Author: Poole, John
Biography:
POOLE, John (1793?-1872: findmypast.com)
By his own declaration (RLF) he was born at Poole, Dorsetshire, on 23 Mar. 1793. No public record has been found to corroborate that claim, however; the closest is a John Poole, son of John and Elizabeth Poole, who was born there on 1 Feb. 1795 and baptised at an Independent chapel on 26 Apr. From 1810 to 1845 he was a prolific popular comic author in London, writing mainly for the stage--burlesques, farces, musical interludes, etc. His Hamlet Travestie in rhyming couplets went into many editions and spawned a subgenre; his Paul Pry (1825) was one of the most successful comedies of the century. After his theatrical career faded in the 1830s he contributed to magazines and periodicals. But in 1845 he stopped writing and began resorting to compilations of previously published pieces. In 1847 and 1849 he applied to the RLF, supported by Divkens and John Forster, and received two grants of £80 and £50 respectively. At that time he declared that he was unmarried and that he was suffering from "nervous illness." He moved to Paris to live more cheaply. Charles Dickens, visiting the city in 1850, found him in a very bad way and was able to secure him a lifetime pension of £100 p.a. (As it turned out, Poole outlived his benefactor.) He later returned to London where he died at his home in Kentish Town; he is buried in Highgate Cemetery. (ODNB 1 Jul. 2020; RLF #1157; findmypast.com 5 Sept. 2024; information from AA)