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Samuel Laman Blanchard (15 May 1804 – 15 February 1845) was a British author and journalist.
1995
Samuel Laman Blanchard (15 May 1804 – 15 February 1845) was a British author and journalist.
Life
The son of a painter and glazier, he was born atGreat Yarmouth
Great Yarmouth ( ), often called Yarmouth, is a seaside resort, seaside town which gives its name to the wider Borough of Great Yarmouth in Norfolk, England; it straddles the River Yare and is located east of Norwich. Its fishing industry, m ...
. He was educated at St Olave's school, Southwark
Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...
, and then became clerk to a proctor
Proctor (a variant of ''wikt:procurator, procurator'') is a person who takes charge of, or acts for, another.
The title is used in England and some other English-speaking countries in three principal contexts:
# In law, a proctor is a historica ...
in Doctors' Commons
Doctors' Commons, also called the College of Civilians, was a society of lawyers practising civil law (legal system), civil (as opposed to common) law in London, namely ecclesiastical and admiralty law. Like the Inns of Court of the common lawye ...
. At an early age he developed an interest in literature, contributing dramatic sketches to a paper called ''Drama''. For a short time he belonged to a travelling theatre company, but then became a proof-reader
Proofreading is a phase in the process of publishing where galley proofs are compared against the original manuscripts or graphic artworks, to identify transcription errors in the typesetting process. In the past, proofreaders would place corre ...
in London, and wrote for the ''Monthly Magazine''. In 1827 he was made secretary of the Zoological Society, a post he held for three years.
Over-work broke down his strength and, after his wife died in December 1844 of a painful illness, Blanchard entered a depression from which he never recovered. He committed suicide with a razor, and was buried at West Norwood Cemetery
West Norwood Cemetery is a rural cemetery in West Norwood in London, England. It was also known as the South Metropolitan Cemetery.
One of the first private landscaped cemeteries in London, it is one of the " Magnificent Seven" cemeteries of ...
.
Works
In 1828 he published ''Lyric Offerings'', dedicated toCharles Lamb
Charles Lamb (10 February 1775 – 27 December 1834) was an English essayist, poet, and antiquarian, best known for his '' Essays of Elia'' and for the children's book '' Tales from Shakespeare'', co-authored with his sister, Mary Lamb (1764†...
. He had a very varied journalistic experience, editing in succession the ''Monthly Magazine'', the ''True Sun'', the ''Constitutional'', the ''Court Journal'', the ''Courier'', and ''George Cruikshank
George Cruikshank or Cruickshank ( ; 27 September 1792 – 1 February 1878) was a British caricaturist and book illustrator, praised as the "modern William Hogarth, Hogarth" during his life. His book illustrations for his friend Charles Dicken ...
's Omnibus''; and from 1841 until his death he was connected with the ''Examiner''.
In 1846 Edward Bulwer-Lytton
Edward George Earle Lytton Bulwer-Lytton, 1st Baron Lytton (; 25 May 1803 – 18 January 1873) was an English writer and politician. He served as a Whig member of Parliament from 1831 to 1841 and a Conservative from 1851 to 1866. He was Secr ...
collected some of his prose-essays under the title ''Sketches of Life'', to which a memoir of the author was prefixed. His verse was collected in 1876 by William Blanchard Jerrold.
Family
His eldest son was Sidney Laman Blanchard, the author of ''Yesterday and To-day in India''.References
*Further reading
* ''West Norwood Cemetery The Dickens Connection'', Friends of West Norwood Cemetery1995
External links
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Blanchard, Samuel Laman 1804 births 1845 deaths English male poets 19th-century English essayists English male journalists People educated at St Olave's Grammar School Burials at West Norwood Cemetery Suicides by sharp instrument in England Writers from Great Yarmouth 1840s suicides 19th-century English poets 19th-century English journalists English magazine editors English male essayists