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Thomas Medwin (20 March 1788 –2 August 1869) was an early 19th-century English writer, poet and translator. He is known chiefly for his biography of his cousin, Percy Bysshe Shelley, and for published recollections of his 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 peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
.


Early life

Thomas Medwin was born in the market town of Horsham, West Sussex on 20 March 1788, the third son of five children of Thomas Charles Medwin, a solicitor and steward, and Mary Medwin (née Pilford). His two older brothers John and Henry died in early adulthood. Pilford Medwin: A Man of Horsham, a Victorian Gentleman by Susan C Djabri, Horsham Museum Society 2002 ISBN 1 902484177 He was a second cousin on both his parents' sides to Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792–1822), who lived two miles away at Field Place,
Warnham Warnham is a village and civil parish in the Horsham district of West Sussex, England. The village is centred north-northwest of Horsham, from London, to the west of the A24 road. Other named settlements within the parish include the hamlets o ...
, and with whom Medwin formed a friendship from childhood onwards.Captain Medwin: Friend of Byron and Shelley by Ernest J Lovell Jr. University of Texas 1962 Medwin was from a prosperous rather than a wealthy family that expected their sons to work for a living. He attended Syon House Academy in Isleworth in 1788–1804, as did Shelley in 1802–1808. Medwin related that Shelley and he remained close friends at Syon House, forming a bond so close that Shelley apparently sleepwalked his way to Medwin's dormitory. After a further year in a public school, Medwin matriculated at
University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...
in the winter of 1805, but left without taking his degree. He was initially articled as a clerk in his father's law firm in Horsham. Medwin showed aptitude in foreign languages and was to become fluent in Greek, Latin, German, Italian, Spanish, French and Portuguese. He began writing poems, including a contribution to ''The Wandering Jew'', a poem attributed to Shelley. The young Shelley and Medwin met during their respective holidays for pursuits such as fishing and fox-hunting. Their romantic attachments included their cousin Harriet Grove, with whom Shelley was deeply committed by the spring of 1810, although he was to elope with Harriet Westbrook in 1811 using money he had borrowed under false pretences from Medwin senior. Medwin rebelled against his father's wish for him to become a lawyer, running up gambling debts and causing a quarrel with his father, the result of which was the omission of Thomas from his father's will, executed in 1829. Considerable debts appear to have been paid by his family. His activities involved much carousing and gambling at his club in Brighton and spending money on collecting art. Shelley recalled Medwin as painting well and "remarkable, if I do not mistake, for a particular taste in, and knowledge of the ''belli arti'' – Italy is the place for you, the very place – the Paradise of Exiles.... If you will be glad to see an old friend, who will be glad to see you... come to Italy." Medwin's financial situation could not continue as it was, and by 1812 he had accepted a military commission in the 24th Light Dragoons, a regiment where he could pursue his social pretensions.


