James Sheridan Knowles (12 May 1784 – 30 November 1862) was an Irish dramatist and actor.

Biography

The grave of James Sheridan Knowles, Glasgow Necropolis

Knowles was born in Cork. His father was the

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons, and is divided into two separate academic disciplines. It is the art of compiling dictionaries. * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionaries. * Theoretica ...

James Knowles (1759–1840), cousin of

Richard Brinsley Sheridan Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan (30 October 17517 July 1816) was an Irish satirist, a politician, a playwright, poet, and long-term owner of the London Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. He is known for his plays such as '' The Rivals'', '' The ...

. The family moved to London in 1793, and at the age of fourteen Knowles published a ballad entitled ''The Welsh Harper'', which, set to music, was very popular. His talents secured him the friendship of

William Hazlitt William Hazlitt (10 April 177818 September 1830) was an English essayist, drama and literary critic, painter, social commentator, and philosopher. He is now considered one of the greatest critics and essayists in the history of the English lan ...

, who introduced him to

Charles Lamb Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764� ...

and

Samuel Taylor Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...

. He served for some time in the

Wiltshire Wiltshire (; abbreviated Wilts) is a historic and ceremonial county in South West England with an area of . It is landlocked and borders the counties of Dorset to the southwest, Somerset to the west, Hampshire to the southeast, Gloucestershire ...

and afterwards in the

Tower Hamlets The London Borough of Tower Hamlets is a London borough covering much of the traditional East End. It was formed in 1965 from the merger of the former metropolitan boroughs of Stepney, Poplar, and Bethnal Green. 'Tower Hamlets' was originally ...

militia, leaving the service to become a pupil of Dr Robert Willan (1757–1812). He obtained the degree of M.D., and was appointed vaccinator to the Jennerian Society. Although Dr Willan offered him a share in his practice, Knowles decided to give up medicine for the stage, making his first appearance as an actor probably at Bath, and played Hamlet at the Crow Theatre,

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

. At

Wexford Wexford () is the county town of County Wexford, Ireland. Wexford lies on the south side of Wexford Harbour, the estuary of the River Slaney near the southeastern corner of the island of Ireland. The town is linked to Dublin by the M11/N11 ...

he married, in October 1809, Maria Charteris, an actress from the Edinburgh Theatre. In 1810 he wrote ''Leo'', a successful play in which

Edmund Kean Edmund Kean (4 November 178715 May 1833) was a celebrated British Shakespearean stage actor born in England, who performed, among other places, in London, Belfast, New York, Quebec, and Paris. He was known for his short stature, tumultuo ...

appeared; another play, ''Brian Boroihme'', written for the Belfast Theatre in the next year, attracted crowds; nevertheless, Knowles's earnings were so small that he was obliged to become assistant to his father at the Belfast Academical Institution. In 1817 he moved from

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

, where, besides keeping a flourishing school, he continued to write for the stage. His first important success was '' Caius Gracchus'', produced at Belfast in 1815; and his '' Virginius'', written for

William Charles Macready William Charles Macready (3 March 179327 April 1873) was an English actor. Life He was born in London the son of William Macready the elder, and actress Christina Ann Birch. Educated at Rugby School where he became headboy, and where now the t ...

, was first performed in 1820 at Covent Garden. In ''

William Tell William Tell (german: Wilhelm Tell, ; french: Guillaume Tell; it, Guglielmo Tell; rm, Guglielm Tell) is a folk hero of Switzerland. According to the legend, Tell was an expert mountain climber and marksman with a crossbow who assassinated Albr ...

'' (1825), Knowles wrote for Macready one of his favourite parts. His best-known play, ''The Hunchback'', was produced at Covent Garden in 1832, and Knowles won praise acting in the work as Master Walter.Stedman, Jane W.
"General Utility: Victorian Author-Actors from Knowles to Pinero"
''Educational Theatre Journal'', Vol. 24, No. 3, October 1972, pp. 289–301, The Johns Hopkins University Press ''The Wife'' was brought out at the same theatre in 1833; ''The Daughter,'' better known as ''The Wrecker's Daughter,'' in 1836, and ''The Love Chase'' in 1837. In his later years he forsook the stage for the pulpit, and as a Baptist preacher attracted large audiences at

Exeter Hall Exeter Hall was a large public meeting place on the north side of the Strand in central London, opposite where the Savoy Hotel now stands. From 1831 until 1907 Exeter Hall was the venue for many great gatherings by promoters of human bettermen ...

and elsewhere. He published two polemical works: the ''Rock of Rome'' and the ''Idol Demolished by Its Own Priests'' in both of which he combated the special doctrines of the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

. Knowles was for some years in the receipt of an annual pension of £200, bestowed by

Sir Robert Peel Sir Robert Peel, 2nd Baronet, (5 February 1788 – 2 July 1850) was a British Conservative statesman who served twice as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1834–1835 and 1841–1846) simultaneously serving as Chancellor of the Exchequer ...

in 1849. In old age he befriended the young

Edmund Gosse Sir Edmund William Gosse (; 21 September 184916 May 1928) was an English poet, author and critic. He was strictly brought up in a small Protestant sect, the Plymouth Brethren, but broke away sharply from that faith. His account of his childhoo ...

