“An Ambassador’s Letter Bag: Being Selections from the Papers of the Right Hon. J. H. Frere.” Temple Bar, Vol. 63,
March 1898. 373-388. EBP reel 281.
This article was published anonymously in 1898, and it was one of the last articles about Frere to appear surrounding
the publication of Works. This article follows the fine tradition of biography that had been well established by
previous periodical articles, tracing out a sketch of his life. The focus of this article is kept mainly on Frere’s
years as an Ambassador to Spain, and it explores his life through the correspondences which had been sent to Frere
during that period. This approach is made in a historically conscientious manner, using authentic primary sources to
support its analysis. It is unique among other articles of the period because of its focus on Frere’s life during
the Napoleonic period. While this particular part of Frere’s history seems the least salient to Frere’s later work
as a writer, it is nonetheless important for understanding the later disillusionment and apathy that Frere displayed
toward England’s politics.
C., J. "The Literary Partnership of Canning and Frere." Fraser's Magazine, Vol. 90, NS10, Dec. 1874. 714-727.
EBP reel 17.
This semi-anonymous article appeared nearly two years after the publication of Works, and made no pretence of
reviewing, summarizing, or otherwise addressing that work. Instead, this article used Works as a jumping off
point, and it explored the biographical aspect of Frere’s life embodied in the Anti-Jacobin. The article
focuses mainly on the authorship practices of the small circle of writers involved in that project, especially the
collaborative effort between Frere and Canning. This approach is unique to this article, and it allows the
researcher to gain an understanding for Frere’s satire and his easy-going practices in authorship. The general
attitude toward authorship which was predominant at the time is a contrast to modern concepts of authorship. This
article shows some of Frere’s authorial habits at the outset of his career and helps lay a foundation for
understanding his general habits as an author. Though it would be most useful in an analysis of the Anti-Jacobin,
it also acts as a useful source for background on Frere in general.
Creed, Howard H. "Coleridge on 'Taste'." ELH, Vol. 13, Summer 1946. JSTOR. 2 March, 2006.
Explicitly, Creed’s work is about Coleridge and his transcendental views on taste. The exact definition that
Coleridge appeals to is somewhat ambiguous, but according to Creed, that concept is some combination of the innate
and the empirical. To Coleridge, the ideal poet was genuine because of the perfection within, but undefinable,
because his ideals and poem shaped themselves together. Coleridge believed poetry should be evaluated based on its
merit, without any reference to the poet’s personal life. At the apex of his pyramid of genius was Shakespeare, and
ranged below him were such greats as Wordsworth and Frere. Coleridge viewed Frere as a man with “the purest and
manliest Taste,” and often sought advice from him. The section on Frere is brief, but important for framing Frere
and his work within the emerging forms of poetry, and for showing his continued influence, despite his retirement
from society.
Frere, John H. Whistlecraft, 1818. Woodstock Books. New York, NY: 1992.
This work is a facsimile of Frere’s original publication, which was facetiously pretentious in its title,
Prospectus and Specimen of an Intended National Work. This edition has a minimal introduction, and the rest
of the small volume is composed of the facsimile, which was taken from the 1818 edition. This bibliography has been
constructed around this work as the central text, which the bibliography aims to examine. Whistlecraft is a
narrative poem, which takes the age old matter of King Arthur and his knights, and forms a humorous tale around that
famous court. The tale traces the ill-fated pursuits of a clan of giants who assail a monastery and unsuccessfully
besiege it for a short period of time before a poorly defended train of ladies attracts their attention. Having
kidnapped these ladies, the giants earn the ire of Arthur’s court, and Arthur’s knights vanquish them in their
rescue of the ladies. The tale is translucently ironic and humorous, and it opens a clear path for new discourse on
the literature, politics, and social upheaval of the early 19th Century.
Frere, Sir Bartle and W. E. Frere. “Memoir of John Hookham Frere.” The Works of John Hookham Frere, Vol.
I. Basil, Montagu, and Pickering. London, GB: 1872. i – ccxcv. II vols.
This piece is a 295 page memoir which prefaces the collected works of J. H. Frere. It provides a biography of his
life in a thoroughly researched and documented fashion. The work is so extensive as to be nearly ad absurdum, even
going so far as to trace his ancestral heritage going back several hundred years. This memoir traces Frere’s
history, from his family history, to his early years, to his education, to his involvement in the wars of the early
19th Century and his role as an ambassador to Spain, to his retirement in Malta. It is heavily steeped in Frere’s
writings, mainly his letters, which are used to communicate and corroborate a large part of the narrative. The
exhaustive analysis of Frere’s life that this work undertakes is concomitantly it’s best and worst features; it
makes the whole ponderous and difficult to read, but it provides rich, concrete detail which so many other works
gloss over as a matter of course.
