Thomas Lovell Beddoes

Author Code: ETLB

Educated at Charterhouse and Pembroke College, Oxford, Beddoes was born into a literary family and continued the tradition. His mother was the sister of Maria Edgeworth and his father was a close friend of Coleridge. Beddoes produced his first book, The Improvisatore, while he was still a student at Oxford. In 1822, he published The Bride's Tragedy, which became Beddoes' only financial success as a writer. He traveled Europe and studied medicine in Germany, as well as becoming involved in political activity which saw him eventually banned from Sweden. A severe manic depressive, Beddoes eventually took his own life by poison after failing in his first attempt by opening an artery in his leg. His other works include Romance of the Lily (1823) and Death's Jest-Book (1850 posthumous). The Poems, posthumous and collected, of Thomas Lovell Beddoes was published in two volumes in 1851.