Thomas Holcroft
Encyclopedia
Thomas Holcroft was an English dramatist and miscellaneous writer.
. His father had a shoemaker's shop, and kept riding horses for hire; but having fallen into difficulties was reduced to the status of hawking peddler
. The son accompanied his parents in their travels, and obtained work as a stable boy at Newmarket, where he spent his evenings chiefly in miscellaneous reading and the study of music. Gradually he obtained a knowledge of French
, German
and Italian
.
When his job as stable boy came to an end, he returned to assist his father, who had resumed his trade of shoemaker in London; but after marrying his cousin, the half-sister of Maj. Charles Marsack of Caversham Park
, in 1765, he became a teacher in a small school in Liverpool. He failed in an attempt to set up a private school, and became prompter
in a Dublin theatre. He acted in various strolling companies until 1778, when he produced The Crisis; or, Love and Famine, at Drury Lane
. Duplicity followed in 1781.
. Here he attended the performances of Beaumarchais
's Mariage de Figaro until he had memorized the whole. His translation of it, with the title The Follies of the Day, was produced at Drury Lane in 1784. The Road to Ruin, his most successful play, was produced in 1792. A revival in 1873 ran for 118 nights.
His novels include Alwyn (1780), an account, largely autobiographical, of a strolling comedian, Anna St. Ives (the first British Jacobin novel
, published in 1792), and The Adventures of Hugh Trevor (1794-1797). He also was the author of Travels from Hamburg through Westphalia, Holland and the Netherlands to Paris, of some volumes of verse and of translations from the French and German. One of these was Letters Between Frederic II and M. De Voltaire (1789).
Sympathetic to the early ideals of the French Revolution
, Holcroft assisted in the publication of the first part of Thomas Paine
's The Rights of Man
in 1791 He joined the Society for Constitutional Information
(SCI) in 1792 and was appointed a member of a liaison committee to work with the LCS in early 1794. As a result of his activism, in the autumn of 1794 Holcroft was indicted for high treason and held in Newgate Prison whilst three other treason trials
proceeded. In early December 1794, Holcroft was discharged without trial after those cases, against London Corresponding Society
secretary Thomas Hardy
, and SCI figure John Horne Tooke
, resulted in acquittals.
As one of what Secretary of War William Windham
called "acquitted felons", Holcroft's post-arrest reputation meant that his plays achieved little success after 1795, although he was instrumental in bringing melodrama
to Britain at the end of the decade with his Deaf and Dumb (1801) and A Tale of Mystery (1802) (an unacknowledged translation of de Pixerécourt
's Cœlina, ou, l'enfant du mystère). Despite a modicum of success with A Tale of Mystery, the remainder of the decade was marked by unsuccessful attempts to return to the public eye. He died in 1809, not long after a deathbed reconciliation with his closest friend from the 1790s (but lately estranged), William Godwin
. His Memoirs written by Himself and continued down to the Time of his Death, from his Diary, Notes and other Papers, by William Hazlitt
, appeared in 1816, and was reprinted, in a slightly abridged form, in 1852. His daughter Fanny Holcroft (1780-1844), wrote the noted Romantic anti-slavery poem, "The Negro" (1797).
Early life
He was born in Orange Court, Leicester Fields, LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. His father had a shoemaker's shop, and kept riding horses for hire; but having fallen into difficulties was reduced to the status of hawking peddler
Peddler
A peddler, in British English pedlar, also known as a canvasser, cheapjack, monger, or solicitor , is a travelling vendor of goods. In England, the term was mostly used for travellers hawking goods in the countryside to small towns and villages; they might also be called tinkers or gypsies...
. The son accompanied his parents in their travels, and obtained work as a stable boy at Newmarket, where he spent his evenings chiefly in miscellaneous reading and the study of music. Gradually he obtained a knowledge of French
French language
French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...
, German
German language
German is a West Germanic language, related to and classified alongside English and Dutch. With an estimated 90 – 98 million native speakers, German is one of the world's major languages and is the most widely-spoken first language in the European Union....
and Italian
Italian language
Italian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
.
When his job as stable boy came to an end, he returned to assist his father, who had resumed his trade of shoemaker in London; but after marrying his cousin, the half-sister of Maj. Charles Marsack of Caversham Park
Caversham Park
Caversham Park is a Victorian stately home with parkland in the suburb of Caversham, on the outskirts of Reading, England. Historically it was in Oxfordshire, but since 1911 it has been in Berkshire.-Early History:...
, in 1765, he became a teacher in a small school in Liverpool. He failed in an attempt to set up a private school, and became prompter
Prompt (theatre)
The prompt in a theatre is traditionally the person who prompts or cues actors when they forget their lines or neglect to move on the stage to where they are supposed to be situated....
in a Dublin theatre. He acted in various strolling companies until 1778, when he produced The Crisis; or, Love and Famine, at Drury Lane
Drury Lane
Drury Lane is a street on the eastern boundary of the Covent Garden area of London, running between Aldwych and High Holborn. The northern part is in the borough of Camden and the southern part in the City of Westminster....
. Duplicity followed in 1781.
Literary and political career
Two years later Holcroft went to Paris as correspondent of the Morning HeraldMorning Herald
The Morning Herald was an early daily newspaper in the United Kingdom.The newspaper was founded in 1780 by the Reverend Sir Henry Bate Dudley, former editor of The Morning Post. It was initially a liberal paper aligned with the Prince of Wales, but later became aligned with the Tories...