Hazlitt, William. “The Periodical Press.” from Edinburgh Review, 1823. Revolutions in Romantic
Literature: An Anthology of Print Culture. 1780-1832. Broadview Press, Ltd. Ontario, Canada: 2000.
11-12.
This piece is a short and general review of the plurality of literary magazines which existed at the time. It
appeared during the latter period of Frere’s life, when he had cloistered himself in Malta. In his article, Hazlitt
is arguing that the “modern” form of literature has departed from its predecessors by becoming commercial. Hazlitt
argues that the myriad of authors who live through commercial writing are lower, less enduring, and of transient
worth, unlike the authors of a bygone era who wrote for art’s sake and gained immortality in due time. Although the
article has many translucent errors in its assumptions that the aristocracy alone should be literate, the ideas
about retiring and aristocratic artists who work solely for arts sake has many interesting parallels in Frere.
There are so many parallels that Frere might be said to be a paradigm of Hazlitt’s ideal. This concept of the
aristocratic artist/academic is very distinct from the majority of the other work here examined, and although it
does not deal directly with Frere, it provides an interesting lens to use in examining Frere.
“John Hookham Frere.” Fraser’s Magazine, Vol. 85 NS5, 1872. 491- 510. EBP reel 16.
This piece, anonymous like so many other periodicals of the 19th Century, begins with what appears to be the
obligatory “life of Frere,” borrowed, like so many others, from the “Memoir of John Hookham Frere.” Once past this
introductory material, the article commences with an evaluation of Frere’s views on translation, and proceeds to
evaluate his translation of the Greek playwright, Aristophanes. It examines a range of pieces, from the simple
comedy the Knights to Aristophanes’ most impressive works, the Birds and the Frogs,
demonstrating Frere’s accomplished translation of the language in both grammar and sense. This evaluation of
Frere’s work is unique, as it is a critical piece written within thirty years of the author’s death, and so its
historical proximity lends it some degree of contemporary authority. The author of this piece included substantial
quotations from Frere’s translations as demonstrations of that work and as evidence to support his claims. Thanks
to this convention, the piece is extremely accessible to a modern researcher, although its usefulness for
application to Frere’s other works is limited to its satirical content.
Sangiorgi, Roberto B. "Giambattista Casti's "Novelle Galanti" and Lord Byron's "Beppo"." Italica, Vol. 28,
Dec. 1951. JSTOR. 2 March 2006.
This article is only one of many articles on the topic of similarity between Byron’s “Beppo” and Frere’s
Whistlecraft. For this bibliography, it was the single article selected as a representative of that field
of study and comparison. Sangiorgi examines the established connection between “Beppo” and Whistlecraft, but
he does so with a critical eye, examining the weaknesses in the correlation and looking at possible alternative
explanations. Specifically, the alternative explanation that is suggested is Casti’s Novelle Galanti,
Lo Spirito as a possible alternative source for “Beppo.” After some cross examination, Sangiorgi largely
rejects Whistlecraft as the ultimate source, arguing that Novelle exerted the greatest amount of
influence. Though Sangiorgi argues against Whistlecraft, making a general case for Novelle, clearly
the work he is advocating, he is still forced to admit that Frere and his work had a tremendous influence over
Byron’s work, at least directing him toward the form he chose. Despite his academic position, Sangiorgi is still
only able to assert that Byron “may have taken the general idea” from Novelle (268). Despite the articles’
leanings, the field is still open, and the importance of Frere’s Whistlecraft is generally shown in its
historical context, which is useful for this bibliography’s purpose.
"The Life and Writings of John Hookham Frere." Quarterly Review 132, 1872. 26-59. EPB reel 664.
This work, being published in the latter part of the 19th century, and being composed by people who had known J. H.
Frere is able to bring a certain authentic and knowledgeable view to the topic. It summarizes Frere’s life within a
fairly brief space. According to this piece, Frere had three periods of life; his education, which ended with the
cessation of “The Anti-Jacobin,” his paper pusher government job from 1799-1809, and his literary period from 1809
to his death, when he spent his time in the study and creation of literature. Although the piece is heavily
politicized, with many references to the politics of the period, it gives the life of Frere in a single stroke and
helps the researcher to understand the broader contexts of Frere’s political and social life. The succinct approach
that this work takes makes it distinct from the other literature, and very helpful as a brief overview of Frere’s
life.
“The Love Letters of a Lady of Quality.” Longman’s Magazine, Vol. 30, 1897. 121-133. EBP reel 26.
This anonymous article rode the wave of Frere commentary that took place at the end of the 19th century. It takes a
unique position in that field of commentary, exploring Frere through the vehicle of Lady Erroll. Lady Erroll was at
first an acquaintance and close friend of Frere’s, and as time progressed the two became romantically entwined.
