''Memoirs of the Life of Richard Brinsley Sheridan'' was an 1825 biography written by

Thomas Moore Thomas Moore (28 May 1779 – 25 February 1852) was an Irish writer, poet, and lyricist celebrated for his ''Irish Melodies''. Their setting of English-language verse to old Irish tunes marked the transition in popular Irish culture from Irish ...

about the life of the playwright and politician

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as ''The Rivals'', ''The Sc ...

(1751–1816). It was published after nine years work, on and off, and had been delayed by a legal dispute over the use of Sheridan's papers. It was published in October 1825 by

Longmans Longman, also known as Pearson Longman, is a publishing company founded in London, England, in 1724 and is owned by Pearson PLC. Since 1968, Longman has been used primarily as an imprint by Pearson's Schools business. The Longman brand is also ...

in two volumes under the full title of ''Memoirs of the Life of the Right Honourable Richard Brinsley Sheridan''. The first volume focused on Sheridan's early life and his success in the theatre. The second volume follows the ups and downs of his political career, as a Whig Member of Parliament. The work was a great success and sold a thousand copies in ten days, and had gone through three editions in a fortnight. Defending his work in a preface of the fifth edition Moore observed "The

Tory A Tory () is a person who holds a political philosophy known as Toryism, based on a British version of traditionalism and conservatism, which upholds the supremacy of social order as it has evolved in the English culture throughout history. Th ...

, of course, is shocked by my

Whiggism Whiggism (in North America sometimes spelled Whigism) is a political philosophy that grew out of the Parliamentarian faction in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms (1639–1651). The Whigs' key policy positions were the supremacy of Parliament (as ...

; – the Whigs are rather displeased at my candour in conceding that they have sometimes been wrong, and the Tories right; while the

Radical Radical may refer to: Politics and ideology Politics *Radical politics, the political intent of fundamental societal change *Radicalism (historical), the Radical Movement that began in late 18th century Britain and spread to continental Europe and ...

in his patriotic hatred of both parties, is angry with me for allowing any merit to either".Kelly p.419 The work was part of a long-term shift in Moore's work and reputation. He had previously been regarded as a light poet and satirist but had now produced a novel '' Memoirs of Captain Rock'' and Sheridan's biography. In the wake of the success of the Sheridan work, Moore began working on a biography of his old friend

Lord Byron George Gordon Byron, 6th Baron Byron (22 January 1788 – 19 April 1824), known simply as Lord Byron, was an English romantic poet and Peerage of the United Kingdom, peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and h ...

who had died in 1824.

References

Bibliography

* Kelly, Ronan. ''Bard of Erin: The Life of Thomas Moore''. Penguin Books, 2009. Works by Thomas Moore 1825 non-fiction books Biographies about writers Biographies about politicians Longman books {{UK-poli-bio-book-stub