Author: Murphy, Arthur
Biography:
MURPHY, Arthur (1727-1805: ODNB)
Murphy owes his presence in this bibliography to a handful of verse tragedies that he wrote after 1770 but he was a versatile and prolific writer with more than one string to his bow. Born in Clooniquin, Ireland, the son of Jane (French) and Richard Murphy, he lost his father in 1729 and moved with his mother and brother to England, then in 1736 was sent by himself to live with an aunt in France, where he attended the English College at St. Omer: he is said to have proven on examination there that he knew the whole of the Aeneid by heart. He worked as a clerk in Ireland 1747-49, then moved to London to work first in a bank and then with magazine publishers. At this point he was introduced to Samuel Johnson whose works he later edited with a biography (1792). He began a career on the stage in 1754 and was soon writing plays of all sorts for it, besides contributing essays and criticism to newspapers and magazines. He studied law and was called to the bar in 1762. He held various political or patronage posts, including a seat on the commission for bankruptcy and the recordership of Sudbury. Despite a substantial annual income, he was generally in debt. He wrote reviews, biographies (Fielding, Garrick, Johnson), criticism, and translations. He did not marry; his relationship with an actress, Ann Elliot, lasted only from 1761 to her death in 1769. He died at his home in London; his executor Jesse Foot published a biography of him in 1811. (ODNB 17 Apr. 2020)