Author: Hoole, John
Biography:
HOOLE, John (1727-1803: ODNB)
Born in London to Samuel and Sarah (Drury) Hoole, Hoole had a double career as a clerk (rising to auditor) in the East India Company and as a translator from Italian. The first career began in 1744, the second in 1761, when he had his translation of the first Book of Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered published for friends. By his marriage to Susanna Smith in 1757 he had one son, Samuel (q.v.), who became a clergyman and a writer himself. In the 1760s Hoole became part of the social circle of Samuel Johnson, who encouraged his work in translation and his dramatic adaptations. Hoole and his wife and son were present at Johnson's deathbed in 1784. With Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, Hoole repeated the practice of his first published translation and published Book One alone as a sample in 1773, but the book is extremely rare--not known to ODNB or ESTC--and the complete translation did not appear until 1783. Hoole and his wife went to live with their son in Abinger from 1786, after his retirement from the East India Company. (ODNB 24 Apr. 2019; WorldCat) HJ
Other Names:
- Hoole