, whom he introduced to Shakespeare. Knowles makes a happy appearance in Gosse's ''

Father and Son Father and Son or Fathers and Sons may refer to: Literature * ''Father and Son'' (book), a 1907 memoir by Edmund Gosse *Father and Son (comics), cartoon characters created by E. O. Plauen * ''Fathers and Sons'' (novel), an 1862 novel by Ivan Tur ...

''. He died at

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paig ...

on 30 November 1862. He is buried under a huge tomb at the summit of the

Glasgow Necropolis The Glasgow Necropolis is a Victorian cemetery in Glasgow, Scotland. It is on a low but very prominent hill to the east of Glasgow Cathedral (St. Mungo's Cathedral). Fifty thousand individuals have been buried here. Typical for the period, only ...

Bibliography

A full list of the works of Knowles and of the various notices of him will be found in ''The Life of James Sheridan Knowles'' (1872), privately printed by his son, Richard Brinsley Knowles (1820–1882), who was well known as a journalist. It was translated into German.

Works

Plays

*''Leo; or, The Gipsy'' (1810) *''Brian Boroihme; or, The Maid of Erin'' (1811) *''Caius Gracchus'' (1815) *'' Virginius'' (1820) A Tragedy in Five Acts *''

'' (1825)''The dramatic works of James Sheridan Knowles'' Volume 1 (1856)
/ref> *'' The Beggar's Daughter of Bethnal Green'' (1828) *'' Alfred the Great; or The Patriot King'' (1831) *''The Hunchback'' (1832) * A Masque (in one act and in verse on the death of Sir Walter Scott) (1832) *''The Wife; A Tale of Mantua'' (1833) *''The Beggar of Bethnal Green'' (1834) *''The Daughter'' (1837) *''The Love Chase'' (1837) *''Woman's Wit; or, Loves Disguises'' (1838) *''The Maid of Mariendorpt'' (1838) *''Love'' (1839) *'' John of Procida; or, The Bridals of Messina'' (1840) *''Old Maids'' (1841) *''The Rose of Arragon'' (1842) *''The Secretary'' (1843) *''The Bridal'' (1847) (An adaptation of ''

The Maid's Tragedy ''The Maid's Tragedy'' is a play by Francis Beaumont and John Fletcher. It was first published in 1619. The play has provoked divided responses from critics. Date The play's date of origin is not known with certainty. In 1611, Sir George Buck ...

'')Ludwig Hasberg (1883) ''James Sheridan Knowles' Leben und dramatische Werke'', Lingen, Hanover
(Google eBook) (German) *''Alexina; or, True unto Death'' (1866)

Novels and short stories

*''The Magdalen and Other Tales'' (1832) *''Fortescue'' (1847) * 1855 Playbill St

''George Lovell'' (1852) *''Old Adventures'' (1859) *''Tales and Novelettes etc.'' (1874)

Poetry

*''A Collection of Poems on Various Subjects'' (1810) *''Fugitive Pieces'' *''The Senate, or Social Villagers of Kentish Town'', a Canto (1817)

Theological writings

*''The Rock of Rome; or, The Arch Heresy'' (1849) *''The Idol Demolished by Its Own Priest'' (1852) (An answer to Cardinal Wiseman's Lectures on

Transubstantiation Transubstantiation (Latin: ''transubstantiatio''; Greek: μετουσίωσις '' metousiosis'') is, according to the teaching of the Catholic Church, "the change of the whole substance of bread into the substance of the Body of Christ and of ...

.) *''The Gospel Attributed to Matthew in the Record of the Whole Original Apostlehood'' (1855)

Non-fiction

*''The Elocutionist'' (1831) (A collection of pieces in prose and verse; peculiarly adapted to display the art of reading...) *''A Treatise on the Climate of Madeira'' (1850) *''The Debater's Handbook'' (1862) *''Lectures on Dramatic Literature'' (1875) ''Lectures on dramatic literature'' (Google eBook)"> ''Lectures on dramatic literature'' (Google eBook)
/ref>

References

External links

* * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Knowles, James Sheridan 1784 births 1862 deaths Irish male dramatists and playwrights People from County Cork 19th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights 19th-century male writers Irish emigrants to Great Britain