Thomas Kibble Hervey (4 February 1799 – 27 February 1859) was a Scottish-born poet and critic. He rose to be the Editor of theAthenaeum, a leading British literary magazine in the 19th century.
Thomas Kibble Hervey was born inPaisley,Renfrewshire, Scotland, and brought up inManchester, England, from 1802 or 1803, where he was educated atManchester Grammar School. He enteredCaius College, Cambridge in 1822, but migrated toTrinity College the following year. He was articled to a firm of Manchester solicitors and studied for the bar, but was not called.[1]
While at Cambridge he began a lengthy career as a leading contributor to theAthenaeum in 1828, and publishedAustralia, a Poem (1824) andPrometheus (1832). He later editedFriendship's Offering (1826–1827) andThe Amaranth (1839), contributed to annuals, and edited theAthenaeum (23 May 1846 – December 1853).[2] His other works includedThe Poetical Sketch Book (1829),The Autobiography of Jack Ketch,[3]The Book of Christmas (1836, reprinted as late as 1888 and illustrated byRobert Seymour)[4][5] andEnglish Helicon (1841).
On 17 October 1843, Hervey marriedEleanora Louisa Montagu (1811–1903), a playwright, author and poet, who was the daughter of George Conway Montagu of Lackham,Wiltshire. The couple had a son, Frederick Robert James.
Hervey died inHaverstock Hill, London, England in 1859 and was buried on the western side ofHighgate Cemetery. His grave (no.9443) no longer has a headstone or marker.
An obituary in theGentlemen's Magazine criticized his work as a reviewer, saying it was "characterized by a causticity of censure and a costiveness of praise, scarcely worthy of a journal of high standing."[6]The Poems of T. K. Hervey was edited by his wife with a memoir (1866).[7]
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