Robert Paltock (1697– March 20, 1767) was an English novelist and
attorney
Attorney may refer to:
* Lawyer
** Attorney at law, in some jurisdictions
* Attorney, one who has power of attorney
* ''The Attorney'', a 2013 South Korean film
See also
* Attorney general, the principal legal officer of (or advisor to) a gove ...
. His most famous work is ''The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins, a
Cornish Man'' (1751).
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Biography
The only son of Thomas Paltock of
St James's, Westminster
Westminster St James (or St James Piccadilly) was a civil parish in the metropolitan area of London, England. The creation of the parish followed the building of the Church of St James, Piccadilly, in 1684. After several failed attempts, the ...
, Paltock was born in 1697. He became an attorney and lived for some time in
Clement's Inn. He then moved, before 1759, to Back Lane,
Lambeth
Lambeth () is a district in South London, England, in the London Borough of Lambeth, historically in the County of Surrey. It is situated south of Charing Cross. The population of the London Borough of Lambeth was 303,086 in 2011. The area expe ...
. He married Anna Skinner, through whom his son, also named Robert, inherited a small property at
Ryme Intrinseca
Ryme Intrinseca () is a village and civil parish in northwest Dorset, England, south of Yeovil and west of Yetminster. It is sited on a low ridge of cornbrash limestone on the edge of the Blackmore Vale. The Intrinseca part of the name d ...
,
Dorset. There Robert Paltock, who died in London on the 20th of March 1767, was buried.
[Chisholm, 1911.]
Work
''The Life and Adventures of Peter Wilkins'' is somewhat on the same plan as ''
Robinson Crusoe'', the special feature being the ''gawry'', or flying woman, whom hero discovered on his island, and married.
John W. Cousin
John William Cousin (1849–1910) was a British writer, editor and biographer. He was one of six children born to William and Anne Ross Cousin, his mother being a noted hymn-writer, in Scotland. A fellow of the Faculty of Actuaries and secretary ...
, author of ''A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature'', was not impressed by it, saying:
:"The description of Nosmnbdsgrutt,
icthe country of the flying people, is a dull imitation of
Swift, and much else in the book is tedious."
[Cousin, 1910.]
Paltock's book was admired by
Walter Scott,
Robert Southey,
Samuel Taylor Coleridge,
Leigh Hunt and
Charles Lamb. The book was reprinted several times, notably with an introduction by
A. H. Bullen in 1884. It was translated into French (1763) and into German (1767).
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Notes
References
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Paltock, Robert
1697 births
1767 deaths
English lawyers
18th-century English male writers
18th-century English novelists
English male novelists