Thomas Sheridan (16 or 17 November 1775 – 12 September 1817) was the only son of the Irish playwright and poet Richard Brinsley Sheridan and the soprano Elizabeth Ann Linley, although his father had at least one other son from a second marriage. Born in mid-November 1775, Sheridan initially tried for a career in politics but was unsuccessful.
The courtship of Sheridan's parents, the soprano Elizabeth Ann Linley and the playwright Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was described in newspaper reports as "one of the classic romances of the west country" and stated that his mother was "the most beautiful singer in England"; [2] she abandoned her career as a singer [3] when she married Richard in April 1773 as he thought her profession reflected badly on his status as a gentleman. [4] She had several miscarriages before Sheridan was born in mid-November 1775; [5] [lower-alpha 1] she named him after Thomas Linley, and Thomas Sheridan, his maternal and paternal grandfathers respectively. [7] The young Sheridan was sent to boarding school in Hatton, Warwickshire in early 1786, where he was educated by Samuel Parr. [5] [8] Parr described him as having "great acuteness, excellent understanding, wit and humour, but not a particle of knowledge." [9] The English historian William Smyth was engaged as his tutor after the death of Sheridan's mother in 1792. [10] Sheridan entered Trinity College, Cambridge in 1795. [11] According to Smyth, Sheridan was the "idol of the young men" [9] when at Cambridge and his fellow students thought him "the cleverest fellow in the place", [9] although Smyth added his own rider clarifying that in humour and fun this was the case. [9]
Sheridan married Caroline Henrietta Callander of Craigforth (1779–1851), a daughter of Sir James Campbell, on 21 June 1805. [12] [5] Sheridan's father was initially against the marriage, and threatened to sever financial support to his son; Caroline did have a small inheritance but it was insufficient to fully support the couple. [13] They had six or seven children. [lower-alpha 2] Their eldest son, Richard Brinsley Sheridan, was appointed as High Sheriff of Dorset in 1838 [15] and pursued a political career. [5] The couple's daughters included Helen Blackwood, Baroness Dufferin and Claneboye; the feminist Caroline Norton; and Georgiana Seymour, Duchess of Somerset. [5]
Sheridan unsuccessfully tried for a political career, firstly being involved in political shenanigans with his father to gain the Liskeard seat in 1804. [16] He failed to be elected at Stafford in 1806 and 1807. [17] He briefly served in the army in 1803 [18] under Lord Moira as aide-de-camp then in Ireland where he served as a muster-master general in 1806. [12] [5] That year, his father gifted him a 25 per cent share of the Drury Lane Theatre where Sheridan became the manager. He also undertook managerial duties at the Lyceum Theatre, London while still managing the Theatre Royal. [5] He wrote poetry, plays and melodramas, including Description of Characters in 1808 and The Russian, which was staged for 11 performances at Drury Lane from 13 May 1813. [5] According to the tenor Michael Kelly, a leading figure in British musical theatre, Sheridan had "a good voice, and a true taste for music". [19] Sheridan's verse about the loss of the frigate, Saldanha, on the coastline of Ireland on 4 December 1811, was described by Captain Jesse in the biography The Life of George Brummell as having more originality than any of Sheridan's father's poems. [20]
A manuscript for the play The Siege of St Quintin staged at the Drury Lane Theatre in November 1808 demonstrates the working methods used by Sheridan and his father while managing the theatre. Drafts were read through and checked by Sheridan senior, further revised by the son and then transcribed. [21]
While carrying out his army service under Lord Moira in Edinburgh, Sheridan was intimately involved with the wife of Peter Campbell, a wealthy businessman whose work had taken him to the West Indies. The affair led to the break up of the Campbell's marriage and in 1807, Sheridan was convicted of criminal conversation over it. Campbell was awarded £1,500 compensation, which Sheridan paid with money loaned by actors from the Drury Lane Theatre. [5] [18]
Like many of his relatives, including his mother and aunt, Sheridan was afflicted with tuberculosis and he moved abroad with his wife and eldest daughter to ease the symptoms; he was appointed as the Colonial Governor's treasurer at the Cape of Good Hope in 1813 [12] as a result of his father's influence with the Duke of York. [22]
Four years after taking up his appointment at the Cape of Good Hope, Sheridan died of tuberculosis on 12 September 1817; [5] [lower-alpha 3] his body was transported back to Britain and buried at Wells Cathedral in his mother's grave. [23] After his death, his widow, together with his eldest daughter returned to Britain. [24] She adopted a reclusive lifestyle but made a name for herself by authoring several books before her death in 1851. [25]
Thomas Gainsborough painted several family portraits, particularly of Sheridan's mother, Elizabeth; a lesser known painting of Sheridan was purchased by an American art collector in 1928. [26]
Richard Brinsley Butler Sheridan was an Anglo-Irish playwright, writer and Whig politician who sat in the British House of Commons from 1780 to 1812, representing the constituencies of Stafford, Westminster and Ilchester. The owner of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane in London, he wrote several prominent plays such as The Rivals (1775), The Duenna (1775), The School for Scandal (1777) and A Trip to Scarborough (1777), along with serving as Treasurer of the Navy from 1806 to 1807. After dying in 1816, Sheridan was buried at Poets' Corner in Westminster Abbey, and his plays remain a central part of the Western canon and are regularly performed around the world.
