Francis Hastings Doyle Vanity Fair 1877-11-24

Sir Francis Hastings Charles Doyle, 2nd Baronet (21 August 1810 – 8 June 1888) was a British poet.

Biography

Doyle was born near

Tadcaster Tadcaster is a market town and civil parish in the Selby district of North Yorkshire, England, east of the Great North Road, north-east of Leeds, and south-west of York. Its historical importance from Roman times onward was largely as the ...

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

, to a military family which produced several distinguished officers, including his father, Major-General

Sir Francis Hastings Doyle, 1st Baronet ''Sir'' is a formal honorific address in English for men, derived from Sire in the High Middle Ages. Both are derived from the old French "Sieur" (Lord), brought to England by the French-speaking Normans, and which now exist in French only as ...

, who was created a baronet in 1828. He succeeded to the baronetcy on the death of his father in 1839. He was educated at

Eton Eton most commonly refers to Eton College, a public school in Eton, Berkshire, England. Eton may also refer to: Places *Eton, Berkshire, a town in Berkshire, England * Eton, Georgia, a town in the United States * Éton, a commune in the Meuse dep ...

and

Christ Church, Oxford Christ Church ( la, Ædes Christi, the temple or house, '' ædēs'', of Christ, and thus sometimes known as "The House") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1546 by King Henry VIII, the college is uniqu ...

, graduating with a degree in

classics Classics or classical studies is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, classics traditionally refers to the study of Classical Greek and Roman literature and their related original languages, Ancient Greek and Latin. Classics ...

in 1831. Studying law, he was called to the Bar in 1837, but his interestes were chiefly literary. Among his friends was

William Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British statesman and Liberal politician. In a career lasting over 60 years, he served for 12 years as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, spread over four non-conse ...

, at whose marriage he assisted as

best man A groomsman or usher is one of the male attendants to the groom in a wedding ceremony and performs the first speech at the wedding. Usually, the groom selects close friends and relatives to serve as groomsmen, and it is considered an honor to be ...

, but in later life their political opinions widely differed. Later he held various high fiscal appointments, becoming in 1869 Commissioner of Customs. In 1834 he published '' Miscellaneous Verses'', followed by '' Two Destinies'' (1844), '' Oedipus, King of Thebes'' (1849), and '' Return of the Guards'' (1866). He was elected in 1867

Professor of Poetry The Professor of Poetry is an academic appointment at the University of Oxford. The chair was created in 1708 by an endowment from the estate of Henry Birkhead. The professorship carries an obligation to lecture, but is in effect a part-time po ...

at Oxford. Doyle's best work is his ballads, which include '' The Red Thread of Honour'', ''

The Private of the Buffs ''The Private of the Buffs'' (or ''The British Soldier In China'') is a ballad by Sir Francis Hastings Doyle describing the execution of a British infantryman by Chinese soldiers in 1860. Background During the Second Opium War, an Anglo-French exp ...

'', and ''

The Loss of the Birkenhead ''The Loss of the Birkenhead'' is a 1914 British silent historical drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Elisabeth Risdon, Fred Groves and A. V. Bramble.Murphy p. 179 The film is set against the backdrop of the sinking of the troop ...

''. In his longer poems his genuine poetical feeling was not equalled by his power of expression, and much of his poetry is commonplace. In 1869 some of the lectures he delivered were published in book form. One was his appreciation of

William Barnes William Barnes (22 February 1801 – 7 October 1886) was an English polymath, writer, poet, philologist, priest, mathematician, engraving artist and inventor. He wrote over 800 poems, some in Dorset dialect, and much other work, including a co ...

, and the essay on

Newman's Newman's was an American department store chain based out of Joplin, Missouri. Newman Mercantile Company was started by Jewish entrepreneur Joseph Newman, a German immigrant, in the mid 19th century. Joseph Newman's son Albert and son in law Gabe ...

The Dream of Gerontius ''The Dream of Gerontius'', Op. 38, is a work for voices and orchestra in two parts composed by Edward Elgar in 1900, to text from the poem by John Henry Newman. It relates the journey of a pious man's soul from his deathbed to his judgment b ...

'' was translated into French. In 1886 he published his ''Reminiscences'', full of records of the interesting people he had known.

Family

In 1844, he married Sydney Williams-Wynn, daughter of the MP Charles Williams-Wynn. His eldest son Francis Granville Doyle (1846–1882) died of typhoid fever. Doyle's daughter Mary married

Charles Carmichael Lacaita Charles Carmichael Lacaita (1853 – 17 July 1933) was a British botanist and Liberal politician. Lacaita was the only son of Sir James Philip Lacaita and his wife Maria Clavering Gibson-Carmichael daughter of Sir Thomas Gibson-Carmichael. He ...

, MP and botanist.Debretts Guide to the House of Commons 1886
/ref> The baronetcy passed to a younger son Sir Everard Hastings Doyle, 3rd Baronet upon his death, and then later to his other son, Sir Arthur Havelock James Doyle, 4th Baronet.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Doyle, Francis Hastings 1810 births 1888 deaths People from Tadcaster People educated at Eton College English barristers Baronets in the Baronetage of the United Kingdom Oxford Professors of Poetry English male poets 19th-century English poets 19th-century English male writers 19th-century English lawyers