Richard Steele - Wikipedia

Richard Steele - Wikipedia
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Anglo-Irish writer and politician (1671–1729)
This article is about the 18th-century author. For others, see
Richard Steele (disambiguation)
Sir
Richard Steele
Portrait by
Jonathan Richardson
Born
1671
Dublin
Kingdom of Ireland
Died
1 September 1729
(1729-09-01)
(aged 57–58)
Carmarthen
, Wales
Alma mater
Christ Church, Oxford
Merton College, Oxford
Occupations
Writer, playwright, politician
Known for
Founder of
The Spectator
Sir Richard Steele
c.
1671
– 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright and politician best known as the co-founder of the magazine
The Spectator
alongside his close friend
Joseph Addison
c.
1712
Kit-Cat Portrait
of Steele by
Godfrey Kneller
Early life
edit
Steele was born in
Dublin
Ireland
, in 1671 to Richard Steele, a wealthy attorney, and Elinor Symes (
née
Sheyles); his sister Katherine was born the previous year. He was the grandson of
Sir William Steele
Lord Chancellor of Ireland
and his first wife Elizabeth Godfrey. His father lived at Mountown House,
Monkstown
, Dublin. His mother, of whose family background little is known, was described as "a very beautiful woman, of a noble spirit".
His father died when he was four, and his mother a year later. Steele was largely raised by his uncle and aunt, Henry Gascoigne (secretary to
James Butler, 1st Duke of Ormonde
), and Lady Katherine Mildmay.
A member of the Protestant gentry, he was educated at
Charterhouse School
, where he first met Addison. After starting at
Christ Church, Oxford
, he went on to
Merton College, Oxford
, then joined the
Life Guards
of the
Household Cavalry
in order to support King William's
wars against France
. He was commissioned in 1697, and rose to the rank of captain within two years.
Literary life
edit
Steele's first published work,
The Christian Hero
(1701), attempted to point out the differences between perceived and actual masculinity. Written while Steele served in the army, it expressed his idea of a pamphlet of moral instruction.
The Christian Hero
was ultimately ridiculed for what some thought was hypocrisy because Steele did not necessarily follow his own preaching. He was criticized for publishing a booklet about morals when he himself enjoyed drinking, occasional duelling, and debauchery around town.
Steele wrote a comedy that same year titled
The Funeral
. This play met with wide success and was performed at Drury Lane, bringing him to the attention of the King and the Whig party. Next, Steele wrote
The Lying Lover
(1703), one of the first sentimental comedies, but a failure on stage.
Steele was a member of the Whig
Kit-Kat Club
. Both Steele and Addison became closely associated with Child's Coffee-house in
St Paul's Churchyard
Steele left the army in 1705, perhaps due to the death of the 34th Foot's commanding officer,
Lord Lucas
, which limited his opportunities of promotion.
Also in 1705, Steele married a widow, Margaret Stretch, who died in the following year. After Margaret's death, a
slave plantation
she owned in
Barbados
came into the ownership of Steele.
At her funeral he met his second wife,
Mary Scurlock
, whom he nicknamed "Prue" and married in 1707. In the course of their courtship and marriage, he wrote more than 400 letters to her.
Steele wrote
The Tender Husband
(1705) with contributions from Addison, and later that year wrote the prologue to
The Mistake
, by
John Vanbrugh
, also an important member of the Kit-Kat Club.
In 1706 Steele was appointed to a position in the household of
Prince George of Denmark
, consort of
Anne, Queen of Great Britain
. He also gained the favour of
Robert Harley
Earl of Oxford
The Tatler
, Steele's first public journal, first came out on 12 April 1709, and appeared three times a week: on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Steele edited this periodical under the pseudonym
Isaac Bickerstaff
and gave the Bickerstaff character an entire, fully developed personality. "Bickerstaff's" best
Tatler
columns were published by Steele as the book
Isaac Bickerstaff, Physician and Astrologer
later that year
Steele described his motive in writing
The Tatler
as "to expose the false arts of life, to pull off the disguises of cunning, vanity, and affectation, and to recommend a general simplicity in our dress, our discourse, and our behaviour".