India

Although he had no military training, Medwin was gazetted as a cornet in June 1812, joining his regiment at
Cawnpore Kanpur or Cawnpore (Help:IPA/English, /kɑːnˈpʊər/ pronunciation (Wikipedia:Media help, help·:File:Kanpur.ogg, info)) is an industrial city in the central-western part of the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. Founded in 1207, Kanpur became one ...
in Uttar Pradesh in northern India shortly thereafter. Cawnpore, far removed from the scene of the Gurkha or Nepal War of 1814–16, in which Medwin's regiment did not participate, was amongst the largest military stations in India, with an organised social life and stores stocked with European goods. The heat was stultifying and few duties were required of an officer. Judging from Medwin's description,''The Angler in Wales, or Days and Nights of Sportsmen'', 2 vols, 1834. he spent many enthusiastic hours hunting wildlife. He saw action rarely, but was present at the siege of Hathras in 1817 and involved in advances against the
Pindari The Pindaris were irregular military plunderers and foragers in 17th- through early 19th-century Indian subcontinent who accompanied initially the Mughal army, later the Maratha army, and finally on their own before being eliminated in the 1817� ...
s on the banks of the river Sindh in December 1817. He witnessed at least one incident of ''
sati Sati or SATI may refer to: Entertainment * ''Sati'' (film), a 1989 Bengali film by Aparna Sen and starring Shabana Azmi * ''Sati'' (novel), a 1990 novel by Christopher Pike *Sati (singer) (born 1976), Lithuanian singer *Sati, a character in ''Th ...
'', the ritual burning of a widow, on the Narmuda river in 1818. He enthusiastically toured the classical Hindu temples of
Gaur The gaur (''Bos gaurus''; ), also known as the Indian bison, is a bovine native to South Asia and Southeast Asia, and has been listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List since 1986. The global population was estimated at a maximum of 21,000 m ...
, Palibothra,
Jagannath Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...
and Karla, and the Elephanta and
Ellora Caves Ellora is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located in the Aurangabad district of Maharashtra, India. It is one of the largest rock-cut Hindu temple cave complexes in the world, with artwork dating from the period 600–1000 CE., Quote: "These 34 mo ...
. Medwin may have had an affair with a Hindu woman that ended badly, but through whom he was introduced to the doctrines of
Rammohan Roy Raja Ram Mohan Roy ( bn, রামমোহন রায়; 22 May 1772 – 27 September 1833) was an Indian reformer who was one of the founders of the Brahmo Sabha in 1828, the precursor of the Brahmo Samaj, a social-religious reform ...
. Medwin proved a competent, rather than a commendable soldier. He suffered from
dysentery Dysentery (UK pronunciation: , US: ), historically known as the bloody flux, is a type of gastroenteritis that results in bloody diarrhea. Other symptoms may include fever, abdominal pain, and a feeling of incomplete defecation. Complications ...
, which recurred at intervals during his life. While waiting in Bombay for a berth back to England in October 1818, he rediscovered on a bookstall the poetry of his cousin Shelley, in a copy of ''
The Revolt of Islam ''The Revolt of Islam'' (1818) is a poem in twelve cantos composed by Percy Bysshe Shelley in 1817. The poem was originally published under the title ''Laon and Cythna; or, The Revolution of the Golden City: A Vision of the Nineteenth Century'' ...
''. Shelley was to provide the central experience and focal point of his literary life. Recalling the incident under his persona Julian in ''The Angler in Wales'' in 1834, he was "astonished at the greatness of (Shelley's) genius" and declared that "the amiable philosophy and self-sacrifice inculcated by that divine poem, worked a strange reformation in my mind." Medwin's sobriquet Julian is likely to have been a reference to Shelley's ''Julian and Maddolo'', a poem in which Julian has characteristics of Shelley. Medwin's regiment was disbanded at the end of 1818 and Medwin went on
half-pay Half-pay (h.p.) was a term used in the British Army and Royal Navy of the 18th, 19th and early 20th centuries to refer to the pay or allowance an officer received when in retirement or not in actual service. Past usage United Kingdom In the En ...
, attached to a regiment of the Life Guards until 1831, when he sold his commission. He was by this time known as Captain Medwin, although there is no evidence that he was ever promoted beyond the rank of lieutenant.


Reunion with Shelley

In September 1820 he arrived in Geneva to stay with Jane and
Edward Ellerker Williams Edward Ellerker Williams (22 April 1793 – 8 July 1822) was a retired army officer who became a friend of Percy Bysshe Shelley in the final months of his life and died with him. Early life Edward Williams was born in India, the son of an East ...
, the latter of whom was to drown with Shelley. There he finished his first published poem, ''Oswald and Edwin, An Oriental Sketch'', dedicated to Williams. This ran to 40 pages with 12 pages of notes. It was revised in 1821 as the ''Lion Hunt'' for ''Sketches From Hindoostan''. In the autumn of 1820, Medwin joined his cousin Shelley in Pisa, moving in with him and his wife
Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...
, with whom he was to develop an uneasy relationship. Medwin was periodically ill during his months in Pisa but worked with Shelley on a number of poems and on the publication of his journal ''Sketches From Hindoostan''. Shelley and Medwin started to study Arabic together. They also read Schiller, Cervantes, Milton and Petrarch, and throughout early 1821 pursued a vigorous intellectual life. Shelley was working on ''Prometheus'' and would read drafts each evening to Medwin, who was continuing with a second volume of ''Oswald and Edwin, An Oriental Sketch''. In January they were joined by Jane and Edward Ellerker Williams. Medwin left Shelley in March 1821 to visit Florence, Rome and then Venice, where he continued to write and socialise. In November 1821 he returned to Pisa.


