Virginia Lucas Poetry Scrapbook

Biography of Horace Smith

Horace Smith was born in London, England, 1779. He was originally born Horatio Smith to Robert Smith as the fifth child of eight total. Smith’s father was a lawyer whom he followed in the legal career path, but eventually, Horace became a successful stockbroker in 1806. Horace got married in 1810 and had two children, Eliza and Horatio Shakespeare. In 1812, Horace and his brother, James, released Rejected Addresses. Rejected Addresses was inspired by a competition to write the inaugural ode for Drury Lane Theater after it had been rebuilt due to fire damage. None of the submissions were picked, so the theater ended up commissioning Lord Byron to write the piece. The brothers used this inspiration to write Rejected Addresses, a parody of many famous poets. The brothers each parodied different poets, but both contributed to writing Lord Byron’s parodies. Horace, specifically, wrote the parodied versions of Thomas Moore, Sir Walter Scott, and William Lisle Bowles. The poets parodied took the addresses with a light heart, but the poets who were left out tended to feel bitter. In 1813, Horace and James wrote their last book together, Horace in London. Horace in London parodied Horace’s own works. While still making a profitable business as a stockbroker, Horace became a part of an inner circle of editors and journalists. In 1816, he met Percy Bysshe Shelley. The pair became close friends. A competition between the two to compose a sonnet created Shelley’s “Ozymandias”. The competition was inspired by Rameses II. The pair became good friends despite the thirteen year age difference. Horace became Shelley’s financial advisor, even lending him money from time to time. By 1817, Horace remarried to Sophia Ford with whom he had two daughters, Rosalind and Laura, with. Shortly after the birth of Rosalind, he wanted to join the Shelley circle in Pisa, but his wife became ill. The Smith family settled in Versailles while Sophia recovered. During this time, Horatio, Horace’s son, died. While living in Versailles, Horace became a regular contributor to the New Monthly Magazine and London Magazine. Percy Bysshe Shelley unexpectedly died in July, 1822, and Horace’s review of Hellas came out shortly after in August 1822. The review praised the poetry and character of Shelley alike. After moving out of Versailles, the Smith family settled in Brighton and became a part of an elite circle, including Charles Dickens, Thomas Macaulay, William Thackeray, and many others. Horace continued to write, releasing thirteen full-length novels, two short novels, and five long tales. These works included Brambletye House, or, Cavaliers and Roundheads, The Tor Hill, and Adam Brown, the Merchant, among others. Horace continued writing comic pieces. He published three volumes of collected essays and other collections of poems and prose. Horace caught laryngitis in 1841, so he retired from literature in the preface to Love and Mesmerism. Horace died in July 1849 due to heart complications.




Kuiper, Kathleen. “Horace Smith | English writer | Britannica.” Encyclopedia Britannica, 27 December 2021, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Horace-Smith. Accessed 18 February 2022.


Robertson, Fiona. “Smith, Horatio [Horace].” Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 23 September 2004, https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-25815;jsessionid=B36CD5DAD7A239F5C1A8DF7F839B9C19#odnb-9780198614128-e-25815-div1-d256238e1485. Accessed 18 February 2022.