Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore (
May 28,
1779 -
February 25,
1852) was an Irish
poet, now best remembered for the lyrics of
The Last Rose of Summer. Born in
Dublin,
Ireland, he was educated at
Trinity College, and studied law at the
Middle Temple in
London. It was, however, as a poet, translator, balladeer and singer that he found fame. His work soon became immensely popular and included
The Harp That Once Through TaraÃÂs Halls,
The Minstrel Boy,
Believe Me If All Those Endearing Young Charms and others.
Moore was far more than a balladeer, however. He had major success as a society figure in
London, and in
1803 was appointed registrar to the
Admiralty in
Bermuda. From there, he travelled in
Canada and the
USA. He returned to England and married an actress, Elizabeth "Bessy" Dyke, in
1811. Moore had expensive tastes, and, despite the large sums he was earning from his writing, soon got into debt, a situation which was exacerbated by the embezzlement of money by the man he had employed to deputise for him in Bermuda. Moore became liable for the ã6000 which had been illegally appropriated. In
1819, he was forced to leave Britain -- in company with
Lord John Russell -- and live in
Italy until
1822, when the debt was finally paid off. Some of this time was spent with
Lord Byron, whose literary executor Moore became. He was much criticised later for allowing himself to be persuaded into destroying Byron's memoirs. Moore did, however, edit and publish
Letters and Journals of Lord Byron, with Notices of his Life (
1830).
He finally settled in Wiltshire, and became a novelist and biographer as well as a successful poet. He received a state pension, but his personal life was dogged by tragedy.
Other Works
- Lalla Rookh: an Oriental Romance (1817) (narrative poem)
- The Fudge Family in Paris (1818) (satire)
- The Loves of the Angels (1823) (narrative poem)
- The Epicurean (1827) (novel)
For the British Catholic martyr see
Thomas More.