Meeting with Byron

Shelley introduced Medwin to
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 peer. He was one of the leading figures of the Romantic movement, and has been regarded as among the ...
on 20 November 1821.Journals of the Conversations, of Lord Byron, noted at a residence with His Lordship at Pisa in the years 1821 and 1822 ,Thomas Medwin, Henry Colburn, London (1824). Byron and Medwin were to form a friendship. They enjoyed the company of various women, as can be seen by their correspondence with each other, and formed a male bond that was missing from Medwin's relationship with Shelley. He joined Byron for episodes of pistol shooting and riding and dined within Byron's inner circle with other friends that included Shelley, Edward E Williams,
Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...
and the recently arrived Edward John Trelawny. The last would feature as friend and rival throughout Medwin's life, as both sought to be arbiters of Byron's reputation. Medwin provided a translation of part of
Petrarch Francesco Petrarca (; 20 July 1304 – 18/19 July 1374), commonly anglicized as Petrarch (), was a scholar and poet of early Renaissance Italy, and one of the earliest humanists. Petrarch's rediscovery of Cicero's letters is often credited ...
's "Africa" for Byron, while Byron finished Cantos 6–12 of ''Don Juan''. When Medwin decided to continue his tour of Italy in April 1822, Byron insisted on holding a splendid leaving party for him.


Death of Shelley

The impecunious Medwin travelled first to Rome, where he was introduced to the sculptor Antonio Canova, and then to
Naples Naples (; it, Napoli ; nap, Napule ), from grc, Νεάπολις, Neápolis, lit=new city. is the regional capital of Campania and the third-largest city of Italy, after Rome and Milan, with a population of 909,048 within the city's adminis ...
, before sailing to
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
. It was at Genoa that he heard a rumour of an English schooner being lost with two Englishman aboard, but only on his arrival in
Geneva , neighboring_municipalities= Carouge, Chêne-Bougeries, Cologny, Lancy, Grand-Saconnex, Pregny-Chambésy, Vernier, Veyrier , website = https://www.geneve.ch/ Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevr ...
did he learn that it was Shelley and Edward Williams, who had drowned on 8 July 1822. Medwin was devastated and returned to Italy, where he learned at
Spezia La Spezia (, or , ; in the local Spezzino dialect) is the capital city of the province of La Spezia and is located at the head of the Gulf of La Spezia in the southern part of the Liguria region of Italy. La Spezia is the second largest cit ...
that his friends' bodies had been thrown up out of the sea. He arrived in Pisa on 18 August, a few hours after the bodies had been cremated. Throughout the rest of his life, he was bitter about being late, even claiming at one time that he had been present. He met the widows and his friends Byron, Trelawny and
Leigh Hunt James Henry Leigh Hunt (19 October 178428 August 1859), best known as Leigh Hunt, was an English critic, essayist and poet. Hunt co-founded '' The Examiner'', a leading intellectual journal expounding radical principles. He was the centre ...
, who were present at Shelley's cremation, and he put the horror of those days into "Ahasuerus, The Wanderer", a poetic tribute, dedicated to Byron and laid at the feet of the dead Shelley. A melancholic Medwin left Pisa shortly after to visit Genoa, Geneva, Paris, and finally London.


