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Henry Brooke | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1703 |
| Died | 10 October 1783 (aged 80) Dublin, Kingdom of Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Occupation(s) | novelist, dramatist |
| Notable work | The Fool of Quality (1766–70) |
Henry Brooke (1703 – 10 October 1783) was anIrishnovelist anddramatist. He was born and raised at Rantavan House nearMullagh, a village in the far south ofCounty Cavan inIreland,[1][2][3] the son of a clergyman, and he later studied law atTrinity College,Dublin, but embraced literature as a career.[4]
Brooke's father wasThe Reverend William Brooke, the well-offChurch of Ireland Rector of Killinkere and Mullagh within the Church of IrelandDiocese of Kilmore.[2] Henry first began his career as a poet. His now forgotten philosophical poemUniversal Beauty was published in 1735, andAlexander Pope thought its sentiments and poetry fine. He then turned dramatist by adapting extant plays, such asThe Earl of Essex. He wrote from theTory point of view and became one of the most important figures inAugustan drama, although not for his successes.
HisGustavus Vasa (1739) has the distinction of being the first play banned by theLicensing Act 1737. The play concerned theliberation of Sweden fromDenmark in 1521 byRiksföreståndare (Protector of the Realm or Regent) Gustav Vasa (who later becameKing Gustav I of Sweden).Sir Robert Walpole believed that the villain of the play resembled him. Further, a facetious "attack" on it was the first public writing ofSamuel Johnson, whoseA Complete Vindication of the Licensers of the English Stage feigns support for Walpole while it drives the censor's argument toreductio ad absurdum.[5]
Brooke lived in Ireland most of his life, but he spent time inLondon when his plays were on the stage. In politics, he was somewhat radical in arguing publicly for loosening the laws persecutingRoman Catholics in the United Kingdom. His daughterCharlotte Brooke was herself an important figure in the history ofIrish literature, publishingReliques of Irish Poetry (1789) and working to increase the profile of Irish language poetry.[6]
Later, hisEarl of Essex came back to the boards in a revival. Again, Samuel Johnson offered his public support of Brooke, but when he heard the Earl saying at the end of Act II, "Who rules o'er free men must himself be free," Johnson replied, "Who drives fat oxen must himself be fat." Although Johnson was objecting to the misuse and overuse of "freedom" and was at that time in a vexatious debate over the United StatesWar of Independence (saying, "Why is it that we hear the loudest cries for liberty from the drivers of Negroes?"), Brooke was mortified by Johnson's parody and changed the line for hisCollected Works.
Brooke had a difficult life and made a very poor living. TheLicensing Act 1737 robbed him of his primary avenue to making a living, for, after the Act, he was the first man banned by it. Whatever fame this lent him was made up for by his inability to get new plays performed. His greatest commercial successes came from theEarl of Essex and his two novels,The Fool of Quality (1760-1772) andJuliet Grenville (1774), which are two of the finestsentimental novels.John Wesley was so fond ofThe Fool of Quality, in which Brooke declares his belief inuniversal salvation,[7] that he sought to have a copy of it given out to all newMethodist churches.
He had twenty-two children. Of these, only Charlotte survived adolescence. She shepherded hisWorks through the press after his death.
