Richard Steele
Who was Richard Steele?
17th/18th-century Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Richard Steele (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Sir Richard Steele (c. 1671 – 1 September 1729) was an Anglo-Irish writer, playwright, and politician who was a key figure in shaping English periodical literature in the early 1700s. Born in Dublin, he was orphaned young and raised by relatives linked to the Ormond family, giving him early exposure to aristocratic patronage. He went to Charterhouse School in London, where he became friends with Joseph Addison, forming a significant literary partnership of that era. He later attended Merton College, Oxford, but left without a degree, choosing instead to join the army, eventually becoming a captain.
Steele started his literary career with The Christian Hero in 1701, a moral tract promoting the compatibility of religious virtue with gentlemanly behavior. He then wrote several comedies for the London stage, including The Funeral (1701), The Lying Lover (1703), and The Tender Husband (1705). These plays, which focused on sentimental comedy and moral reform, had mixed commercial success but built his reputation as a writer focused on ethics in popular culture.
In 1709, Steele launched The Tatler, a periodical issued three times a week under the pseudonym Isaac Bickerstaff, a name borrowed from Jonathan Swift. The magazine combined news, gossip, cultural commentary, and moral reflection and gained a wide readership in London's coffeehouses. Joseph Addison contributed a lot to The Tatler, and they later worked together on The Spectator, launched in 1711. The Spectator was published daily and became one of the most widely read and influential journals, impacting public ideas on manners, aesthetics, politics, and social life.
Steele was aligned with the Whig party and served as a member of Parliament for areas like Stockbridge and Boroughbridge. His strong political writing led to his expulsion from Parliament in 1714 over charges of seditious libel after publishing The Crisis, a pamphlet criticizing the Tory government's negotiations with France. When George I became king later that year, Steele's situation improved: he was knighted in 1715 and took on several positions, including governor of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane. His later years were clouded by financial troubles and health issues. He retired to Wales and passed away in Carmarthen on 1 September 1729.
Before Fame
Richard Steele was born in Dublin around 1671. His father, an attorney, died when Steele was still young, and his mother passed away shortly after. He was then cared for by his uncle, who had ties to the Duke of Ormond's household. Because of his uncle's connections, he got a spot at Charterhouse School, a well-known English school, where he met Joseph Addison. This put both boys close to London's intellectual scene at an important time in their lives.
Steele left Oxford without getting a degree and joined the Life Guards as a cadet, eventually earning a commission. His time in the military shaped his thoughts on honor, virtue, and the difference between high ideals and how people actually behave. These themes often appeared in his writing. His early pamphlet, The Christian Hero, was an attempt to align his actions with his stated moral beliefs. This blunt honesty brought him both praise and criticism and led him to pursue writing and becoming a public moralist.
Key Achievements
- Co-founded The Spectator (1711) with Joseph Addison, one of the most influential periodicals in English literary history
- Founded The Tatler in 1709, establishing a new model for the essay-based periodical in English journalism
- Authored several plays including The Funeral and The Conscious Lovers that advanced the genre of sentimental comedy
- Served as a Member of Parliament and became a significant voice in Whig political journalism during the reign of Queen Anne
- Knighted in 1715 and appointed governor of the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, under the patronage of George I
Did You Know?
- 01.Steele wrote The Tatler under the pseudonym Isaac Bickerstaff, a name he borrowed from a satirical persona created by Jonathan Swift, his sometime political opponent.
- 02.He was expelled from the House of Commons in 1714 following the publication of his pamphlet The Crisis, making him one of the few British MPs formally expelled for his writings.
- 03.Steele married twice; his second wife, Mary Scurlock, whom he addressed in hundreds of affectionate letters as 'dear Prue,' provided scholars with an unusually intimate record of his domestic life.
- 04.The Spectator, which Steele co-founded with Addison, was published every single day from March 1711 to December 1712, producing 555 issues in its original run.
- 05.Despite his prominence as a moral commentator, Steele was frequently in debt throughout his life and was at one point briefly imprisoned for financial obligations.