Controversy over Byron

The restless Medwin moved to Paris in 1824, where he met
Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He is best known for his short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and " The Legen ...
, an American author who shared his enthusiasm for Byron and the Spanish poets, particularly Calderón. A lasting correspondence was formed. Shortly afterwards Medwin learned of the death of Lord Byron on 19 April 1824. The news was published in London on 15 May, and by 10 July Medwin had compiled a volume, his ''Conversations of Lord Byron''. The manuscript received short shrift from Mary Shelley and many other critics.
John Galt John Galt () is a character in Ayn Rand's novel ''Atlas Shrugged'' (1957). Although he is not identified by name until the last third of the novel, he is the object of its often-repeated question "Who is John Galt?" and of the quest to discover ...
and William Harness published negative appraisals in the November ''
Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by the publisher William Blackwood and was originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine''. The first number appeared in April 1817 ...
'', and John Cam Hobhouse wrote a withering assault on Medwin for the ''
Westminster Review The ''Westminster Review'' was a quarterly British publication. Established in 1823 as the official organ of the Philosophical Radicals, it was published from 1824 to 1914. James Mill was one of the driving forces behind the liberal journal unt ...
'' of January 1825, questioning the truth of much of the book's contents.
Lady Caroline Lamb Lady Caroline Lamb (née Ponsonby; 13 November 1785 – 25 January 1828) was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and novelist, best known for ''Glenarvon'', a Gothic novel. In 1812 she had an affair with Lord Byron, whom she described as "mad, bad, and ...
, one of Byron's mistresses, was deeply upset by Medwin's comments and wrote him letters putting her view of their affair to him.
John Murray (1778–1843) John Murray (27 November 1778 – 27 June 1843) was a Scottish publisher and member of the John Murray publishing house. He published works by authors such as Sir Walter Scott, Lord Byron, Jane Austen and Maria Rundell. Life The publishing ...
, the Scottish publisher whose family house owned the copyright to Byron's works, was also outraged at the revelations and threatened to sue. (Murray had destroyed
Byron's memoirs Byron's Memoirs, written between 1818 and 1821 but never published and destroyed soon after his death, recounted at full-length his life, loves and opinions. He gave the manuscript to the poet Thomas Moore, who in turn sold it to John Murray wi ...
as being unfit for publication.) However supporters of Medwin's book included several eminent writers, including Sir Samuel Egerton Brydges, who included in his edition of Edward Phillips' ''Theatrum Petarum Anglicanorum'' a memoir of Shelley, written by Medwin. Leigh Hunt, as might be expected, took a more tolerant view of Medwin in ''Lord Byron and his Contemporaries'' (1828), and since the publication of
Byron's letters The letters of Lord Byron, of which about 3,000 are known, range in date from 1798, when Byron was 10 years old, to 9 April 1824, a few days before he died. They have long received extraordinary critical praise for their wit, spontaneity and since ...
in
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 ...
's biography(1830/31) and Lady Blessington's ''Conversations'' (1832–1833), Medwin's recollections of Byron have come to be seen as not always faithful in detail, but essentially an accurate portrayal. There were at least twelve impressions in the United States, and it was published in Germany, France and Italy. It remains in print to this day. Captain Medwin was by then famous (or infamous), well-off, and able to marry Anne Henrietta Hamilton, Countess of Starnford (a Swedish title), on 2 November 1824 in
Lausanne , neighboring_municipalities= Bottens, Bretigny-sur-Morrens, Chavannes-près-Renens, Cheseaux-sur-Lausanne, Crissier, Cugy, Écublens, Épalinges, Évian-les-Bains (FR-74), Froideville, Jouxtens-Mézery, Le Mont-sur-Lausanne, Lugrin (FR ...
.


High life and downfall

Medwin was 36 when he married and took a long honeymoon at
Vevey Vevey (; frp, Vevê; german: label=former German, Vivis) is a town in Switzerland in the canton of Vaud, on the north shore of Lake Geneva, near Lausanne. The German name Vivis is no longer commonly used. It was the seat of the district of ...
before settling in Florence. The union produced two daughters, Henrietta and Catherine.Henrietta Medwin married an Italian aristocrat, Ferdinando Pieri Nerli, and their son, born in 1860, became known as G. P. Nerli, an artist working in the Antipodes who notably painted
Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson (born Robert Lewis Balfour Stevenson; 13 November 1850 – 3 December 1894) was a Scottish novelist, essayist, poet and travel writer. He is best known for works such as ''Treasure Island'', ''Strange Case of Dr Jekyll a ...
. His other daughter Catherine also married an Italian aristocrat, Cavaliere Enca Arrighi.
Medwin settled into a life of style and substance among an English émigré community. Unfortunately he was still living beyond his means and lost large sums buying and selling Italian art works. By 1829, when his father died, he was in dire financial straits, with creditors repossessing his goods. His marriage came under strain, and Medwin abandoned his wife and two daughters, leaving friends such as Trelawny and
Charles Armitage Brown Charles Armitage Brown (14 April 1787 – 5 June 1842) was a close friend of the poet John Keats, as well as a friend of artist Joseph Severn, Leigh Hunt, Thomas Jefferson Hogg, Walter Savage Landor and Edward John Trelawny. He was the fat ...
to sort out his and his wife's affairs.Many of his debts were subsequently paid off by his long suffering brother Pilford Medwin. Medwin moved to
Genoa Genoa ( ; it, Genova ; lij, Zêna ). is the capital of the Italian region of Liguria and the sixth-largest city in Italy. In 2015, 594,733 people lived within the city's administrative limits. As of the 2011 Italian census, the Province of ...
, where he worked assiduously on a play, ''Prometheus portarore del fuoco'' (Prometheus the Fire-Bearer). Though never published in English, it was translated into Italian and published in Genoa in 1830, where it was reviewed enthusiastically. In typical fashion, Medwin dedicated the play to the memory of Shelley. Genoa, however, turned out to be only an interlude, as Medwin was expelled for writing a tragedy called ''The Conspiracy of the Fieschi'', which alarmed the Genoese authorities, believing it to be anti-government propaganda. By January 1831 Medwin was back in London, still hoping to earn a living as a writer.


