244 m) hill at the junction of main roads through the Cotswolds, including the Fosse Way (A429), which is of Roman origin. The town was found ...

in Gloucestershire, the son of Thomas Reade of Barton Manor, Berkshire, and his wife Catherine, daughter of Sir John Hill. His grandfather, Sir John Reade, was fourth baronet, being the great-grandson of Compton Reade of Shipton Court, Oxfordshire. Reade was educated at a school at

Doulting Doulting is a village and civil parish east of Shepton Mallet, on the A361, in the Mendip district of Somerset, England. History The parish of Doulting was part of the Whitstone Hundred. The parish includes the village of Bodden, which was ...

, near

Shepton Mallet Shepton Mallet is a market town and civil parish in the Mendip District of Somerset, England, some south-west of Bath, south of Bristol and east of Wells. It had an estimated population of 10,810 in 2019. Mendip District Council is based t ...

. His first work, a collection of poems entitled ''The Broken Heart'', was published in 1825. He was to devote the rest of his life to literature, although he was severely criticised for lack of originality: Edward Irving Carlyle, in the first edition of the ''Dictionary of National Biography'', says he "developed a remarkable capacity for plagiarism", adding that "Byron served for his chief model, but his poems and plays are full of sentiments and phrases taken undisguisedly from the best-known writings of Scott,

Wordsworth William Wordsworth (7 April 177023 April 1850) was an English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with their joint publication ''Lyrical Ballads'' (1798). Wordsworth's ' ...

Ben Jonson Benjamin "Ben" Jonson (c. 11 June 1572 – c. 16 August 1637) was an English playwright and poet. Jonson's artistry exerted a lasting influence upon English poetry and stage comedy. He popularised the comedy of humours; he is best known for t ...

, Croly, and others." His "Cain, the Wanderer" (1830), however, earned him an introduction to

Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poe ...

and was praised by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as treat ...

. In 1838, after a long stay in the southern Europe, he published his longest poem, ''Italy'', which, according to Carlyle, "bears a close resemblance to ''

Childe Harold ''Childe Harold's Pilgrimage'' is a long narrative poem in four parts written by Lord Byron. The poem was published between 1812 and 1818. Dedicated to " Ianthe", it describes the travels and reflections of a world-weary young man, who is disi ...

'', reproducing even the dying gladiator". His other publications included ''Sibyl Leaves: Poems'' (1827); ''The Revolt of the Angels'', an epic drama (1830); ''Catiline'', a tragedy (1839); ''Prose from the South'' (1846); and the novels ''The Light of other Days'' (1858), ''Wait and Hope'' (1859) and ''Saturday Sterne'' (1862). Several collected editions of his poems were published, the most complete being that of 1865, in three volumes. Reade lived in

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

and the west of England for most of his life, but also spent considerable periods in central and southern Europe. He died on 17 September 1870. A portrait of Reade by Thomas Brigstocke was exhibited at the

Royal Academy The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...

in 1850.

Notes and references

Sources

:Attribution *

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Reade, John Edmund 1800 births 1870 deaths 19th-century English poets 19th-century English novelists People from Cotswold District British male poets British male dramatists and playwrights English male novelists 19th-century English dramatists and playwrights 19th-century English male writers