Joseph Cottle
Encyclopedia
Joseph Cottle was a publisher and author
.
Cottle started business in Bristol. He published the works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
and Robert Southey
on generous terms. He then wrote in his Early Recollections an exposure of Coleridge that was, at the time, severely criticised and generally condemned.
but did not receive his classical education; he was for two years at the school of Richard Henderson. Henderson advised him to become a bookseller, and Cottle set up in business in 1791. In 1794 he made, through Robert Lovell
, the acquaintance of Coleridge and Southey, then in Bristol and preparing for emigration to America. Coleridge had been offered in London six guineas for the copyright of his poems, but Cottle offered thirty, and the same sum to Southey, also proposing to give the latter fifty guineas for his Joan of Arc, and made arrangements for the lectures delivered on behalf of pantisocracy
. He facilitated Coleridge's marriage by the promise of a guinea and a half for every hundred lines of poetry he might produce after the completion of the volume already contracted for. This eventually appeared in April 1796. Joan of Arc was published in the same year.
Cottle next undertook the publication and support of Coleridge's periodical, The Watchman. He was shortly afterwards introduced by Coleridge to William Wordsworth
, and the acquaintance resulted in the publication of the two poets' Lyrical Ballads
in the autumn of 1798. In the following year Cottle retired from business as a bookseller.
His acquaintance with Coleridge was renewed years later. When in 1814 and 1815 Coleridge was at a low ebb by his opium
addiction, Cottle addressed to him some well intended rebukes. In his Biographia Literaria
, Coleridge alludes to Cottle as ‘a friend from whom I never received any advice that was not wise, or a remonstrance that was not gentle and affectionate.’ Cottle died at Fairfield House, Bristol, 7 June 1853.
Against advice from Thomas Poole and James Gillman, Cottle, in his Early Recollections, chiefly relating to Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1837), enumerated his generosities to Coleridge and Southey, and entered into details of Coleridge's opium habit. ‘The confusion in Cottle's “Recollections” is greater than any one would think possible,’ said Southey; the book is inaccurate in its dates, and documents quoted are garbled. It has details on others such as Robert Lovell and William Gilbert. It has youthful portraits of Coleridge, Southey, Wordsworth, and Charles Lamb
. A second edition was published in 1847 under the title of Reminiscences of Coleridge and Southey.
The appendix to the fourth edition of his Malvern Hills (1829) contains several essays, including an account of his tutor Henderson, a discussion of the authenticity of the Rowley poems, and a description of the Oreston Caves, near Plymouth
, and their fossils. His correspondence with Joseph Haslewood
on the Rowley manuscripts is preserved in the British Museum.
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
.
Cottle started business in Bristol. He published the works of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
and Robert Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
on generous terms. He then wrote in his Early Recollections an exposure of Coleridge that was, at the time, severely criticised and generally condemned.
Life
He was the brother of Amos Simon CottleAmos Simon Cottle
Amos Simon Cottle was an English translator and poet. His publications include, Icelandic poetry or The Edda of Sæmund which was first printed in 1797 with Robert Southey as a co-author.-Life:...
but did not receive his classical education; he was for two years at the school of Richard Henderson. Henderson advised him to become a bookseller, and Cottle set up in business in 1791. In 1794 he made, through Robert Lovell
Robert Lovell
-Life:He was born in Bristol, the son of a wealthy Quaker, and probably followed some business. He estranged himself from his original circle by marrying, in 1794, Mary Fricker, a girl of much beauty and some talent, who had gone on the stage...
, the acquaintance of Coleridge and Southey, then in Bristol and preparing for emigration to America. Coleridge had been offered in London six guineas for the copyright of his poems, but Cottle offered thirty, and the same sum to Southey, also proposing to give the latter fifty guineas for his Joan of Arc, and made arrangements for the lectures delivered on behalf of pantisocracy
Pantisocracy
Pantisocracy was a utopian scheme devised in 1794 by the poets Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey for an egalitarian community...
. He facilitated Coleridge's marriage by the promise of a guinea and a half for every hundred lines of poetry he might produce after the completion of the volume already contracted for. This eventually appeared in April 1796. Joan of Arc was published in the same year.
Cottle next undertook the publication and support of Coleridge's periodical, The Watchman. He was shortly afterwards introduced by Coleridge to William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, and the acquaintance resulted in the publication of the two poets' Lyrical Ballads
Lyrical Ballads
Lyrical Ballads, with a Few Other Poems is a collection of poems by William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, first published in 1798 and generally considered to have marked the beginning of the English Romantic movement in literature...
in the autumn of 1798. In the following year Cottle retired from business as a bookseller.
His acquaintance with Coleridge was renewed years later. When in 1814 and 1815 Coleridge was at a low ebb by his opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
addiction, Cottle addressed to him some well intended rebukes. In his Biographia Literaria
Biographia Literaria
Biographia Literaria, or in full Biographia Literaria; or Biographical Sketches of MY LITERARY LIFE and OPINIONS, is an autobiography in discourse by Samuel Taylor Coleridge, which he published in 1817. The work is long and seemingly loosely structured, and although there are autobiographical...
, Coleridge alludes to Cottle as ‘a friend from whom I never received any advice that was not wise, or a remonstrance that was not gentle and affectionate.’ Cottle died at Fairfield House, Bristol, 7 June 1853.
Works
He produced several volumes of his own. Malvern Hills was published in 1798, John the Baptist, a Poem, in 1801, Alfred, an Epic Poem, in the same year, The Fall of Cambria in 1809, Messiah in 1815. These pieces exposed him to the sarcasm of Lord Byron.Against advice from Thomas Poole and James Gillman, Cottle, in his Early Recollections, chiefly relating to Samuel Taylor Coleridge (1837), enumerated his generosities to Coleridge and Southey, and entered into details of Coleridge's opium habit. ‘The confusion in Cottle's “Recollections” is greater than any one would think possible,’ said Southey; the book is inaccurate in its dates, and documents quoted are garbled. It has details on others such as Robert Lovell and William Gilbert. It has youthful portraits of Coleridge, Southey, Wordsworth, and Charles Lamb
Charles Lamb
Charles Lamb was an English essayist, best known for his Essays of Elia and for the children's book Tales from Shakespeare, which he produced with his sister, Mary Lamb . Lamb has been referred to by E.V...
. A second edition was published in 1847 under the title of Reminiscences of Coleridge and Southey.
The appendix to the fourth edition of his Malvern Hills (1829) contains several essays, including an account of his tutor Henderson, a discussion of the authenticity of the Rowley poems, and a description of the Oreston Caves, near Plymouth
Plymouth
Plymouth is a city and unitary authority area on the coast of Devon, England, about south-west of London. It is built between the mouths of the rivers Plym to the east and Tamar to the west, where they join Plymouth Sound...
, and their fossils. His correspondence with Joseph Haslewood
Joseph Haslewood
Joseph Haslewood , was an English writer and antiquary. He was a founder of the Roxburghe Club.Haslewood was born in London, the son of Richard Haslewood and his wife Mary Dewsbery. He was an author and editor of many books, and assisted the bibliographer Sir Egerton Brydges...
on the Rowley manuscripts is preserved in the British Museum.
Works
- Early Recollections
- Reminiscences of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey (full text at Project GutenbergProject GutenbergProject Gutenberg is a volunteer effort to digitize and archive cultural works, to "encourage the creation and distribution of eBooks". Founded in 1971 by Michael S. Hart, it is the oldest digital library. Most of the items in its collection are the full texts of public domain books...
)
External links
- Image of Cottle at the National Portrait Gallery