Edward Lear

James Williams (University of York)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

Born 12 May 1812
Died 29 Jan 1888
Activity 1832-1888

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Poet
Story-writer

Resources

Lear's Works

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How pleasant to know Mr Lear!Who has written such volumes of stuff!Some think him ill-tempered and queer,But a few think him pleasant enough.'How Pleasant to Know Mr Lear' (1879)

Edward Lear was born in North London, on 12 May 1812, the twentieth of twenty-one children of Ann Clark Skerrett and Jeremiah Lear, a London stockbroker. Jeremiah Lear was a prosperous Freeman of the City of London and a past master of the Fruiterers' Company; in 1816, however, in the financial trouble following the Napoleonic War, he fell a defaulter on the stock exchange, owing the large sum of £2150 11s 1d. Lear always upheld the family legends that his father became bankrupt, and that he served a short sentence at the King's Bench Prison. There is very little evidence for either claim, but the financial

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3240 words

Citation: Williams, James. "Edward Lear". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 20 July 2004 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2659, accessed 24 November 2024.]