Robert Barnabas Brough (10 April 1828 – 26 June 1860) was an English writer. He wrote poetry, novels and plays and was a contributor to many

periodical Periodical literature (singularly called a periodical publication or simply a periodical) consists of Publication, published works that appear in new releases on a regular schedule (''issues'' or ''numbers'', often numerically divided into annu ...

Life and work

Brough was born on 10 April 1828 in London, the son of

Barnabas Brough Barnabas Brough (c. 1795 – 30 October 1854), was a British merchant and accountant who wrote several plays under the pen name, Bernard De Burgh. He is probably best remembered for being a chief witness in the treason trial against Chartist move ...

(c. 1795-1854), a brewer and wine merchant and Frances Whiteside, a poet. His brothers were

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

, also a playwright, John Cargill Brough (1834–1872), a science writer, and Lionel, a comic actor. The family moved to

Pontypool Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Locat ...

Monmouthshire Monmouthshire ( ; ) is a Principal areas of Wales, county in the South East Wales, south east of Wales. It borders Powys to the north; the English counties of Herefordshire and Gloucestershire to the north and east; the Severn Estuary to the s ...

, where his father ran a brewery and public house. His father was briefly kidnapped by the

Chartists Chartism was a working-class movement for political reform in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom that erupted from 1838 to 1857 and was strongest in 1839, 1842 and 1848. It took its name from the People's Charter of ...

in 1839 and was a crown witness at the trial of the Chartist leader John Frost, which resulted in Frost's deportation to

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

. The family was ostracized and ruined financially as a result, and moved to

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

in 1843, where Brough worked as a clerk in order to contribute to the family income.Banerji, Nilanjana
"Brough, Lionel (1836–1909)"
''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004 accessed 25 May 2009 In 1847, Brough established the ''Liverpool Lion'', a comic periodical, writing satiric articles and drawings. He worked with his brother William to write a

Victorian burlesque Victorian burlesque, sometimes known as travesty or extravaganza, is a genre of theatrical entertainment that was popular in Victorian England and in the New York theatre of the mid-19th century. It is a form of parody in which a well-known oper ...

play, ''The Enchanted Isle'', which was produced in Liverpool in 1848 before transferring to London. Moving to London, he wrote other successful burlesques including ''Medea'' (1856) and ''Masaniello'' (1857), as well as other collaborative productions with his brother William including ''The Sphinx'' (1849) and ''The Last Edition of Ivanhoe'' (1850). Brough also wrote essays and poems for journals and newspapers, including for a period being the

Brussels Brussels, officially the Brussels-Capital Region, (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) is a Communities, regions and language areas of Belgium#Regions, region of Belgium comprising #Municipalit ...

correspondent of the ''

Sunday Times ''The Sunday Times'' is a British Sunday newspaper whose circulation makes it the largest in Britain's quality press market category. It was founded in 1821 as ''The New Observer''. It is published by Times Newspapers Ltd, a subsidiary of N ...

''. ''Songs of the Governing Classes'' (1855), a book of radical poems, is his best-known work. In it, Brough critiqued the handling of the

Crimean War The Crimean War was fought between the Russian Empire and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the Second French Empire, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, and the Kingdom of Sardinia (1720–1861), Kingdom of Sardinia-Piedmont fro ...

and launched an attack on the upper classes through his satiric fictional portraits of aristocratic figures. Brough also penned a parody of

Edgar Allan Poe Edgar Allan Poe (; January 19, 1809 – October 7, 1849) was an American writer, poet, editor, and literary critic who is best known for his poetry and short stories, particularly his tales involving mystery and the macabre. He is widely re ...

's "

The Raven "The Raven" is a narrative poem by American writer Edgar Allan Poe. First published in January 1845, the poem is often noted for its musicality, stylized language and supernatural atmosphere. It tells of a distraught lover who is paid a visit ...

" called "The Vulture; An Ornithological Study" which was published in the December 1853 issue of ''

Graham's Magazine ''Graham's Magazine'' was a nineteenth-century periodical based in Philadelphia established by George Rex Graham and published from 1840 to 1858. It was alternatively referred to as ''Graham's Lady's and Gentleman's Magazine'' (1841–1842, and J ...

'', though he was not credited. The poem was later reprinted in

William Evans Burton William Evans Burton (24 September 180410 February 1860) was an English actor, playwright, Actor-manager, theatre manager and publisher who relocated to the United States. Life and work Early life Born in London on 24 September 1804 (althoug ...

