Short notes of the life of Horatio Walpole, youngest son of Sir Robert Walpole, Earl of Orford, and of Catherine Shorter, his first wife, 1746-1779.

1 v. (9 leaves) ; 31 cm.

English

Purchased from Mrs Brunly, 1937. Previously owned by Mary Berry and Richard Bentley.

This material is available for research.

Manuscript, in Walpole's hand, of a brief autobiography from the date of his birth to his activities in 1779. He begins with information about his childhood, including his godparents, the date of his innoculation against smallpox, and his education; and continues with biographical information about his college years; his first employment; his travels with Thomas Gray; and his Parliamentary activities. Much of the manuscript concerns the pieces he wrote, both published and unpublished, and those he published with the Strawberry Hill Press, as well as his reactions to the reviews he received. He also includes anecdotes concerning his attack by highwaymen in 1749; the family quarrel with his uncle Horace Walpole; and his disagreements with David Hume and Voltaire.

July 30, 2008

Horace Walpole, Short Notes of the Life of Horatio Walpole. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University.

Horace Walpole, Short Notes of the Life of Horatio Walpole. The Lewis Walpole Library, Yale University.

Autobiographies (literary genre)