Steele founded the magazine, and although he and Addison collaborated, Steele wrote the majority of the essays; Steele wrote roughly 188 of the 271 total and Addison 42, with 36 representing the pair's collaborative works. While Addison contributed to
The Tatler
, it is widely regarded as Steele's work.
The Tatler
was closed down in early 1711 to avoid the complications of running a Whig publication that had come under Tory attack.
Addison and Steele then founded
The Spectator
in 1711 and also
The Guardian
in 1713.
Parliamentary and late literary life
edit
Steele became a
Whig
Member of Parliament in 1713, for
Stockbridge
He was soon expelled for issuing a pamphlet in favour of the
Hanoverian succession
. When the Hanoverian
George I of Great Britain
came to the throne in the following year, Steele was knighted and given responsibility for the
Theatre Royal, Drury Lane
, London. He returned to parliament in 1715, for
Boroughbridge
10
He wrote a
preface
to Addison's 1716 comedy play
The Drummer
His wife Mary died in 1718, at a time when she was considering separation. Their daughter, Elizabeth (Steele's only surviving legitimate child), married John Trevor, 3rd
Baron Trevor
11
Steele ended his parliamentary career in March 1722.
While at Drury Lane, Steele wrote and directed the
sentimental comedy
The Conscious Lovers
, which was an immediate hit on stage in November 1722.
Retirement
edit
Steele fell out with Addison and with the government administration over the
Peerage Bill
(1719), and in 1724 he retired to his second wife's homeland of
Wales
, where he spent the remainder of his life.
12
Steele's house at Llangunnor, near Carmarthen, 1797
Steele died in 1729. He was buried in Carmarthen at
St Peter's Church
. During the restoration of the church in 2000, his skull was discovered in a lead casket, having previously been accidentally disinterred during the 1870s.
Of the 271 essays published in
The Tatler
journal,
Joseph Addison
(left) wrote 42, Steele (right) wrote roughly 188, and the rest were collaborations between the two writers.
In literature
edit
Steele plays a minor role in the novel
The History of Henry Esmond
by
William Makepeace Thackeray
. It is during his time with the Life Guards, where he is mostly referred to as Dick the Scholar and makes mention of his friend "Joe Addison". Thackeray depicts Steele in glowing terms as a warm, generous, talented mentor who befriends the title character in his youth and remains loyal to him for years despite their political differences.
See also
edit
List of abolitionist forerunners
References
edit
Dobson, Austin
(1898).
"Dictionary of National Biography, 1885-1900/Steele, Richard (1672-1729)"
. In
Lee, Sidney
(ed.).
Dictionary of National Biography
. Vol. 54. London:
Smith, Elder & Co
. pp.
130–
137.
Dammers, Richard H. (1982).
Richard Steele
. Boston: Twayne Publishers. p.
ISBN
9780805768374
"Steele, Sir Richard".
Oxford Dictionary of National Biography
(online ed.). Oxford University Press.
doi
10.1093/ref:odnb/26347
(Subscription,
Wikipedia Library
access or
UK public library membership
required.)
North, Michael (2008).
'Material Delight and the Joy of Living': Cultural Consumption in the Age of Enlightenment in Germany
. Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. p. 154.
ISBN
978-0-7546-5842-9
The Epistolary Correspondence of Sir Richard Steele
. Cambridge University Press. 22 May 2014.
ISBN
9781108074018
Herrig, Ludwig Christian Friedrich (1869).
The British Classical Authors: Select Specimens of the National Literature of England with Biographical and Critical Sketches. Poetry and Prose
. George Westermann. p. 138.
Maurer, Shawn Lisa (1991).
Reforming Men: Gender, Sexuality, and Class in the Early English Periodical
. University of Michigan. p. 116.
Eaman, Ross (2009).
The A to Z of Journalism
. Scarecrow Press. pp.
271–
2.
ISBN
978-0-8108-7067-3
Hanham, Andrew A. (2002).
"Steele, Richard (1672-1729), of Bloomsbury Square, London, and Llangunnor, Carm."
. In Hayton, David;
Cruickshanks, Eveline
; Handley, Stuart (eds.).
The House of Commons 1690–1715
The History of Parliament Trust
Lea, R. S. (1970).
