Life

He was the son of William Boaden, a merchant in the Russia trade. He was born at Whitehaven

Whitehaven

Whitehaven is a small town and port on the coast of Cumbria, England, which lies equidistant between the county's two largest settlements, Carlisle and Barrow-in-Furness, and is served by the Cumbrian Coast Line and the A595 road...

, Cumberland

Cumberland

Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....

, on 23 May 1762, and at an early age came with his parents to London, where he was educated for commerce. After serving some time in a counting-house he turned his attention to journalism, and in 1789 was appointed editor of the Oracle newspaper, which had been started in that year as a rival to the World. Boaden entered himself at the Middle Temple

Middle Temple

The Honourable Society of the Middle Temple, commonly known as Middle Temple, is one of the four Inns of Court exclusively entitled to call their members to the English Bar as barristers; the others being the Inner Temple, Gray's Inn and Lincoln's Inn...

, but does not appear to have been called to the bar. He died on 16 February 1839.

Dramatic works

Boaden's first dramatic piece was ‘Osmyn and Daraxa, a Musical Romance,’ acted in 1793. His next play, ‘Fontainville Forest,’ 1794, founded on Ann Radcliffe

Ann Radcliffe

Anne Radcliffe was an English author, and considered the pioneer of the gothic novel . Her style is romantic in its vivid descriptions of landscapes, and long travel scenes, yet the Gothic element is obvious through her use of the supernatural...

's ‘Romance of the Forest,’ was received with applause at Covent Garden

Covent Garden

Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...

. From 1795 to 1803 he continued to write plays which were well received: ‘The Secret Tribunal,’ 1795; ‘Italian Monk,’ 1797, founded on Mrs. Radcliffe's novel of the same name; ‘Cambro Britons,’ 1798; ‘Aurelio and Miranda,’ 1799; ‘Voice of Nature,’ 1803; ‘Maid of Bristol,’ 1803.

The Shakespeare forgeries

In 1796 Boaden addressed to George Steevens

George Steevens

George Steevens was an English Shakespearean commentator.He was born at Poplar, the son of a captain and later director of the East India Company. He was educated at Eton College and at King's College, Cambridge, where he remained from 1753 to 1756...

, the Shakespearean commentator, ‘A Letter containing a Critical Examination of the Papers of Shakespeare published by Mr. Samuel Ireland.’ He stated in this letter his grounds for believing the papers held by Samuel Ireland

Samuel Ireland

Samuel Ireland , British author and engraver, is best remembered today as the chief victim of the Ireland Shakespeare forgeries created by his son, William Henry Ireland.-Early life:...

 to be spurious; but said that he, like so many others, had been at first deceived. In reply to this letter appeared an anonymous pamphlet, entitled ‘A Comparative Review of the Opinions of Mr. James Boaden (editor of the “Oracle”) in February, March, and April 1795, and of James Boaden, Esq. (author of “Fontainville Forest” and of a “Letter to George Steevens, Esq.”) in February 1796, relative to the Shakespeare MSS. By a Friend to Consistency.’ The ‘Friend to Consistency’ (James Wyatt) pointed out that Boaden had been most enthusiastic about the ‘invaluable remains of our immortal bard’ when they were first presented to the public.

Biographer

In later life Boaden wrote biographies of celebrated actors and actresses. His ‘Life of Kemble’ (with whom he had been on terms of intimacy), in two volumes, appeared in 1825. It was followed by the ‘Life of Mrs. Siddons,’ 1827, 2 vols. 8vo, and ‘Life of Mrs. Jordan,’ 1831, 2 vols. These memoirs are in an easy style and accurate. In 1833 Boaden published his ‘Memoirs of Mrs. Inchbald,’ 2 vols, to which were added some dramatic pieces published (for the first time) from Mrs. Inchbald's manuscripts.

Later writings

Boaden's attempts at novel-writing were esteemed ‘ingenious performances’ in their day. ‘The Man of Two Lives’ is the title of one, and the ‘Doom of Giallo, or the Vision of Judgment,’ 1835, 2 vols, of the other. In 1824 appeared ‘An Inquiry into the Authenticity of the various Pictures and Prints of Shakespeare,’ and in 1837 a tract o ‘On the Sonnets of Shakespeare, identifying the person to whom they are addressed, and elucidating several points in the Poet's History.’ The writer maintains that the Mr. W. H. to whom the sonnets were dedicated was William Herbert

William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke

William Herbert, 3rd Earl of Pembroke, KG, PC was the son of Henry Herbert, 2nd Earl of Pembroke and his third wife Mary Sidney. Chancellor of the University of Oxford, he founded Pembroke College, Oxford with King James. He was warden of the Forest of Dean, and constable of St Briavels from 1608...

, a view adopted also by later scholars. The essay first appeared in some numbers of the Gentleman's Magazine in 1832.

Family

He left nine children, of whom John Boaden

John Boaden

John Boaden, a portrait painter, and son of dramatic critic James Boaden, exhibited his works for many years, between 1812 and 1838, at the Royal Academy and the Society of British Artists. He died in 1839. In the South Kensington Museum is a portrait of the Rev. Chauncy Hare Townshend by...

was an artist, and another (a daughter) inherited a facility for play-writing.