James Lionel Michael (October 1824 – 26 April 1868) was an

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Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

n solicitor and poet.

Early life

Michael was born in

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, the second son of James Walter Michael, a solicitor, and his wife, Rose Lemon ''née'' Hart. Michael told his friend Joseph Sheridan Moore, that the passage on page 12 of ''John Cumberland'', beginning "My earliest memory", gives an exact picture of his childhood. After visiting Europe, Michael was articled to his father and began to mix in artistic and literary society. Sheridan Moore states that Michael became friendly with Millais and Ruskin, and published a pamphlet which made some stir at the time, vindicating the position of the pre-Raphaelite brotherhood. Moore also says that though "always temperate and abstemious in his habits he had a talent for frittering away his money". This could have been one of the reasons for his migration to Australia.

Australia

Michael arrived in

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on 30 July 1853 and practised as a solicitor with some success. He became friendly with Joseph Sheridan Moore who introduced him to Henry Kendall, whom he afterwards took into his office and "treated as an affectionate elder brother would a younger one". In 1857 Michael published ''Songs without Music'', a collection of lyrics, and in 1860 ''John Cumberland'', a long, largely autobiographical poem. In 1861 he moved to Grafton on the Clarence River and for a time practised successfully; but towards the end of his life he appears to have made enemies and was in financial difficulties. In 1864, Michael was legally separated from his wife. On the evening of Sunday 26 April 1868 Michael went for a walk dressed in a great-coat, cap and galoshes; two days later his body was found floating in the Clarence River. The medical evidence stated that there was a deep cut over the right eye "such as might be produced by falling on a broken bottle". The coroner's jury returned an

open verdict The open verdict is an option open to a coroner's jury at an inquest in the legal system of England and Wales. The verdict means the jury confirms the death is suspicious, but is unable to reach any other verdicts open to them. Mortality studies c ...

, and although a set of verses Michael had written a few weeks before suggested to some people that he had contemplated suicide, the possibility of this was indignantly denied by his friend, Sheridan Moore, who declared that the evidence suggested either foul play or accident, rather than suicide. Michael married in 1854 and was survived by a son. He died heavily in debt. Michael wrote musical verse, some of which has been included in Australian anthologies. His long poem, ''John Cumberland'', contains some good passages, however has many patches of prose. Though a minor Australian poet, Michael's encouragement of the young Kendall gave him a special interest. His friends said he had a charming personality.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Michael, James Lionel 1824 births 1868 deaths Australian poets English male poets 19th-century English poets 19th-century English male writers