Author: Bourne, John Gervas Hutchinson
Biography:
BOURNE, John Gervas Hutchinson (1804-45: DCB)
The son of Ruth Elizabeth and John Bourne, he was baptised in Eastwood, Nottinghamshire, on 1 July 1804. He graduated from Pembroke College, Oxford (matric 1821, BA 1825, MA 1828) and was a Fellow of Magdalen College from 1826 to 1831, during which time he also trained as a lawyer at the Inner Temple and was called to the bar in London in 1829. On 8 Feb. 1831 he married Elizabeth Barrett, a Roman Catholic, at Milton, Berks. They had at least three children, including a daughter who was brought up in her mother’s faith and a son who was born in Newfoundland. Bourne made a living by the law but also followed literary pursuits. Between 1833 and 1837 he published three substantial works: a poem, The Exile of Idria; a prose fiction, The Picture, and the Prosperous Man; and a translation of songs from the French of Béranger. In 1838, seeking to improve his fortunes, he accepted the post of Lord Chief Justice of Newfoundland. He appears to have carried out his duties faithfully but he was an irascible man and he fell foul of local politics; he was dismissed in 1844 and returned to London, where he published another long poem, England Won (1845), and started work on some articles about colonial affairs. He died in London on 21 Nov. 1845 and was buried on 26 Nov. at St.-Martin-in-the-Fields. (DCB 6 Apr. 2022; ancestry.com 6 Apr. 2022; findmypast.com 6 Apr. 2022) HJ
Other Names:
- J. G. H. B.