Author: Sotheby, William
Biography:
SOTHEBY, William (1757-1833: ODNB)
He was born in London to a family of wealthy landowners with military and political connections. His father William Sotheby, a colonel of the Coldstream Guards, died when he was eight. As the eldest son he would inherit the family estate, Sewardstone, on the outskirts of Epping Forest; in the meantime, his guardians during his minority were Charles Yorke, the Chancellor, and the MP Hans Sloane (later Sloane-Stanley), the uncle of his mother Elizabeth (Sloane) Sotheby. Sotheby was educated at Harrow, followed by the military academy of Angers and a commission in a regiment of dragoons. It was while the regiment was stationed at Edinburgh that he met Walter Scott (q.v.), who became a lifelong friend. In 1780 he married an heiress, Mary Isted (1759-1834); the couple had seven children. Sotheby retired from the army and bought a house near Southampton, where he was able to give much of his time to literature. In 1791 they relocated to London, spending part of the year at Sewardstone. Sotheby took an active part in the cultural scene--Dilettante Society, Royal Society, Society of Antiquaries--and befriended and supported many other writers, including Scott, Wordsworth, Coleridge, Baillie, Southey, and Moore (qq.v.). His translations from Latin and German were and continue to be widely admired, his late Homer less so. His original poetry was not so successful. Although he wrote several plays, most of them were not produced and those that were did not last long on the stage. He died at home in London and was buried in the family vault in Hackney churchyard. (ODNB 5 Oct. 2020; ancestry.com 5 Oct. 2020) HJ
Other Names:
- W. Sotheby