Translating Aeschylus

In 1832 his ''Memoir of Shelley'' was published in six weekly instalments in '' The Athenaeum'', with the Shelley Papers following at 18 weekly intervals until April 1833. These were collected in 1833 and published as ''The Shelley Papers; Memoir of Percy Bysshe Shelley''. By that time Medwin was editor of the ''New Anti-Jacobin: A Monthly Magazine of Politics, Commerce, Science, Art, Music and the Drama'', which appeared only twice, with contributions from the poet Horace Smith and John Poole, as well as the editor. Medwin had also embarked on well-received translations of
Aeschylus Aeschylus (, ; grc-gre, Αἰσχύλος ; c. 525/524 – c. 456/455 BC) was an ancient Greek tragedian, and is often described as the father of tragedy. Academic knowledge of the genre begins with his work, and understanding of earlier Greek ...
' plays into English. ''Prometheus Unbound'' and ''Agamemnon'' appeared in companion volumes in May 1833, followed by ''The Seven Tribes Against Thebes, The Persians, The Eumenides'' and ''The Choephori''. He did not translate ''The Suppliants'', apparently because he disapproved of "its corruptions". The translations were warmly reviewed by major literary magazines, including ''
The Gentleman's Magazine ''The Gentleman's Magazine'' was a monthly magazine founded in London, England, by Edward Cave in January 1731. It ran uninterrupted for almost 200 years, until 1922. It was the first to use the term '' magazine'' (from the French ''magazine ...
'', and published in ''
Fraser's Magazine ''Fraser's Magazine for Town and Country'' was a general and literary journal published in London from 1830 to 1882, which initially took a strong Tory line in politics. It was founded by Hugh Fraser and William Maginn in 1830 and loosely directe ...
''. Some criticised him for straying from the original meaning, which he had intentionally done, where he felt the occasion demanded. Medwin's skill lay in bringing alive Aeschylus's characters through believable dialogue that uses traditional metres and measure. Medwin's output in the middle years of the 1830s was extensive. He contributed a series of short stories to Bentley's ''Miscellany''. He departed from his usual classical fare in ''The Angler in Wales or Days and Nights of Sportsmen'', which is in the tradition of
Isaac Walton Izaak Walton (baptised 21 September 1593 – 15 December 1683) was an English writer. Best known as the author of '' The Compleat Angler'', he also wrote a number of short biographies including one of his friend John Donne. They have been col ...
's '' The Compleat Angler''. It defends the sport angling and provides insight into Medwin's love of the countryside and its pursuits. The publisher Richard Bentley contributed seventeen illustrations but decided that the submitted manuscript was not long enough for two volumes. This caused some tension between Medwin and Bentley as Medwin's funds were sparse. As a consequence additional material was added in the form of an appendix, made up of quotations from such works as Jan Swammerdam's ''Ephemeri vita'' , a treatise on the mayfly The second volume was padded by a revised version of Medwin's ''Pidararees'' now called ''Julian and Giselle'' Medwin's health was poor at this time as can be seen from correspondence with an unsympathetic Bentley now in the New York Library. In 1837 Medwin announced that he was moving to
Heidelberg Heidelberg (; Palatine German language, Palatine German: ''Heidlberg'') is a city in the States of Germany, German state of Baden-Württemberg, situated on the river Neckar in south-west Germany. As of the 2016 census, its population was 159,914 ...
, in the Grand Duchy of Baden, Germany.


