John Thelwall
Encyclopedia
John Thelwall was a radical British orator, writer, and elocutionist.
, London
, but was descended from a Welsh family which had its seat at Plas y Ward, Denbighshire
. He was the son of a silk merchant.
He published a volume of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, in 1787, and The Peripatetic; or, Sketches of the Heart, of Nature and Society; in a Series of Politico-Sentimental Journals in 1793. From 1795 to 1796, he published The Tribune, a periodical that mostly consisted of his own political lectures. He helped form the London Corresponding Society
in 1792. In 1794, he was tried for treason
along with fellow radicals John Horne Tooke
and Thomas Hardy
, although all three men were acquitted. Government officials who considered him to be the most dangerous man in Britain continued to hound him even after his acquittal. Many of his plays and other works were consequently banned.
Among his other views, Thelwall was known for his denunciation of all wars except those of self-defence.
In October 2009, the Dalhousie University Theatre Department produced the first ever staging of Thelwall's 1801 melodrama The Fairy of the Lake, as a complement to the John Thelwall conference being hosted at the time by the University's English Department.
; his lesser-known younger son was called John Hampden Thelwall or Hampden Thelwall, they were named after 17th century republicans.
Life
Thelwall was born in Covent GardenCovent Garden
Covent Garden is a district in London on the eastern fringes of the West End, between St. Martin's Lane and Drury Lane. It is associated with the former fruit and vegetable market in the central square, now a popular shopping and tourist site, and the Royal Opera House, which is also known as...
, London
London
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...
, but was descended from a Welsh family which had its seat at Plas y Ward, Denbighshire
Denbighshire
Denbighshire is a county in north-east Wales. It is named after the historic county of Denbighshire, but has substantially different borders. Denbighshire has the distinction of being the oldest inhabited part of Wales. Pontnewydd Palaeolithic site has remains of Neanderthals from 225,000 years...
. He was the son of a silk merchant.
He published a volume of poetry, Poems on Various Subjects, in 1787, and The Peripatetic; or, Sketches of the Heart, of Nature and Society; in a Series of Politico-Sentimental Journals in 1793. From 1795 to 1796, he published The Tribune, a periodical that mostly consisted of his own political lectures. He helped form the 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...
in 1792. In 1794, he was tried for treason
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...
along with fellow radicals 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"...
and Thomas Hardy
Thomas Hardy (political reformer)
Thomas Hardy was an early Radical, the founder and also the first Secretary of the London Corresponding Society....
, although all three men were acquitted. Government officials who considered him to be the most dangerous man in Britain continued to hound him even after his acquittal. Many of his plays and other works were consequently banned.
Among his other views, Thelwall was known for his denunciation of all wars except those of self-defence.
Works
- Poems on Various Subjects (1787)
- The Peripatetic; or, Sketches of the Heart, of Nature and Society; in a Series of Politico-Sentimental Journals (1793)
- Poems written in close confinement in the Tower and Newgate (1795)
- The Natural and Constitutional Right of Britons to Annual Parliaments, Universal Suffrage, and the Freedom of Popular Association (1795)
- The Tribune (1795-96)
- The Rights of Nature Against the Usurpations of Establishments (1796)
- Sober Reflections on the Seditious and Inflammatory Letter of the Rt. Hon. Edmund Burke to a Noble Lord (1796)
- Poems chiefly written in retirment … with a prefatory memoir of the life of the author (1801)
- The Fairy of the Lake (1801)
- Poem and Oration on the Death of Lord Nelson (1805)
Legacy
A restoration project on Thelwall's grave was launched in 2006 by the Regional History Centre at University of the West of England (UWE).In October 2009, the Dalhousie University Theatre Department produced the first ever staging of Thelwall's 1801 melodrama The Fairy of the Lake, as a complement to the John Thelwall conference being hosted at the time by the University's English Department.
Family
Thelwall's eldest son was the clergyman and scholar Algernon Sydney ThelwallAlgernon Sydney Thelwall
Algernon Sydney Thelwall was an evangelical Church of England clergyman and teacher of elocution.-Life:...
; his lesser-known younger son was called John Hampden Thelwall or Hampden Thelwall, they were named after 17th century republicans.
Further reading
- Scrivener, Michael, Seditious Allegories: John Thelwall and Jacobin Writing, Penn State Press, 2001 ISBN 0-271-01348-6
- Claeys, GregoryGregory ClaeysGregory Claeys is Professor of the History of Political Thought at Royal Holloway, University of London and author of books on British intellectual and political history.-Career:...
(ed.), The Politics of English Jacobinism Writings of John Thelwall, Penn State Press, 2001 ISBN 0-271-01347-8