Frances Sheridan was an Anglo-Irish novelist and playwright.
Thomas Linley was an English bass and musician active in Bath, Somerset. Born in Badminton, Gloucestershire, Linley began his musical career after he moved to Bath at age 11 and became apprentice to the organist Thomas Chilcot. After his marriage to Mary Johnson in 1752, Linley at first supported his wife and growing family predominantly as a music teacher. As his children grew and he developed their musical talent, he drew an increasing amount of income from their concerts while also managing the assembly rooms in Bath. When the new Bath Assembly Rooms opened in 1771, Linley became musical director and continued to promote his children's careers. He was eventually able to move to London with the thousands of pounds which he had amassed from their concerts.
Michael Kelly was an Irish tenor, composer and theatrical manager who made an international career of importance in musical history. One of the leading figures in British musical theatre around the turn of the nineteenth century, he was a close associate of playwright and poet Richard Brinsley Sheridan. He also became friends with musicians such as Mozart and Paisiello, and created roles for the operas of both composers. With his friend and fellow singer Nancy Storace, he was one of the first tenors of that era from Britain and Ireland to become famous in Italy and Austria. In Italy he was also known as O'Kelly or even Signor Ochelli. Although the primary source for his life is his Reminiscences, doubt has been cast on the reliability of his own account, and it has been said that '[a]ny statement of Kelly's is immediately suspect.'
Elizabeth Ann Sheridan was an English singer who was known to have possessed great beauty. She was the subject of several paintings by Thomas Gainsborough, who was a family friend, Joshua Reynolds and Richard Samuel. An adept poet and writer, she became involved with the Blue Stockings Society and participated in Whig politics.
Maria Linley was an English singer.
Richard Brinsley Sheridan was an English Whig politician.
Thomas Shaw, also known as Thomas Shaw Jun(ior, was an English violinist, violist, clarinettist and composer who was born c.1752, probably in Bath, and who probably died in Paris on 28 June 1827 or c.1830. Thomas Shaw was the son of Bathonian musician Thomas Shaw and the younger brother of violinist Anthony Shaw. The majority of his career was spent at the Drury Lane theatre in London as an instrumentalist, violin soloist, band leader, musical director and in-house composer.
Mrs. Richard Brinsley Sheridan (1787) is an oil on canvas portrait painted by Thomas Gainsborough between 1785 and 1787. It was acquired by the National Gallery of Art in 1937. Mrs. Sheridan was a talented musician who enjoyed professional success in Bath and London before marrying Richard Brinsley Sheridan in 1773 and abandoning her career. She was 31-33 when she sat for Gainsborough, dying from tuberculosis seven years later at the age of thirty-eight. The portrait was painted between 1785 and 1787, and, was exhibited at Gainsborough's studio at Schomberg House, Pall Mall in 1786.
Thomas Hallam was a British stage actor.
John Sowdon was an Irish stage actor, singer and theater manager in the eighteenth century.
James Rosco was a British stage actor. His name is also written as James Roscoe.
Jane Rogers was an English stage actress. To distinguish her from her daughter she is sometimes referred to as Jane Rogers the Elder.
Richard Hurst was a British stage actor.
Maria Smith born Maria Harris aka Mrs Smith was a British stage actress of the late eighteenth century.
Montague Talbot (1774–1831) was an Irish stage actor and theatre manager.
Thomas Caulfield (1766–1815) was a British stage actor who after a period in London's West End spent the later part of his career in the United States.
Ursula Agnes Booth (1740–1803) was a British stage actress of the eighteenth century. She first appeared at the Theatre Royal, Covent Garden in London on 1 November 1775, but at the season switched to the rival Theatre Royal, Drury Lane and remained a part of the company for the next twenty years under the management of Richard Brinsley Sheridan. She specialised in character roles of older woman. She also appeared in the summers at the Haymarket. Her husband John Booth was the resident tailor at Drury Lane. She was the mother of the actress Elizabeth Field who married the actor William Wallack and was therefore the grandmother of James William Wallack and Henry John Wallack.
Elizabeth Heard was an English stage actress. She was born in London the daughter of William Heard, a physician and playwright, and his wife Ann Heard, an actress. Elizabeth made her stage debut at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane as a child actor in 1782, where he mother was employed. She often played young male roles such as the Duke of York in Richard III and Prince Arthur in King John. As well as appearing as a member of the company at Drury Lane, she also began summer stints at the Haymarket from 1789 gradually playing more mature and important roles. In 1801 she left the Drury Lane company and later acted in Newcastle.
Robert Benson (1765–1796) was an English stage actor of the eighteenth century. The son of two actors, he made his first London appearance at the Theatre Royal, Haymarket in 1778 as a child actor playing the Duke of York in Richard III and acted occasionally at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane over the following years. After an absence of some time, he returned to Drury Lane in November 1786 having now graduated to adult roles. He became a reliable member of the company known for his character roles as comic eccentrics and smooth young gentleman. For the summer of 1791 he took over the management of Richmond Theatre with James Thompson and William Macready. He also acted at Haymarket during the summers and authored an operatic farce Britain's Glory which premiered there in 1795. In 1783 he married the actress Susanna Satchell (1758–1814), the sister of Elizabeth Satchell.
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