Horatio Horace Smith
Horatio Horace Smith (1779-1849) was an English writer, best known for his collaboration with his brother James on the acclaimed parody collection *Rejected Addresses: Or, The New Theatrum Poetarum* (1812). Born in London to a customs house official, Smith was educated at Chigwell and began his career as a stockbroker before turning to writing. The Smith brothers gained fame by humorously imitating the styles of prominent British poets, cleverly crafted during a competition held at the reopening of Drury Lane Theatre. Their work was well-received, leading to widespread popularity and multiple editions within a short time. Aside from *Rejected Addresses*, Horace Smith authored over twenty historical novels, with *Brambletye House* (1826) being one of his notable achievements, and penned a collection of witty essays titled *Gaieties and Gravities* (1826). He was also known for his amicable relations with notable figures of his time, including Percy Bysshe Shelley and John Keats. After retiring from his financial career in 1820, Smith continued to write until his death in 1849.
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Subject Terms
Horatio Horace Smith
Author
- Born: December 31, 1779
- Died: July 12, 1849
- Place of death: Tunbridge Wells, Kent, England
Biography
Often referred to as Horace, Horatio Smith as a writer has always been linked to his brother James after the two wrote Rejected Addresses: Or, The New Theatrum Poetarum (1812), a collection of poems parodying the styles of British writers of the early 1800’s. Born on December 31, 1779, in London, England, Smith was the younger of the brothers born to Mary (French) and Robert Smith, a customs house official. He was educated at Chigwell and entered a merchant’s counting house as a young man, soon becoming successful financially as a stockbroker. His first published work was a poem in praise of dramatist Richard Cumberland.
Writing together, the Smith brothers’ forte lay in parody. Drury Lane Theatre was being rebuilt in 1812 after a fire had destroyed it, and the managers organized a competition for an address to be given at the October reopening. The Smith brothers wrote a work centered around the idea of having popular British writers enter the competition unsuccessfully; each of their poems would parody the style of a different poet. The brothers divided the writing, both of them working on the entry “by” Lord Byron. The result, Rejected Addresses, was extremely popular, going through seven editions within three months, and was received in good humor by the poets it parodied. In fact, Horatio Smith became quite well-liked himself by such writers as Percy Bysshe Shelley, John Keats, and William Thackeray, who called Smith “that good, serene old man who went out of the world in charity with all in it.”
The brothers published one more parody, this time of Horatian odes, Horace in London (1813), a collection of their pieces previously published in the Monthly Mirror. Smith married a woman named Ford in 1818 and had three daughters. After his success as a broker, retiring in 1820, Smith also wrote more than twenty historical novels and a three-volume collection of witty essays, Gaieties and Gravities (1826). The best of his novels is probably Brambletye House (1826), about a young cavalier, set during the reign of Charles II. He edited a collection of his brother’s miscellaneous writings in 1840.
Smith died on July 12, 1849, at Tunbridge Wells, Kent. A study of the two brothers and their works was published in 1899.