This work explicitly explores the later life of Lady Erroll, in relation to her romantic relationship with Frere
through her letters and other collected writings. The pixelated photo that it prints reveals unique aspects of
Frere’s life and personality which more academic approaches are, by their very nature, incapable of discovering.
Anecdotes, such as Frere’s forgetful manners on meeting Lady Erroll, provide a psychological glimpse into the
workings of Frere’s mind. Like many other contemporary essays, this work used the text of the letters as a solid
foundation of primary documents through which to make its argumentation.
"The Works of John Hookham Frere" a Review. The Edinburg Review, Vol. 135, April 1872. 472 -
501. EBP reel 446.
This fairly standard review of The Works of John Hookham Frere provides another summary of that work,
following in the tradition of informing the public about the work under review. Though based mainly on a summary
of the work in question, this article is organized around Frere’s influence over other great poets, such as Byron
and Coleridge. The article takes a fairly critical perspective, raising questions on several points, such as
authorship claimed by Works, and even Frere’s style of writing and lack of motivation. That critical perspective
is unique among the other works in this bibliography, and it is also the most useful aspect of the article. This
article is useful because it brings a critical eye to the field of work, questioning many assumptions that were made
by Works and other contemporary articles. While this critical viewpoint is useful as a way to examine
assumptions, it is not without fault, as the author makes no attempt to remain objective or hide his personal likes
and dislikes.
Tucker, Herbert F. “Glandular Omnism and Beyond: The Victorian Spasmodic Epic.” Victorian Poetry, Vol.
42, Winter 2004. Project MUSE. 2 March, 2006.
Tucker’s paper deals with the spasmodic movement in Victorian poetry. Spasmodicism is the emotionally volatile, the
incomprehensibly beautiful, the erotic, the unknown. It is the insurmountable human spirit as portrayed by the
great poets of the time, and it is a very near cousin to the sublime. Tucker informs the reader that a discourse on
this topic had previously foraged the literature with success, but that discourse has died away. Tucker’s aim in
this work is to revitalize and renew the spasmodic as a topic of academic discussion. The work is mainly focused on
the Victorian period after Frere’s life, and so its usefulness for the topic is limited, but present. In addition
to the widely documented influence that Frere exerted over Byron’s “Beppo,” Tucker points to the conventional
beliefs and established rule which Frere had sought to uphold. According to Tucker, the form which Frere employs is
in opposition to the spasmodic form. This comparison of forms is unique, and it opens an area for further
discourse, just as Tucker intended.
Waller, R. D. "Introduction." The Monks and the Giants. 1818. University of Manchester Press.
Manchester, GB: 1926. 1-57.
In his prefatory material to this 1920’s edition of Frere’s work, Waller chose to focus on the Italian tradition of
poetry which Frere had used as muse in the creation of his work. This historical analysis examines the similarity
between Frere’s Whistlecraft and the many Italian poets who dabbled and dwelled somewhere in a world of
poetry that was located between Medieval Romance, Arthurian legend, and satire. Waller points to similarities that
Frere’s work has with Francesco Berni, Luigic Pulci, and other Italian poets, and he demonstrates that Frere
borrowed his form from the Italian Medley Poem. Waller moves on to discuss the adaptation of this form for use in
English by translators and poets of the 18th and 19th Centuries, and their importance as a historical movement,
culminating in Byron’s great works, such as Don Juan. Waller makes a cursory examination of the actual form
of Whistlecraft, and then proceeds to demonstrate how that work was the first of its kind and how deeply it
affected such authors as Byron. The topic of approach is helpful because it is different from the approaches
employed by other sources.
Waters, Lindsay. “The “Desultory Rhyme” of Don Juan: Byron, Pulci, and the Improvisatory Style.” ELH,
Vol. 45, Autumn 1978. JSTOR. 2 March 2006.
Waters’ essay focuses on Byron and his improvisatory poetry, particularly Don Juan. By tracing the
development of the improvisatory style in Italian poetry, Waters’ examines the Italian poets and uses her findings
to analyze and explain Don Juan. Due to Frere’s influence on Byron in this area, Waters has naturally
included a small discussion on Frere. Like Byron, the general influence of the Italian improvisatory movement is
also applicable to Frere. Waters argues that the movement was a response to Italian poetic society, which took a
new twist when combined with the individualistic thinkers of Europe. The result was a form of poetry that
emphasized the improvisational method in an epic style. Although Waters’ essay takes a common stance in her
argument of the relationships between Frere, Italian poetry, and Byron, it succinctly and effectively summarizes
the movement. Her observations are especially insightful, including her analysis of Frere’s debt to the Italian
poet Pulci.