Author: Montgomery, Robert
Biography:
MONTGOMERY, Robert (1807-55: ODNB)
He was born Robert Gomery and was the illegitimate son of the resident clown in the Bath theatre, also Robert Gomery; the name of his mother is not recorded. Even at school in Bath, he showed literary ambition: he started a weekly paper at 16 and published his first collection of verses by subscription at 18. At this time, too, he changed his name to Montgomery. He made his name with long pious poems that attracted a large popular audience but also won him the praise of respected writers such as Crabbe and Southey. He graduated from Oxford in 1833 (MA 1838) and proceeded to take orders. He proved a charismatic preacher, based for four years in Glasgow and then from 1843 in London. In 1843 he married Rachel Catherine Andrews McKenzie; they had one child. Though he continued to write poetry, his efforts were increasingly directed to religious prose, including sermons and practical manuals. He died in Brighton after a short illness. (ODNB 11 Apr. 2020) HJ
Other Names:
- R. M.