's ''Cyclopedia of Wit and Humor'' (1858), this time with his name attached. It was also published, however, a year earlier on the front page of the December 18, 1852 edition of '' The Carpet-Bag'' in Boston. In this earlier printing, it was also not credited, but this attribution to Brough is therefore uncertain. He also published much-praised translations of poetry, including those of

Victor Hugo Victor-Marie Hugo, vicomte Hugo (; 26 February 1802 – 22 May 1885) was a French Romanticism, Romantic author, poet, essayist, playwright, journalist, human rights activist and politician. His most famous works are the novels ''The Hunchbac ...

. In 1860 Robert Brough edited the magazine the ''Welcome Guest'' for John Maxwell, and was editor at the time of the first contribution by

Mary Elizabeth Braddon Mary Elizabeth Braddon (4 October 1835 – 4 February 1915) was an English popular Novelists, novelist of the Victorian era. She is best known for her 1862 sensation novel ''Lady Audley's Secret'', which has also been dramatised and filmed seve ...

. In 1859 Brough published a short story entitled "Calmuck" in

Charles Dickens Charles John Huffam Dickens (; 7 February 1812 – 9 June 1870) was an English novelist, journalist, short story writer and Social criticism, social critic. He created some of literature's best-known fictional characters, and is regarded by ...

' magazine ''

Household Words ''Household Words'' was an English weekly magazine edited by Charles Dickens in the 1850s. It took its name from the line in Shakespeare's '' Henry V'': "Familiar in his mouth as household words." History During the planning stages, titles orig ...

''. It was a thinly disguised account of

William Holman Hunt William Holman Hunt (2 April 1827 – 7 September 1910) was an English painter and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His paintings were notable for their great attention to detail, vivid colour, and elaborate symbolism ...

's experience painting his picture ''

The Hireling Shepherd ''The Hireling Shepherd'' (1851) is a painting by the Pre-Raphaelite artist William Holman Hunt. It represents a shepherd neglecting his flock in favour of an attractive country girl to whom he shows a death's-head hawkmoth. The meaning of the ...

'' and of his relations with his model Emma Watkins. Hunt wrote an outraged letter to Dickens, who claimed to be unaware that the story was based on real events. Brough was a popular member of a "bohemian" circle of journalists, writers and playwrights. In 1857, together with his brothers, Brough was a founding member of the

Savage Club The Savage Club, founded in 1857, is a gentlemen's club in London, named after the poet, Richard Savage. The club's logo is of an indigenous North American in a feathered headdress. Members are drawn from the fields of art, drama, law, literat ...

. He helped support the families of deceased writers and numerous working-class causes through benefit performances. He married actress Elizabeth Romer. They had three children including a daughter, Frances "Fanny" Whiteside Brough (1852–1914), an actress known for her portrayal of Kitty Warren in the 1905 staging of George Bernard Shaw's ''Mrs. Warren's Profession''; and a son, Lionel Barnabas Brough (1857–1906), known professionally as

Robert Brough Robert John Cameron Brough ARSA (20 March 1872 – 21 January 1905) was a Scottish painter born near Invergordon, Ross and Cromarty. Life He was born on 20 March 1872. at Garty Cottage, Kilmuir Easter, near Invergordon. His mother was Helen ...

, an actor-managerBrough family details
/ref> with a considerable career in Australia. Robert Barnabas Brough was also related to

Robert Brough Smyth Robert Brough Smyth (1830 – 8 October 1889)Michael Hoare,, ''Australian Dictionary of Biography'', Vol. 6, MUP, 1976, pp 161–163. Retrieved 3 February 2010 was an Australian geologist, author and social commentator. Life Smyth was born in W ...

. On 26 June 1860, Robert Brough died at 8 Boundary Street, Hulme, near Manchester, leaving his widow and three children with little money to support them. The Savage Club, with the help of five leading London theatres, arranged a benefit performance to establish a fund to support them, with Charles Dickens as a trustee.

Selected works

* ''The Enchanted Isle; or, Raising the Wind'' (play), co-written with brother, William Brough, 1848 * ''A Cracker Bon-Bon for Christmas Parties'', 1852 * ''The Vulture; An Ornithological Study'', 1853 * ''The Moustache Movement'' (play), 1854 * ''Songs of the Governing Classes'', 1855 * ''Beranger’s Songs of The Empire, The Peace, and the Restoration'', 1856 * ''Crinoline'' (play), 1856 * ''Medea, or The Best of Mothers, with a Brute of Husband'' (play), 1856 * ''Masaniello; or, The Fish'oman of Naples'' (play), 1857 * ''The Life of Sir John Falstaff'', 1858 * ''Ulf The Minstrel'', 1859

References

External links

* * * *
Brough's ''The Life of Sire John Falstaff''

{{DEFAULTSORT:Brough, Robert Barnabas English satirists 1828 births 1860 deaths