. Here he attended the performances of Beaumarchais
Pierre Beaumarchais
Pierre-Augustin Caron de Beaumarchais was a French playwright, watchmaker, inventor, musician, diplomat, fugitive, spy, publisher, arms dealer, satirist, financier, and revolutionary ....
's Mariage de Figaro until he had memorized the whole. His translation of it, with the title The Follies of the Day, was produced at Drury Lane in 1784. The Road to Ruin, his most successful play, was produced in 1792. A revival in 1873 ran for 118 nights.
His novels include Alwyn (1780), an account, largely autobiographical, of a strolling comedian, Anna St. Ives (the first British Jacobin novel
Jacobin novel
Jacobin novels were written between 1780 and 1805 by British radicals who supported the ideals of the French revolution. The term was coined by literary scholar Gary Kelly in The English Jacobin Novel 1780-1805 but drawn from the title of the Anti-Jacobin: or, Weekly Examiner, a conservative...
, published in 1792), and The Adventures of Hugh Trevor (1794-1797). He also was the author of Travels from Hamburg through Westphalia, Holland and the Netherlands to Paris, of some volumes of verse and of translations from the French and German. One of these was Letters Between Frederic II and M. De Voltaire (1789).
Sympathetic to the early ideals of the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, Holcroft assisted in the publication of the first part of Thomas Paine
Thomas Paine
Thomas "Tom" Paine was an English author, pamphleteer, radical, inventor, intellectual, revolutionary, and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States...
's The Rights of Man
Rights of Man
Rights of Man , a book by Thomas Paine, posits that popular political revolution is permissible when a government does not safeguard its people, their natural rights, and their national interests. Using these points as a base it defends the French Revolution against Edmund Burke's attack in...
in 1791 He joined the Society for Constitutional Information
Society for Constitutional Information
Founded in 1780 by Major John Cartwright to promote parliamentary reform, the Society for Constitutional Information flourished until 1783, but thereafter made little headway...
(SCI) in 1792 and was appointed a member of a liaison committee to work with the LCS in early 1794. As a result of his activism, in the autumn of 1794 Holcroft was indicted for high treason and held in Newgate Prison whilst three other treason trials
1794 Treason Trials
The 1794 Treason Trials, arranged by the administration of William Pitt, were intended to cripple the British radical movement of the 1790s. Over thirty radicals were initially arrested; three were tried for high treason: Thomas Hardy, John Horne Tooke and John Thelwall...
proceeded. In early December 1794, Holcroft was discharged without trial after those cases, against London Corresponding Society
London Corresponding Society
London Corresponding Society was a moderate-radical body concentrating on reform of the Parliament of Great Britain, founded on 25 January 1792. The creators of the group were John Frost , an attorney, and Thomas Hardy, a shoemaker and metropolitan Radical...
secretary Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy, OM was an English novelist and poet. While his works typically belong to the Naturalism movement, several poems display elements of the previous Romantic and Enlightenment periods of literature, such as his fascination with the supernatural.While he regarded himself primarily as a...
, and SCI figure John Horne Tooke
John Horne Tooke
John Horne Tooke was an English politician and philologist.-Early life and work:He was born in Newport Street, Long Acre, Westminster, the third son of John Horne, a poulterer in Newport Market. As a youth at Eton College, Tooke described his father to friends as a "turkey merchant"...
, resulted in acquittals.
As one of what Secretary of War William Windham
William Windham
William Windham PC, PC was a British Whig statesman.-Early life:Windham was a member of an ancient Norfolk family and a great-great-grandson of Sir John Wyndham. He was the son of William Windham, Sr. of Felbrigg Hall and his second wife, Sarah Lukin...
called "acquitted felons", Holcroft's post-arrest reputation meant that his plays achieved little success after 1795, although he was instrumental in bringing melodrama
Melodrama
The term melodrama refers to a dramatic work that exaggerates plot and characters in order to appeal to the emotions. It may also refer to the genre which includes such works, or to language, behavior, or events which resemble them...
to Britain at the end of the decade with his Deaf and Dumb (1801) and A Tale of Mystery (1802) (an unacknowledged translation of de Pixerécourt
René Charles Guilbert de Pixérécourt
René Charles Guilbert de Pixerécourt was a French theatre director and playwright, active at the Théâtre de la Gaîté and best known for his modern melodramas such as The Dog of Montarges, the performance of which at Weimar roused the indignation of Goethe.-Life:He was born at Nancy into a Lorraine...
's Cœlina, ou, l'enfant du mystère). Despite a modicum of success with A Tale of Mystery, the remainder of the decade was marked by unsuccessful attempts to return to the public eye. He died in 1809, not long after a deathbed reconciliation with his closest friend from the 1790s (but lately estranged), William Godwin
William Godwin
William Godwin was an English journalist, political philosopher and novelist. He is considered one of the first exponents of utilitarianism, and the first modern proponent of anarchism...
. His Memoirs written by Himself and continued down to the Time of his Death, from his Diary, Notes and other Papers, by William Hazlitt
William Hazlitt
William Hazlitt was an English writer, remembered for his humanistic essays and literary criticism, and as a grammarian and philosopher. He is now considered one of the great critics and essayists of the English language, placed in the company of Samuel Johnson and George Orwell. Yet his work is...
, appeared in 1816, and was reprinted, in a slightly abridged form, in 1852. His daughter Fanny Holcroft (1780-1844), wrote the noted Romantic anti-slavery poem, "The Negro" (1797).
Adaptations
- 'He's Much To Blame' (part of the 'Restoring The Repertoire' series from the Theatre Royal, Bury St Edmunds, UK)