The New Student's Reference Work/Walpole, Horace

Wal′pole, Horace, Earl of Orford, an English author, was born at London in 1717. He studied at Eton and Cambridge, traveled in Italy, and took his seat in Parliament in 1741, but never was active in public life. His home at Twickenham near London, called Strawberry Hill, adorned with vast collections of pictures, books, manuscripts, armor etc., was one of the sights of the time, and admittance was granted by ticket to parties of four from May to October. His writings include Castle of Otranto, Memoirs of the Last Ten Years of the Reign of George II, Memoirs of the Reign of George III, Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors, Historic Doubts on the Life and Reign of King Richard III, Anecdotes of Painting in England and Catalogue of Royal and Noble Authors of England. But his fame rests upon his Letters, which are the product of years of acquaintance with public men and events, and entitle him to the rank of one of the best letter-writers in English literature. He died on March 2, 1797. See Letters, edited by Cunningham; George Selwyn and His Contemporaries by Jesse; and essay on Letters of Horace Walpole by Macaulav.