Author: Hardynge, Hal
Biography:
HARDYNGE, Hal (fl 1828-30)
In Georgian England “Hardynge” was a rare but still acceptable alternate spelling for “Hardinge”: newspaper reports about the exploits of the military hero and MP Sir Henry Hardinge (1785-1856), for instance, sometimes referred to him as “Hardynge.” But Hal (or Henry) Hardynge, the poet of Cheltenham, is an elusive figure. The one book published under his name reveals that most of the contents had appeared earlier in periodicals. It is dedicated to the Princess Esterhazy in gratitude for her “liberal patronage” of the public pleasures of the growing spa town. It was advertised and reviewed with no suggestion of a pseudonym, and at least one presentation copy from “the author” is in circulation to this day. But no information has been found to identify him reliably. (GM 148 [1830] 619-20) HJ