Heidelberg

In 1837–47 Medwin published 26 tales and sketches for publication in ''The Athenaeum'' and in other literary magazines. The prose he was now producing was essentially that of a traveller, with settings associated with former periods of his life: India, Rome, Switzerland, Paris, Venice, Florence and later Jena, Mannheim and Strasbourg. He became a ''de facto'' correspondent for successive magazines including ''The Athenaeum'' and ''
The New Monthly Magazine ''The New Monthly Magazine'' was a British monthly magazine published from 1814 to 1884. It was founded by Henry Colburn and published by him through to 1845. History Colburn and Frederic Shoberl established ''The New Monthly Magazine and Univ ...
'' providing impressions of all things German. He joined the influential Heidelberg museum and participated fully in the city's literary life, reviewing local theatre for English readers. He read the works of German poets including: Karl Gutzkow,
Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck was born in B ...
, Ludwig Achim von Arnim,
Annette von Droste-Hülshoff Baroness Anna Elisabeth Franziska Adolphine Wilhelmine Louise Maria von Droste zu Hülshoff, known as Annette von Droste-Hülshoff (; 10 January 179724 May 1848), was a 19th-century German poet, novelist, and composer of Classical music. She was ...
, Rauch and Diefenbach. The poetry of the last he translated for English readers, as part of his contribution to cross-fertilisation of cultural relations between England and Germany.Anglo-German and American-German Crosscurrents By Arthur Orcutt Lewis, W. Lamarr Kopp, Edward J. Danis He lived in Heidelberg for most of the next twenty years, although travelling regularly to Baden-Baden, the setting for much of his only novel, ''Lady Singleton'', published in 1842. In Heidelberg he formed a deep attachment to the poet Caroline Champion de Crespigny (1797–1861),Sources differ for the birth and death dates of de Crespigny. There is a baptismal record in the register of Durham Cathedral dated 24 October 1797, whilst Probate records of 28 February 1862 record her death in Heidelberg on 26 December 1861, letters of administration having been granted to her son Albert Henry.Caroline Bathurst was the daughter of Henry Bathurst, Bishop of Norwich and niece of
Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst Allen Bathurst, 1st Earl Bathurst, (16 November 168416 September 1775), of Bathurst in the County of Sussex, known as The Lord Bathurst from 1712 to 1772, was a British Tory politician. Bathurst sat in the English and British House of Commons f ...
. In 1820 she married Heaton Champion de Crespigny, an ultimately unsuccessful union that produced at least five children, but had ended by 1837 with her husband pursued by creditors. She settled in Heidelberg shortly thereafter.
Their relationship was essentially intellectual, as neither could afford a divorce settlement from their estranged spouses. The English colony in Heidelberg was intimate. Medwin's acquaintances there included
Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...
and
William Howitt William Howitt (18 December 1792 – 3 March 1879), was a prolific English writer on history and other subjects. Howitt Primary Community School in Heanor, Derbyshire, is named after him and his wife. Biography Howitt was born at Heanor, Derbysh ...
, who found him a man of "culture and refinement, aristocratic in his tastes" whilst
Charles Godfrey Leland Charles Godfrey Leland (August 15, 1824 – March 20, 1903) was an American humorist and folklorist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He was educated at Princeton University and in Europe. Leland worked in journalism, travelled extensivel ...
, an American folklorist who befriended Medwin in Heidelberg describes Medwin as a kindly man 'full of anecdotes, which I now wish that I had recorded'. In the early 1840s Lady Fanny Lindon, John Keats's former fiancée and literary muse, moved to Heidelberg with her husband, and through her Medwin was involved once again in a controversy concerning a dead, but highly influential English Romantic poet. Medwin and Lady Lindon collaborated to correct the allegation provided by
Mary Shelley Mary Wollstonecraft Shelley (; ; 30 August 1797 – 1 February 1851) was an English novelist who wrote the Gothic novel '' Frankenstein; or, The Modern Prometheus'' (1818), which is considered an early example of science fiction. She also ...
in her ''Essays, Letters from Abroad, Translations and Fragments'' (1840) that Keats had become insane in his final days. Lady Lindon showed Medwin letters that suggested otherwise. Medwin used this new information formation in his ''Life of Shelley'', where he published extracts from letters by Keats and his friend Joseph Severn.


