The “Pope” of Holland House
John Whishaw to Thomas Smith, 2 April 1817
April 2, 1817.
Murray is quite willing to undertake the
publication of “Browne’s
Travels.” The name, he is confident, will ensure a certain degree of success,
especially if the work be accompanied with the account of the author’s life
and discoveries. Lord Byron has sent
![]()
| 179 |
![]() ![]() |
| Cobbet—Ricardo |
![]()
home a dramatic piece in three acts, which he calls a
“Witch’s Tragedy,” composed, probably, in that
monstrous and exaggerated taste for which his works are so remarkable. He is highly
pleased at what he terms the candour and delicacy of the Quarterly reviewer (Walter
Scott), but does not appear to have seen the Edinburgh Review. He talks of
returning to England in May.
Cobbett’s flight is very surprising,
but it is not altogether to be attributed to the Suspension of the Habeas Corpus.
He has been very imprudent in his land speculations in Hampshire, and is deeply in
debt. Besides which he is naturally cowardly, and has been writing very tamely and
feebly since the commencement of the present alarms.
I accompanied Ricardo on
Saturday to Holland House. He seemed pleased with his visit. His book is coming out
immediately.
William George Browne (1768-1813)
English traveler who visited Egypt and Sudan in 1792, Turkey and the Levant (1800-02) and
was killed in Persia while on an expedition to Central Asia.
James Mill (1773-1836)
English political philosopher allied with the radical Joseph Hume; he was the father of
John Stuart Mill.
John Murray II (1778-1843)
The second John Murray began the
Quarterly Review in 1809 and
published works by Scott, Byron, Austen, Crabbe, and other literary notables.
David Ricardo (1772-1823)
English political economist, the author of Principles of Political Economy and Taxation
(1817); he was a Whig MP for Portarlington (1819-23).
The Quarterly Review. (1809-1967). Published by John Murray, the
Quarterly was instigated by Walter
Scott as a Tory rival to the
Edinburgh Review. It was edited by
William Gifford to 1824, and by John Gibson Lockhart from 1826 to 1853.
