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Walpole H

Name: Horace Walpole

Achievements: The “Gothic Revival” in architecture and literature.

Born: September 24, 1717; London, England

Died: March 2, 1797; London (Aged 79)

Field & Discipline: Literature; Writer

Language: English

Father: Sir Robert Walpole

Mother: Catherine Shorter

Siblings:  Robert; Edward; William

Spouse: None

Children: None

Education: Eton and King’s College, Cambridge

Major Work:

Anecdotes of Painting in England (1762-3)

The Castle of Otranto (1764)

The Mysterious Mother (1768)

Memoirs of the Last Ten Years of The Reign of George the Second (1822)

Memoirs of the Reign of King George the Third (1859)

Life & Times:

After leaving King’s College in 1739, Walpole, the son of a Prime Minister, was ready to begin enjoying the benefits of his social class.

In the 18th century, this meant that he almost automatically gained a seat in Parliament, which he held until 1768. Walpole had other family connections to the government besides his father ([father was] Robert Walpole*)  [a relative of] Charles Townshend*,  Secretary of State when Horace was made Undersecretary, was married to Walpole’s Aunt Dorothy.

In 1741 he spent some time at his father’s country home in Houghton, where he catalogued his father’s tremendous collection of paintings and later published them as Aedes Walpolianae (1747). The aristocracy followed Walpole’s lead,  and soon everyone was designing pavilions and villas or else collecting such collections.

In 1754 the Royal Society for Arts was founded. Walpole could usually be seen running around the country, attending artist exhibitions and sales. He praised [a fan of] Clerisseau* in the 1772 exhibition catalog of that artist’s paintings, which often depicted the English countryside,  and were quickly snatched up by the aristocrats.

Walpole would also single-handedly inaugurate the [kicked off] Gothic Revival* when he bought  Stawberry Hill in Twickenham and announced his intention to build “a little Gothic castle.” Before Walpole, Gothic architecture thought to be the epitome of vulgarity. Strawberry Hill, which took over twenty years to complete, did not entirely dispel that notion: the place was compared to a gingerbread house with “pie-crust battlements.”

Despite his idiosyncratic tastes, Walpole inspired builders to study the true principles of Gothic architecture. In 1757 he opened Strawberry Hill Press,  where he printed the works of himself and his friends. The first work published was the Pindaric Odes of his childhood friend [a close friend of] Thomas Grey*.

Not content with Gothicizing architecture, Walpole published The Castle of Otranto (1764), the very first Gothic novel. He followed this with a tragedy: The Mysterious Mother (1768).  He met [met and published] Hannah More* in 1781 and printed her poem “Bonner’s Ghost” in Strawberry Hill Press.

The latter half of the 18th century saw the triumph of the American Revolution. Although Walpole kept his distance from politics, he supported [a supporter of] Shipley*, who advocated American independence and ecclesiastical reform. He disliked British imperialists like [disliked]  Clive of India*, whom he called “a remarkable ill-looking man.”  Upon Clive’s death in 1774, Horace wrote “A great event happened two days ago - a political and moral event; the sudden death of that second Kouli Khan, Lord Clive.”

Walpole’s political opinions were contradictory:  he supported [supported] the radical Wilkes*,  and in France, he visited [met] D’Holbach* , a  well-known philosopher-atheist. Yet he disapproved of one of the most radical testimonies of the age, “Vindication of the Rights of Women” by [disapproved of] Wollstoncraft*.

One of the famous “bluestockings” (intellectual women) he dallied with regularly was [dallied with] Mrs. Elizabeth Wortley Montagu*, known for her fashionable parties.  He also quickly joined the chorus of dismayed bluestockings who objected to [disapproved of ] Samuel Richardson’s* portrayal of their society in Clarissa.

In 1791 Walpole succeeded to the title of Earl of Orford, and his portrait was painted by [painted by] Dance*. He spent most of his time in London.

Extra Connections: In 1776 met the ten-year-old [met] De Stael*.

He met the poet  [met] Home*

Knew [knew] Boswell*

He attacked the work of Eliza [attacked] Haywood*

He was a friend of Elizabeth [a pal of] Carter*

Mme du [he infatuated] Deffand* fell for him

He was an admirer of the [admirer of] Duchess of Devonshire*

Assessment: The 18th century was enlivened by Walpole’s singular contributions to Art, Architecture, and Literature.

Oneliner: Horace Walpole, instigator of the Gothic Revival

Bibliography:

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