Charles Lamb Kenney
Encyclopedia
Charles Lamb Kenney was a journalist, dramatist and miscellaneous writer.
He was the second son of the dramatist James Kenney.
Commencing life as a clerk in the General Post Office in London, he joined the staff of The Times
, to which paper he contributed dramatic criticism. In 1856, having been called to the bar, he became secretary to Ferdinand de Lesseps
, and in 1857 he published The Gates of the East in support of the projected construction of the Suez Canal
.
Kenney wrote the words for a number of light operas, and was the author of several popular songs, the best known of which were "Soft and Low" (1865) and "The Vagabond" (1871). He also published a Memoir of MW Balfe
(1875), and translated the Correspondence of Balzac
He included Thackeray
and Dickens
among his friends in a literary côterie in which he enjoyed the reputation of a wit and an accomplished writer of vers de société.
See John Genest
, Some Account of the English Stage, 1660-1830, vols. vii. and viii. (10 vols, London, 1832); PW Clayden, Rogers and his Contemporaries (2 vols, London, 1889).
Kenney died in 1881 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery
, London.
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He was the second son of the dramatist James Kenney.
Commencing life as a clerk in the General Post Office in London, he joined the staff of The Times
The Times
The Times is a British daily national newspaper, first published in London in 1785 under the title The Daily Universal Register . The Times and its sister paper The Sunday Times are published by Times Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary since 1981 of News International...
, to which paper he contributed dramatic criticism. In 1856, having been called to the bar, he became secretary to Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand de Lesseps
Ferdinand Marie, Vicomte de Lesseps, GCSI was the French developer of the Suez Canal, which joined the Mediterranean and Red Seas in 1869, and substantially reduced sailing distances and times between the West and the East.He attempted to repeat this success with an effort to build a sea-level...
, and in 1857 he published The Gates of the East in support of the projected construction of the Suez Canal
Suez Canal
The Suez Canal , also known by the nickname "The Highway to India", is an artificial sea-level waterway in Egypt, connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. Opened in November 1869 after 10 years of construction work, it allows water transportation between Europe and Asia without navigation...
.
Kenney wrote the words for a number of light operas, and was the author of several popular songs, the best known of which were "Soft and Low" (1865) and "The Vagabond" (1871). He also published a Memoir of MW Balfe
Michael William Balfe
Michael William Balfe was an Irish composer, best-remembered for his opera The Bohemian Girl.After a short career as a violinist, Balfe pursued an operatic singing career, while he began to compose. In a career spanning more than 40 years, he composed 38 operas, almost 250 songs and other works...
(1875), and translated the Correspondence of Balzac
Honoré de Balzac
Honoré de Balzac was a French novelist and playwright. His magnum opus was a sequence of short stories and novels collectively entitled La Comédie humaine, which presents a panorama of French life in the years after the 1815 fall of Napoleon....
He included Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray
William Makepeace Thackeray was an English novelist of the 19th century. He was famous for his satirical works, particularly Vanity Fair, a panoramic portrait of English society.-Biography:...
and Dickens
Charles Dickens
Charles John Huffam Dickens was an English novelist, generally considered the greatest of the Victorian period. Dickens enjoyed a wider popularity and fame than had any previous author during his lifetime, and he remains popular, having been responsible for some of English literature's most iconic...
among his friends in a literary côterie in which he enjoyed the reputation of a wit and an accomplished writer of vers de société.
See John Genest
John Genest
-Life:He was the son of John Genest of Dunker's Hill, Devon. He was educated at Westminster School, entered 9 May 1780 as a pensioner at Trinity College, Cambridge, and graduated B.A. 1784 and M.A. 1787. He took holy orders, and was for many years curate of a Lincolnshire village...
, Some Account of the English Stage, 1660-1830, vols. vii. and viii. (10 vols, London, 1832); PW Clayden, Rogers and his Contemporaries (2 vols, London, 1889).
Kenney died in 1881 and is buried in Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery
Brompton Cemetery is located near Earl's Court in South West London, England . It is managed by The Royal Parks and is one of the Magnificent Seven...
, London.
Sources
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