''Life of Shelley''

Medwin began his biography of Percy Shelley in 1845, corresponding with relatives and friends in England, including Percy Florence Shelley, the poet's son, and in 1846 requesting information from Mary Shelley. She was uncooperative, wishing to hinder publication of the biography and claiming that Medwin had attempted to bribe her with the sum of £250. The work took two years to finish, appearing in September 1847. It was not a coolly dispassionate account of Shelley's life. It is passionate and opinionated, and includes attacks on Medwin's personal enemies. There are numerous errors of date, fact and quotation, some of the later outright bowdlerised. (Most of the errors were removed by Harry Buxton Forman in 1913.)Harry Buxton Forman was exposed as a forger of antique books in 1934 by John Carter and Graham Pollard in ''An Enquiry into the Nature of Certain Nineteenth Century Pamphlets''. Yet it remains a major source for the poet's early life and work. Medwin is the main source on the childhood of Shelley, a major source for the events of 1821–1822, and a mine of personal recollections. It was also the major source of knowledge in Germany of the life and work of Shelley, who since his death had become something of a divisive figure, and criticism was to be expected. Medwin's biography duly received a withering attack in ''The Athenaeum'', which opened its review: "We are not in any way satisfied with this book." "
The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British magazine on politics, culture, and current affairs. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving weekly magazine in the world. It is owned by Frederick Barclay, who also owns ''The ...
" wrote "Medwin's labours... are chiefly remarkable for the art of stuffing... nor does the author forget a scandal when he can pick any up." Medwin was even more strongly reviled by the surviving members of the Pisan circle. Mary Shelley's reaction was to be expected, given her antipathy towards him, but Trelawny was equally cutting, calling the work "superficial" as late as 1870. However, it was received better by some critics, including William Howitt and W. Harrison Ainsworth, who began their review in ''Howitt's Journal'' by saying the subject "could not possibly have fallen into more competent hands." Medwin returned to Heidelberg from a visit to London and Horsham in time for the 1848
Revolution In political science, a revolution (Latin: ''revolutio'', "a turn around") is a fundamental and relatively sudden change in political power and political organization which occurs when the population revolts against the government, typically due ...
that swept through Germany. He and Caroline de Crespigny took flight to a more peaceable
Weinsberg Weinsberg (South Franconian: ''Weischberg'') is a town in the north of the state of Baden-Württemberg in Germany. It was founded around 1200 and is situated in the Heilbronn district. The town has about 11,800 inhabitants. It is noted for its win ...
in Wurttemberg. He continued to work there, producing some poetry and translations for his host,
Justinus Kerner Justinus Andreas Christian Kerner (18 September 1786, in Ludwigsburg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany – 21 February 1862, in Weinsberg, Baden-Württemberg) was a German poet, practicing physician, and medical writer. He gave the first detailed d ...
, to whom in 1854 he published a poem. He returned to Heidelberg the same year and published a further poetry volume, ''The Nugae''. This was international in content, with original poems and translations in Greek, Latin, English, and German. A further book of poetry published in 1862 in Heidelberg was entitled ''Odds and Ends'', with translations from
Catullus Gaius Valerius Catullus (; 84 - 54 BCE), often referred to simply as Catullus (, ), was a Latin poet of the late Roman Republic who wrote chiefly in the neoteric style of poetry, focusing on personal life rather than classical heroes. His ...
,
Virgil Publius Vergilius Maro (; traditional dates 15 October 7021 September 19 BC), usually called Virgil or Vergil ( ) in English, was an ancient Roman poet of the Augustan period. He composed three of the most famous poems in Latin literature: th ...
, Horace and
Scaliger The Della Scala family, whose members were known as Scaligeri () or Scaligers (; from the Latinized ''de Scalis''), was the ruling family of Verona and mainland Veneto (except for Venice) from 1262 to 1387, for a total of 125 years. History Wh ...
, and additional poems by Caroline de Crespigny, who died shortly before its publication. The book confirmed that Thomas Medwin was a learned man, but prone to be imprecise and careless.


Final years

Medwin returned finally to England in 1865 and began rewriting his "''Life of Shelley''", although the revision exists only in handwritten form. In 1869 he was visited by his old friend and sometime rival Trelawny, who found him constant and "always faithful and honest in his love of Shelley."Letters of Trelawny p. 221 Thomas Medwin died on 2 August 1869 at the house of his brother Pilfold Medwin (1794–1880) in the Carfax, Horsham, where he was buried in Denne Road Cemetery. At his request, his grave faces east to India, Italy and Germany, and reads: "He was a friend and companion of Byron, Shelley and Trelawny."


