Author talk:Michael George Kennedy

Life

• Born 7 September 1801, the youngest son of Brigadier General Michael Kennedy (C. B. Bombay Establishment) [Royal Literary Fund application], and Martha Kennedy; baptised 26 September 1802 in Bombay
• On 19 November 1823, he joined the Freemason's Sun Lodge, Exmouth, while a solicitor, and living at Exmouth; he "Removed to the Courtenay Arms, Star Cross, Devon" on 3 May 1824, while still a solicitor living at Exmouth
• Married(?) Elizabeth, daughter of J. Williamson of Scarborough; their son Michael Kavanagh Kennedy was born on 28 April 1824 in Exmouth
• Admitted as a fellow commoner at Trinity Hall, Cambridge on 21 March 1825, matriculated Easter 1825 [Royal Literary Fund application also says he attended Cambridge]
• At some point became a barrister
• Inherited a small patrimony in 1827, which was lost in "some newspaper, and other literary speculations" [Royal Literary Fund application]
• On 24 October 1837, while living at Great Russell Street, Covent Garden, he was an insolvent debtor, out of employment, and his petition was heard at the Court House, Lincoln's Inn Fields
• Discharged from Fleet Prison on 7 December 1837
• Taken to court on 5 April 1838 for "Assault, two convictions", and fined 6d. on each conviction
• By 1840 was "for some time past reduced to secondary offices, and to submit to the drudgery of the press" [Royal Literary Fund application]
• From about October 1838 to October 1839, was co-editor and extensive contributor to The Parthenon, a London weekly journal, but incurred heavy expenses in the process, and was not remunerated by the proprietor; The Parthenon folded in February 1840 [Royal Literary Fund application]
• Lived at Lower Westbourne Road, Paddington [Royal Literary Fund application]
• Arrested on 6th March(?) 1840, and sent to Fleet Prison, London [Royal Literary Fund application]
• Applied to Royal Literary Fund on 30 March 1840, and received many letters in support of his application
• His application was approved, and he received £10 on 10 April 1840 [Royal Literary Fund application]
• He was discharged from Fleet Prison (again) on 25 May 1840
• He may be the Michael Kennedy mentioned in The Law Times on 6 April 1850: "Can any of our readers inform us the address of Mr. Michael Kennedy, Solicitor, recently of Cheshunt, Herts?"
• Died 2 December 1851, survived by his only son, Captain Michael Kennedy of the Bombay Regiment of Engineers

--Yodin^T 13:08, 27 July 2024 (UTC)

Nationality

• Kennedy was baptised in Bombay about a year after he was born (unclear from this where he was born); his father was Irish, born in Garryrickin, Kilkenny, but M. G. Kennedy studied in Cambridge, lived in Exmouth, London (and possibly later, the north of England, see below) and doesn't seem to have had much connection to Ireland. He is certainly of Irish descent, but unclear what his nationality was (Hiberno-Indian? Anglo-Indian? British? English?)
• Included in David James O'Donoghue's The Poets of Ireland (1892), as "Kennedy, M. G. (?)", with no biographical information, just listing The Polish Struggle, and The Arm! The Sword! and The Hour! (external scan)
  • However, as O'Donoghue seems not to have identified the author, he may just be going by Kennedy's surname. With his books all being published by London publishers (and printed in Sheffield, in the case of The Arm! – the Sword! – and the Hour!), and the way he mentions having read the Sheffield Iris, York Courant, and Durham Advertiser (all northern English cities), while not mentioning any Irish periodicals, indicates that O'Donoghue might not be right.
• Kennedy dates the Preface to The Arm! – the Sword! – and the Hour! at "Church Fields". This could be one of the places called Churchfield (either in London, or Ireland), or the name of a street/house anywhere in the British Isles (one possibility could be Churchfield Road, Thurgoland, near Sheffield, assuming it had been built by 1850).

--Yodin^T 17:45, 12 February 2024 (UTC)

Age

• The Athenæum review (1832) of The Wanderer's Romaunt, based on the book's preface, describes Kennedy: "He says he is young: it is plain he has been educated: it is certain he has leisure on his hands and some money in his pocket, else he could neither have written nor travelled".
• The New Monthly Magazine review (1832) says: "That it is the work of a young man, and a novice, would appear from the preface, but from no other part".
• David Blamires writes in Telling Tales (2009): "In 1850 the seventy year old M. G. Kennedy went so far as to produce a verse form of the story: The Arm! – the Sword! – and the Hour! Or, the Legend of the Enchanted Knights (London: Longman, Brown, Green & Longmans)." This seems to be based on the Preface to The Arm! – the Sword! – and the Hour!, where he translates Wieland as saying: "At my age (seventy), I have consecrated considerable time to superintend a new edition of this work." – i.e. that Wieland was 70 when editing Musäus' works, not that Kennedy was when his book was published.

--Yodin^T 17:45, 12 February 2024 (UTC)

The Wanderer's Romaunt

In the preface to The Polish Struggle, Kennedy thanks "the Editors of the Times, Athenæum, Sheffield Iris, York Courant, Durham Advertiser, and many others, but these in particular, (all personal strangers to me) for the very kind encouragement held out when noticing a former poem of mine. It was the Editor of the Athenæum who expressed a wish to “see and hear of me again;”* and here I am once more, after a lapse of nearly four years..." the footnote given for the "see and hear of me again" quote attributed to the editor of the Athenæum says "March 3, 1832".

• This seems to be a reference to the review in the Athenæum for 3 March 1832, of The Wanderer's Romaunt: Canto First, p.142, which says: "we shall be glad to see him again, and hear his voice".
• The Athenæum states that the book was published in London by Cochrane & Co. I haven't been able to find any scans of this book, or any copies of it listed on WorldCat or JISC.
• The Athenæum gives a quote from the preface of The Wanderer's Romaunt: "It was written at random, published at random, and a random sale is all that is required to complete the wish of its noviciate author" – I haven't been able to find any results searching for parts of this quote on Google Books or HathiTrust, other than the Athenæum review.
• The Tatler's review says that it is 80 pages, 8vo, and "is founded on the model of Lord Byron’s ‘Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage,’ of which it may be pronounced a successful imitation"; it quotes several verses from the poem.
• The New Monthly Magazine's review quotes some of the notes from the book.
• The Literary Gazette reviewed this, saying: "In a note, a kind of historical romance is appended to the name of the heroine Idonea" – it's not clear if this is referring to The Wanderer's Romaunt or one of the other books listed.
• The Metropolitan reviewed it briefly.
• It's unclear from the above reviews whether its subtitle was "Canto First" (as the Athenæum says), "Canto I" (Tatler and Literary Gazette), or "First Canto" (New Monthly Magazine).
• Adverts for The Polish Struggle confirm that Kennedy wrote The Wanderer's Romaunt, such as this one in the London Literary Gazette: "By M. G. Kennedy, Author of “The Wanderer’s Romaunt,” &c. &c." – this implies that he had written several other poems, in contrast to the preface of The Polish Struggle, which seems to imply that he hadn't published anything else since then.
• In 1834, Fraser's Magazine published a poem called "The Wanderer's Romaunt". It's unclear if this has anything to do with Kennedy's book length poem of the same name. The Curran Index attributes this poem to George H. Wood, on the basis that it was "Reprinted in G.H. Wood, Poems (Douglas: J. Mylrea, 1853)". It's possible that it's an extract from (or continuation of) Kennedy's First Canto, and that Kennedy was a pen-name used by Wood (or vice-versa).

--Yodin^T 17:45, 12 February 2024 (UTC)