Author: Harley, James
Biography:
HARLEY, James (fl 1821-3)
The name is almost certainly a pseudonym. That was the insinuation of the reviewer for the Literary Gazette in 1822 as cited and reinforced by Benjamin Colbert in his annotated edition of extracts from the satires. Although there are a few public records for people of that name at the time, none of them (dairyman, warehouseman, gentleman, Glasgow merchant) is a good match for the writer who was an active contributor to the London Magazine 1821-3 and in the same period author of Nonsense Verses, The Press, and The Reviewer’s Guide. Another work, “Ramblings and Rambling Rhimes,” was announced in 1823 but evidently never published. His principal publisher, Lupton Relfe of Cornhill, London, soon took on the European Magazine and the annual Friendship’s Offering: if “Harley” was still active as a freelance writer in 1824-5 he might also have been involved with those titles. The Press is sometimes incorrectly attributed to John Hamilton Reynolds. (Benjamin Colbert, “James Harley,” British Satire 1785-1840 [2003] 3: 235-380; ancestry.com 4 Jan. 2022; WorldCat) HJ