Legacy

Thomas Medwin's legacy tends to raise more questions than answers.Horsham's Forgotten Son: Thomas Medwin, Friend of Shelley and Byron by Susan Cabell Djabri, Jeremy Knight, Horsham District Council, Horsham Museum 1995 His writings on Byron and Shelley are often imprecise and he had a tendency to fall out with former associates, including Shelley's widow and Trelawny. These caveats aside he remains the main source of information on Shelley's childhood. His ''Conversations of Lord Byron'' is now seen generally as vivid and an essentially true picture of the man. The few writers to highlight Medwin concentrate on his popular writings on Shelley and Byron, but his legacy includes numerous translations from Greek, Latin, Italian, German, Portuguese and Spanish. His translations of Aeschylus are of lasting importance and his early travel writings are vivid and memorable.His poetry remains neglected, with little critical comment available since their publication. His importance in the mid-19th-century cultural cross-currents between Britain, the United States and Germany has only recently been assessed. Medwin introduced many German writers to the English-speaking world, notably the poets Karl Gutzkow,
Ludwig Tieck Johann Ludwig Tieck (; ; 31 May 177328 April 1853) was a German poet, fiction writer, translator, and critic. He was one of the founding fathers of the Romantic movement in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Early life Tieck was born in B ...
and Ludwig Achim von Arnim. He "deserves to be reassessed in the light of the new evidence that is now available."


Selected bibliography

*''Oswald and Edwin, an Oriental Sketch'' (Geneva 1821) *''Sketches in Hindoostan with Other Poems'' (London 1821) *''Ahasuerus, The Wanderer; Dramatic Legend in Six Parts'' (London 1823) *''The Death of Mago'' translated from Petrarch's ''Africa''; in Ugo Foscolo, ''Essays on Petrarch'' (London 1823) pp. 215 and 217 *''Journal of the Conversations of Lord Byron'' (Noted during a residence with his Lordship at Pisa, in the Years 1821 and 1822, London, 1824) *''Prometheus Bound'' (translated from Aeschylus), Siena 1927; London 1832; Fraser's Magazine XVI (August 1837), pp. 209–233 *''Agamemnon'' (translated from Aeschylus), London 1832; Fraser's Magazine XVIII (November 1838), pp. 505–539 *''The Choephori'' (translated from Aeschylus), Fraser's Magazine VI, (London 1832), pp. 511–535 *''The Shelley Papers'', Memoirs of Percy Bysshe Shelley (London, 1833) *''The Persians'' (translated from Aeschylus), Fraser's Magazine VII (January 1833) pp. 17–43 *''The Seven Against Thebes'' (translated from Aeschylus), Fraser's Magazine VII (April 1833) pp. 437–458 *''The Eumenides'' (translated from Aeschylus), Fraser's Magazine IX (May 1834) pp. 553–573. *''The Angler in Wales, or Days and Nights of Sportsmen'' (London 1834) *''The apportionment of the world, from Schiller'', translated by Thomas Medwin, Bentley's Miscellany IV p. 549 (December 1837) *''The Three Sisters. A Romance of Real Life'', Bentley's Miscellany III (January 1838) *''The Two Sisters'', Bentley's Miscellany III (March 1838) *''Canova: Leaves from the Autiobiography of an Amateur'', Frasers Magazine XX (September 1839) * ''My Moustache'', Ainsworth's Magazine, I, pp. 52–54 (1842) *''Lady Singleton, or, The world as it is'', Cunningham and Mortimer (London, 1843) *''The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley'' (London 1847) *''Oscar and Gianetta: From the German of a Sonnetten Kranz, by Louis von Ploennies'' The New Monthly Magazine XCI (March 1851) pp. pp. 360–361 *''To Justinus Kerner: With a Painted Wreath of Bay-Leaves'', The New Monthly Magazine XCI (November 1854) p. 196 *''Nugae'' (Heidelberg, 1856), edited by Medwin and including his own poems. *''Odds and Ends'' (Heidelberg, 1862) *''The Life of Percy Bysshe Shelley'' (London, 1913). A new edition, edited by H. Buxton Forman''


Biographies

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Notes


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Medwin, Thomas 1788 births 1869 deaths 19th-century English novelists Alumni of University College, Oxford People from Horsham English male poets Romantic poets English translators English biographers English male novelists 19th-century English male writers English male non-fiction writers 19th-century British translators Male biographers