George Manners (1778–1853) was a writer and editor who served as British

consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states throug ...

in Boston, Massachusetts from 1819 to 1839. His 1806

tragedy Tragedy (from the grc-gre, τραγῳδία, ''tragōidia'', ''tragōidia'') is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a main character. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy ...

Edgar Edgar is a commonly used English given name, from an Anglo-Saxon name ''Eadgar'' (composed of '' ead'' "rich, prosperous" and ''gar'' "spear"). Like most Anglo-Saxon names, it fell out of use by the later medieval period; it was, however, rev ...

'' was staged at the

Theatre Royal, Covent Garden The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal O ...

in 1806. Manners was born in 1778. He was

called to the bar The call to the bar is a legal term of art in most common law jurisdictions where persons must be qualified to be allowed to argue in court on behalf of another party and are then said to have been "called to the bar" or to have received "call to ...

, became a noted wit in London, and was in 1807 founder and one of the proprietors of the ''Satirist, or Monthly Meteor,'' a venture in scurrilous literature, issued monthly, with a view, it was claimed, to the exposure of impostors. The first issue appeared on 1 October 1807. At first coloured

cartoon A cartoon is a type of visual art that is typically drawn, frequently animated, in an unrealistic or semi-realistic style. The specific meaning has evolved over time, but the modern usage usually refers to either: an image or series of images ...

s were attempted, but it is stated in the preface to volume II that these were dropped owing to the artists having disappointed the editor. In 1812 Manners parted with it and the publishing offices at 267 Strand to

William Jerdan William Jerdan FSA (16 April 1782 – 11 July 1869), Scottish journalist, was born at Kelso, Scotland. During the years between 1799 and 1806, he spent short periods in a country lawyer's office, a London West India merchant's counting hou ...

, who tried his luck "with a new series, divested of the personalities and rancour of the old." Despite the bad bargain which he made over this purchase, Jerdan described Manners in his ''Audtobiography'' as "gentleman in every sense of the word, full of fancy and talent, acute and well informed". The periodical ceased in 1824. In 1819 Manners became British consul at Boston, and held office till 1839. He died at Coburg in Canada on 18 February 1853. Manners wrote: *'' Edgar, or the Caledonian Brothers,'' a tragedy, London, 1806, *''Mentoriana, or a Letter of Admonition to the Duke of York,'' 1807 *''Vindiciie Satirices, or a Vindication of the Principles of the "Satirist,"'' 1809 *''The Rival Impostors, or Two Political Epistles to Two Political Cheats,'' 1809 *''The Conflagration : a Poem,'' Boston, 1826, written to assist the sufferers in Canadian fires.

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Manners, George 1778 births 1853 deaths British male journalists British journalists British expatriates in the United States