NINETEENTH CENTURY LITERARY MANUSCRIPTS

Part 4: The Correspondence and Papers of John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1854) from the Bodleian Library, Oxford

Part 4 concentrates on the correspondence and papers of John Gibson Lockhart (1794-1854). He deserves our attention as:

- One of the most important critics of the nineteenth century and the Editor of The Quarterly Review
- A key figure in the rise of the novel as a literary form
- A prolific correspondent providing a detailed account of literary society in Edinburgh and London

Lockhart was a critic with strong opinions, styling himself as ‘the scorpion which delighteth to sting the faces of men.’ Aged 24, he was hired in 1818 by William Blackwood as a young firebrand to boost the image and circulation of Blackwood’s Magazine, where he worked alongside John Wilson and James Hogg. He championed many of the new Romantic poets, asserting ‘I delight in all the great poets of the day, and am willing to put Wordsworth and Byron at the top.’

In contrast he mauled Leigh Hunt’s Rimini and tore into Keats, lambasting ‘the calm, settled, impeturbable drivelling idiocy of Endymion.’ It was unfortunate that this bitter, vitriolic review hit Keats at a low moment, perhaps pushing him towards his death. As such it is no surprise that Keats should say to Reynolds, ‘If I die you must ruin Lockhart.’

Keats’ words might not have reached him but it is clear that Lockhart began to realise the perils of such reviews, written with wit and panache but without regard for consequences. When John Wilson attacked Coleridge’s Biographia Literaria, even Lockhart was incensed, declaring Coleridge to be ‘a grand and original genius.’

It was no coincidence that this change of heart took place at the same time that he was wooing Charlotte Sophia Scott, the favourite daughter of Sir Walter Scott, who had cautioned Lockhart against intemperate attacks and encouraged him to change tack. In the four years following his marriage to Sophia, Lockhart wrote four novels before returning to magazines as the editor of the formidable Quarterly Review. He was talked into accepting the post by Isaac and Benjamin Disraeli.

His papers are now opened to a wider audience through the publication of this microform edition. They include: 14 volumes of correspondence received by Lockhart as Editor of The Quarterly Review, 1825-1854; 3 volumes of letters from Lockhart to Whitwell Elwin, his successor as Editor; 3 volumes of correspondence between Lockhart and Scott, 1818-1832; 7 volumes of family letters, 1820-1854; 1 volume of letters from Lockhart to Allan Cunningham about the Lives of British Painters; and 10 volumes of literary manuscripts by Lockhart.

These papers reveal both sides to Lockhart’s character, the fierce reviewer and the responsible family man, who accepted the editorship of The Quarterly Review at the entreaty of Benjamin and Isaac Disraeli. The correspondence reveals the duties and difficulties of a major review editor and does much to illuminate 19th century literary society.