"Steele, Richard (1672-1729), of Llangunnor, Carm."
. In
Sedgwick, Romney
(ed.).
The House of Commons 1715–1754
The History of Parliament Trust
"Elizabeth (Steele), Lady Trevor"
National Portrait Gallery, London
"The Life of Sir Richard Steele"
Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature
External links
edit
Wikisource
has original works by or about:
Richard Steele
Wikimedia Commons has media related to
Richard Steele
Wikiquote has quotations related to
Richard Steele
Works by Richard Steele
at
Faded Page
(Canada)
Works by Richard Steele in eBook form
at
Standard Ebooks
Works by Richard Steele
at
LibriVox
(public domain audiobooks)
Aitken, George Atherton
(1889).
The Life of Richard Steele
Works by Richard Steele
at
Project Gutenberg
Works by or about Richard Steele
at the
Internet Archive
Essays by Steele at Quotidiana.org
Dobson, Austin (1886).
Richard Steele
. New York: D. Appleton & Co.
Biography
, luminarium.org
Profile
, libraryireland.com
Parliament of Great Britain
Preceded by
The Earl of Barrymore
George Dashwood
Member of Parliament
for
Stockbridge
1713–1714
With:
Thomas Brodrick
Succeeded by
Thomas Brodrick
The Earl of Barrymore
Preceded by
Sir Brian Stapylton, Bt
Edmund Dunch
Member of Parliament
for
Boroughbridge
1715–1722
With:
Thomas Wilkinson
1715–1718
Sir Wilfrid Lawson, Bt
1718–1722
Succeeded by
Conyers Darcy
James Tyrrell
Preceded by
Sir Roger Hill
Richard Grenville
Member of Parliament
for
Wendover
1722–1727
With:
Richard Hampden
Succeeded by
Richard Hampden
The Viscount of Limerick
Restoration comedy
Playwrights
Aphra Behn
Susanna Centlivre
Colley Cibber
William Congreve
John Dryden
Thomas d'Urfey
George Etherege
George Farquhar
Edward Howard
James Howard
Robert Howard
Thomas Otway
Charles Sedley
Thomas Shadwell
Thomas Southerne
Richard Steele
John Vanbrugh
George Villiers
William Wycherley
Notable plays
The Cutter of Coleman Street
(1661)
The Adventures of Five Hours
(1663)
The Comical Revenge
(1664)
The Mulberry-Garden
(1668)
She Would If She Could
(1668)
An Evening's Love
(1668)
Sir Solomon Single
(1670)
Love in a Wood
(1671)
The Rehearsal
(1671)
Epsom Wells
(1672)
Marriage à la mode
(1672)
The Country Wife
(1675)
Love in the Dark
(1675)
The Country Wit
(1676)
The Plain-Dealer
(1676)
The Man of Mode
(1676)
Tom Essence
(1676)
A Fond Husband
(1677)
Friendship in Fashion
(1678)
Squire Oldsapp
(1678)
Tunbridge Wells
(1678)
A True Widow
(1678)
The Woman Captain
(1679)
The London Cuckolds
(1681)
Sir Barnaby Whigg
(1681)
The Royalist
(1682)
City Politiques
(1683)
Dame Dobson
(1683)
A Commonwealth of Women
(1685)
Sir Courtly Nice
(1685)
Bellamira
(1687)
A Fool's Preferment
(1688)
The Squire of Alsatia
(1688)
Bury Fair
(1689)
The Fortune Hunters
(1689)
The English Friar
(1690)
Sir Anthony Love
(1690)
Love for Money
(1691)
The Wives Excuse
(1691)
Greenwich Park
(1691)
The Marriage-Hater Matched
(1692)
The Volunteers
(1692)
The Canterbury Guests
(1694)
The Married Beau
(1694)
Love for Love
(1695)
Love's Last Shift
(1696)
The Relapse
(1696)
The Campaigners
(1698)
Love and a Bottle
(1698)
The Constant Couple
(1699)
The Way of the World
(1700)
Sir Harry Wildair
(1701)
The Lying Lover
(1703)
The Careless Husband
(1704)
The Recruiting Officer
(1706)
The Beaux' Stratagem
(1707)
Characters
Fop
Rake
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