ABSTRACT

First published in 1998, this book focuses on the once celebrated but now neglected musical journalism of Henry Forthergill Chorley. For nearly forty years he effectively used his acerbic pen and idiosyncratic critical judgments to celebrate the works of Rossini, Mendelssohn, Meyerbeer, Gounod and Sullivan, and to scorn those of Schumann , Verdi and Wagner. This book also discusses his friendships with literary figures such as Charles Dickens, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, and Felicia Hemans, as well as his ongoing efforts to establish himself as a novelist as well as a journalist.

chapter Chapter One|22 pages

A Beginning: Friends and Family

chapter Chapter Two|21 pages

Beginning Again: Journalism and Literature

chapter Chapter Three|29 pages

Chorley and Music, 1834–41

chapter Chapter Four|44 pages

Elizabeth Barrett and Felix Mendelssohn

chapter Chapter Five|61 pages

The Forties: The Old Order and the Power of the Press

chapter Chapter Six|66 pages

The Fifties: in Mid-Career

chapter Chapter Seven|72 pages

Final Years at the Athenæum: 1860–68

chapter Chapter Eight|23 pages

A Gentleman of Independent Means: Sick, Drunk, and Lonely