William Combe

William Combe (1741 - 19 June 1823) was a satirical English poet and miscellaneous writer. His early life was that of an adventurer, his later was passed chiefly within King's Bench Prison. He is chiefly remembered as the author of The Three Tours of Dr. Syntax, a comic poem. His cleverest piece of work was a series of imaginary letters, supposed to have been written by the second, or "wicked", Thomas Lyttelton, 2nd Baron Lyttelton. Of a similar kind were his letters between Swift and "Stella". He also wrote the letterpress for various illustrated books, and was a general hack writer.

Life
The circumstances of his birth in Bristol in 1741, and parentage are somewhat doubtful, and it is unclear whether his father was a rich Bristol merchant or a certain William Alexander, a London alderman, who died in 1762. He was educated at Eton, where he was contemporary with Charles James Fox, the 2nd Baron Lyttelton and William Beckford. Alexander bequeathed him some £2000—a little fortune that soon disappeared in a course of splendid extravagance, which gained him the nickname of Count Combe; and after a chequered career as private soldier, cook and waiter, he finally settled in London (about 1771), as a law student and bookseller's hack.

In his later years, notwithstanding a by no means unsullied character, Combe was courted for the sake of his charming conversation and inexhaustible stock of anecdote. He died in London.

Writing
In 1776 he made his first success in London with The Diaboliad, a satire full of bitter personalities. Four years afterwards (1780) his debts brought him into the King's Bench Prison, and much of his subsequent life was spent in prison. His spurious Letters of the Late Lord Lyttelton (1780) imposed on many of his contemporaries, and as late as 1851, a writer in the Quarterly Review regarded these letters as authentic, basing upon them a claim that Lyttelton was "Junius." An early acquaintance with Lawrence Sterne resulted in Combe's anonymous Letters supposed to have been written by Yorick and Eliza (1779). Periodical literature of all sorts—pamphlets, satires, burlesques, "two thousand columns for the papers," "two hundred biographies"—filled up the next years, and about 1789 Combe was receiving £200 yearly from the Pitt government as a pamphleteer.

In 1790 and 1791, the six volumes of a Devil on Two Sticks in England won for Combe the title of "the English le Sage". In 1794–1796 he wrote the text for Boydell's History of the River Thames, and in 1803 he began to write for The Times. From 1809 to 1811 he wrote for Ackermann's Political Magazine the famous Tour of Dr Syntax in search of the Picturesque (descriptive and moralizing verse of a somewhat doggerel type), which, owing greatly to Thomas Rowlandson's designs, was an immense success. It was published separately in 1812 and was followed by two similar Tours, "in search of Consolation," and "in search of a Wife," the first Mrs Syntax having died at the end of the first Tour. Then came Six Poems in illustration of drawings by Princess Elizabeth (1813), The English Dance of Death (1815–1816), The Dance of Life (1816–1817), The Adventures of Johnny Quae Genus (1822)—all written for Rowlandson's caricatures; together with histories of Oxford and Cambridge, and of Westminster Abbey for Ackermann; Picturesque Tours along the Rhine and other rivers, Histories of Madeira, Antiquities of York, texts for Turner's Southern Coast Views, and contributions innumerable to the Literary Repository.

