James Kenneth Ridley (1736–1765) was an English author educated at

University College, Oxford University College (in full The College of the Great Hall of the University of Oxford, colloquially referred to as "Univ") is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in England. It has a claim to being the oldest college of the unive ...

. He served as a chaplain with the British Army. He is best known for a volume of imitation Orientalia.

Writings

Ridley wrote two novels: ''The History of James Lovegrove, Esquire'' (

1761 Events January–March * January 14 – Third Battle of Panipat: Ahmad Shah Durrani and his coalition decisively defeat the Maratha Confederacy, and restore the Mughal Empire to Shah Alam II. * January 16 – Siege of Pond ...

) and ''The Schemer, or the Universal Satirist, by that Great Philosopher Helter van Scelter'' (

1763 Events January–March * January 27 – The seat of colonial administration in the Viceroyalty of Brazil is moved from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro. * February 1 – The Royal Colony of North Carolina officially creates Meck ...

). However, he is mainly remembered for his Oriental pastiche '' The Tales of the Genii'', a set of stories based on those of the '' Arabian Nights''. That work, published in two volumes in

1764 1764 ( MDCCLXIV) was a leap year starting on Sunday and is the fifth year of the 1760s decade, the 64th year of the 18th century, and the 764th year of the 2nd millennium. Events January–June * January 7 – The Siculicidium is ...

, was issued under the pseudonym "Sir Charles Morell", supposedly British Ambassador at Bombay. Ridley's ''Tales'' were allegedly composed by an imam named Horam and translated from a Persian manuscript, but in actuality, they were products of Ridley's imagination. They belong to a genre of imitation Orientalia popular in the 18th century. In its own time and after, Ridley's book was compared to Samuel Johnson's '' Rasselas''. It retained its popularity and had gone through seven editions by 1861. Translations into German and French also appeared.

References

* *Backscheider, Paula R., and Catherine Ingrassia, eds. ''A Companion to the Eighteenth-Century English Novel and Culture''. London, Blackwell, 2005 * Ballaster, Rosalind. ''Fables of the East: Selected Tales 1662–1785''. Oxford, Oxford University Press, 2005 1736 births 1765 deaths Alumni of University College, Oxford 18th-century English writers 18th-century English male writers 18th-century British novelists English chaplains English male novelists {{UK-writer-stub