Eustace Budgell
Who was Eustace Budgell?
Irish politician (1686-1737)
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Eustace Budgell (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Eustace Budgell (19 August 1686 – 4 May 1737) was an English writer and politician from Exeter, Devon. He's best known for his contributions to influential periodicals in the early 18th century, especially his work with Joseph Addison and Richard Steele on The Spectator, where he wrote several essays. Addison, his cousin, played a key role in shaping Budgell's literary and political career in the early 1700s.
Budgell's public life began with his literary reputation and political connections. Thanks to Addison, he obtained positions in Ireland, working in administrative roles and serving in the Irish Parliament. He represented different constituencies and was seen as a competent, if at times controversial, figure in Whig political circles. However, his time in Ireland, while professionally fruitful, involved controversy, and he struggled to stay in favor with powerful figures after Addison's death in 1719.
In his later years, Budgell faced legal troubles and financial struggles. In the 1730s, he started and edited a periodical called The Bee, using it partly to criticize political adversaries and defend against misconduct allegations. One serious accusation involved forging a will to benefit from Dr. Matthew Tindal's estate. Although the allegation wasn't proven in court, it severely hurt his reputation and worsened his financial woes.
Budgell died on 4 May 1737 in London, widely believed to have drowned himself in the Thames after weighing his pockets with stones. A note found mentioned the similar death of Cato, the Roman Stoic, hinting at premeditation. He was fifty years old.
Budgell holds a minor but significant spot in the literary and political scene of early Georgian England. His essays in The Spectator show his knack for moral and social commentary in Addison's style, while his later role as a polemical journalist mirrors the more partisan nature of the British press in the 1720s and 1730s. Despite his life ending in disgrace and poverty, his early work with prominent prose writers of his time earned him a small place in English literary history.
Before Fame
Eustace Budgell was born on August 19, 1686, in Exeter, England, into a family connected to literary and political circles. His mother was the sister of Joseph Addison, the well-known essayist and statesman, and this family tie was crucial in Budgell’s rise to fame. He got a good education and attended Oxford, but left without graduating, which was common among young men of his background at that time, who relied more on connections than academic qualifications.
In the early 1700s, Budgell started working in London's growing field of periodical journalism. When Addison and Steele started The Spectator in 1711, Budgell joined them and contributed essays to the publication, reaching an audience of educated readers. This connection introduced him to prominent Whig politicians and led to administrative jobs in Ireland, where he spent much of his career before moving back to England.
Key Achievements
- Contributed essays to The Spectator, one of the most influential periodicals in the history of English journalism.
- Served in the Irish administration and as a member of the Irish Parliament in the early eighteenth century.
- Founded and edited The Bee, an independent periodical published in the 1730s.
- Secured political appointments in Ireland through Whig patronage networks, reaching the position of accountant-general.
- Established a literary identity closely associated with the Addisonian tradition of moral and social essay writing.
Did You Know?
- 01.Budgell contributed approximately thirty-seven essays to The Spectator, making him the third most frequent contributor after Addison and Steele.
- 02.He served as a Member of the Irish Parliament, representing Mullingar at one point during his time in administrative service in Dublin.
- 03.His own periodical, The Bee, ran from 1733 to 1735 and was largely a vehicle for personal grievances, including sustained attacks on Robert Walpole's government.
- 04.The note found near his body at the time of his death in 1737 is reported to have read: 'What Cato did, and Addison approved, cannot be wrong,' linking his suicide to both classical precedent and his famous cousin.
- 05.Alexander Pope referenced Budgell unfavorably in his satirical poem The Epistle to Dr. Arbuthnot, depicting him as a desperate literary hanger-on.