Publications

 * Clifton: a poem in imitation of Spenser. Bristol, UK: G. Routh, 1775.
 * The Philosopher in Bristol. Bristol, UK: G. Routh, 1775.
 * An Heroic Epistle to the Lord Craven. London: John Wheble, 1775.
 * The Diaboliad: A poem, dedicated to the worst man in His Majesty's dominions. London: G. Kearsly, 1777.
 * A Dialogue in the Shades: Between an unfortunate divine and a Welch member of Parliament. London: J. Bew, 1777.
 * The First of April; or, The triumphs of folly: A poem. London: J. Bew, 1777.
 * The Diabo-lady; or, A match in Hell: Dedicated to the worst woman in His Majesty's dominions. London: Fielding & Walker, 1777.
 * An Heroic Epistle to the noble author of the Duchess of Devonshire's Cow. London: J. Bew, 1777.
 * The Justification: A poem. London: J. Bew, 1777.
 * A Letter to the Duchess of Devonshire. London: Fielding & Walker, 1777.
 * A poetical epistle to Sir Joshua Reynolds. London: Fielding & Walker, 1777.
 * A Second Letter to the Duchess of Devonshire. . London: Fielding & Walker, 1777.
 * A Tear of Gratitude: To the memory of Dr. Dodd. London: F. Newbery, 1777.
 * The Diaboliad: Part the second, dedicated to the worst woman in His Majesty's dominions. London: J. Bew, 1778.
 * The auction: a town eclogue. London: J. Bew, 1778.
 * An Heroic Epistle to an Unfortunate Monarch. London: E. Benson, 1778.
 * An Interesting Letter to the Duchess of Devonshire. London: J. Bew, 1778.
 * The R[oya]l Register. (9 volumes), London: J. Bew, 1778-1784.
 * An Heroic Epistle to Sir James Wright. London: J. Bew, 1779.
 * Letters supposed to have been written by Yorick and Eliza. (2 volumes), London: J. Bew, 1779.
 * The World as it Goes: A poem. London: J. Bew, 1779.
 * The Fast-day: a Lambeth eclogue. London: J. Bew, 1780.
 * Letters of the late Lord Lyttelton. London: J. Bew, 1780.
 * Letters between two lovers and Their Friends. London: J. Bew, 1781; Dublin: Brett Smith, for Price, Slater, et al, 1781.
 * The Traitor: A poetical rhapsody. London: J. Bew, et al, 1781.
 * Original love letters, between a lady of quality and a person of inferior rank. (2 volumes), 1784; Dublin: J. Rea, for Moncrieffe, R. Cross, Exshaw, Wilson, et al, 1784.
 * The Royal Dream; or, The P[rince] in a panic: an eclogue. London: S. Fores, 1785.
 * The History and Antiquities of the City of York. York, UK: A. Ward, for W. Tesseyman, J. Todd, H. Sotheran, et al, 1785.
 * Original Letters of Sterne. 1788.
 * [https://archive.org/details/letterfromcountr00combuoft A Letter from a Country Gentleman to a Member of Parliament. London: Logographic Press, for J. Walter, & W. Richardson, 1790. NF
 * The Royal Interview: A fragment. London: Logographic Press, for J. Walter, C. Stalker, & W. Richardson, 1789.
 * Considerations on the approaching dissolution of Parliament. London: Logographic Press, for J. Waller, 1790.
 * The Devil upon Two Sticks in England: Being a continuation of 'Le diable boiteux' of Le Sage.. (4 volumes), London: Logographic Press, for J. Walter, & W. Richardson, 1790; (6 volumes), London: Logographic Press, for J. Walter, 1791. Volume I, Volume IV F
 * [https://archive.org/details/wordinseasontotr00comb A Word in Season: To the traders and manufacturers of Great Britain. London: John Stockdale, 1792.
 * An History of the Principal Rivers of Great Britain. (2 volumes), London: W. Bulmer for J. and J. Boydell, 1794-1796. NF
 * Two Words of Counsel and One of Comfort. London: T. Mason, 1795.
 * A Letter to the Rt. Hon. William Pitt. London: J. Debrett, 1796.
 * Plain Thoughts of a Plain Man. London: J. Bell, 1797.
 * Brief observations on a letter to Pitt by W. Boyd. London: J. Debrett, 1801.
 * The Letters of Valerius. London: Hatchard, 1804. NF
 * The Tour of Dr. Syntax: In search of the picturesque: A poem. London: R. Ackermann, 1812; 9th edition, 1819.
 * The history of the abbey church of St. Peter's Westminster. (2 volumes), London: R. Ackermann, 1812.
 * A History of the University of Oxford. (2 volumes), London: R. Ackermann, 1814.
 * A History of the University of Cambridge. London: R. Ackermann, 1815.
 * The English Dance of Death. (2 volumes), London: J. Diggins, for R. Ackermann, 1815-1816; London: Methuen, 1903; New York: Appleton, 1903.
 * The History of the Colleges of Winchester, Eton, and Westminster. London: R. Ackermann, 1816.
 * The Dance of Life: A poem (illusrated by Thomas Rowlandson). London: R. Ackermann, 1817; London: Methuen, 1903; New York: Appleton, 1903.
 * Observations on Ackerman's Patent Movable Axles. London: J. Diggens, for R. Ackermann, 1819.
 * The Second Tour of Dr. Syntax: In search of consolation: A poem. London: R. Ackermann, 1820.
 * The Third Tour of Dr. Syntax: In search of a wife: A poem. London: R. Ackermann, 1821.
 * A History of Madeira. London: R. Ackermann, 1821.
 * The History of Johnny Quae Genus: The little foundling of the late Dr. Syntax: A poem. London: R. Ackermann, 1821.
 * Letters to Marianne. London: T. Boys, 1823.
 * Letters between Amelia in London and Her Mother in the Country. London: R. Ackermann, 1824.
 * Dr. Syntax: His three tours. London: F. Warne, 1871.

Translated

 * Jean-Jacques Rousseau, Letters of an Italian Nun and an English Gentleman. London: J. Bew, 1781.

Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.