Person record for Lamb, Charles

Lamb, Charles

Diary Appearances
Biographical Details
Editorial Notes
Bibliography
Acquaintances

Hover over a bar to see number of appearances/year.
Click on a bar to jump to that year.

This person is mentioned in the diary a total of 967 times, but was not at home (N) 85 times, and was a venue (V) 421 times.

You may also examine their meals and meetings in more detail.

Name: Lamb, Charles
Gender: Male
Birth Date: 10 February 1775
Death Date: 27 December 1834
Occupation: essayist

Charles Lamb was a journalist and essayist who also worked at the East India Company for much of his life. He went to school with Coleridge and Leigh Hunt and he maintained a close lifelong friendship with the former. He met Godwin in 1800 and he was closely involved with Godwin's dramatical efforts, notably writing the epilogue to Antonio (1800), commenting on the unpublished Abbas, King of Persia (1801), and helping in the genesis of the plot for Faulkener (1807).

Mentions of 'Lamb' have been treated as referring to Charles, as Godwin seems to distinguish meeting his sister Mary on her own by using 'M Lamb'. Godwin often uses the plural 'Lambs' when meeting them out and these have been read as referring to both Charles and Mary. However, when Godwin calls on Lamb, Mary has not been coded as being present unless she is independently mentioned (see 16 November 1815 'Call on Lamb; adv M Lamb'). We have taken the view that it is more likely than not that Mary is present at meals at their domicile; this is supported from evidence from sources such as Hazlitt's essays and Henry Crabb Robinson's diary where she is portrayed as being a lively member of London's literary circles. As a result, we have taken 'Dine at Lamb's' to include both Charles and Mary. These editorial principles may overstate her presence in the diary but to exclude her from these meals would certainly underplay her presence significantly. Nor do these principles take account of Mary's periods of infirmity for which there is no existing comprehensive record. What is certain, however, is that these periods were intermittent. 'The history of Mary's madness was not disclosed to the public until Thomas Noon Talfourd'sFinal Memorials of Charles Lamb (1848). Charles and Mary lived together until his death, but moved lodging eight times between 1799 and 1823, probably on occasions because Mary's history was known to neighbours.

The criteria we have adopted means that Mary Lamb ends up being coded an average of 30 times a year from the early 1800s, which necessarily shifts established scholarship of her involvement in the Godwin circle. Evidence of her role in the family business further supports this. In 1805, Mary Lamb was commissioned by Mary Jane Godwin to write a volume of Shakespeare for children (Tales from Shakespear, Designed for the Use of Young Persons, 1807) for the Godwin’s ‘Juvenile Library’ publishing venture, and though it initially appeared in Charles Lamb’s name, joint authorship has been determined. The pair continued to maintain both personal and business relations with the Godwins, preparing two further volumes: Mrs Leicester's School, or, The History of Several Young Ladies, Related by themselves and Poetry for Children, Entirely Original, (both published in 1809) (DNB). The mutuality of friendship and business arrangements between the two couples, paired with the steady frequency of meetings indicates that Charles and Mary Lamb were very closely linked to Godwin.

Godwin records his death.

DNB
Locke

This table lists the people this person is most frequently noted with in the diary.

Name	Number of Meetings
Lamb, Mary Anne	470
Godwin, Mary Jane (Clairmont) (née de Vial)	98
Hazlitt, William	41
Fell, Ralph	36
Marshall, James	35
Burney, Martin Charles	34
Shelley, Mary Wollstonecraft (née Godwin)	25
Fell, Sarah	24
Godwin, William	24
Robinson, Henry Crabb	23
Coleridge, Samuel Taylor	22
Kenney, James	19
Fenwick, John	19
Manning, Thomas	17
Holcroft, Louisa (née Mercier)	16
Fenwick, Elizabeth (Eliza) (née Jaco, pseudonym Reverend David Blair)	16
Dawe, George	15
Alsager, Thomas Massa	14
Imlay, Fanny (Godwin)	14
Turner, Thomas	14
Hume, Joseph	14
Dyer, George	13
Rickman, John	11
Burney, Captain James	11
Hume, Alexia	11
White,	10
Clairmont, Charles	9
Stoddart, John	9
Burnett, George	8
Dawe, Mary Margaret (Wright)	8
Hazlitt, Sarah (née Stoddart)	8
Reynolds, Elizabeth (née Mansel)	7
Talfourd, Sir Thomas Noon (Talford)	7
Northcote, James	7
Hill, (Thomas)	7
Clairmont, Clara Mary Jane (Claire)	6
Collier, John Dyer	6
Morgan, John	6
Ayrton, William	5
Phillips, Sir Richard (Philip Richards)	5
Wollstonecraft, James	5
Collier, John Payne	5
Aldis, Charles	4
White, Edward	4
Holcroft, Fanny Margaretta	4
Smith,	4
Curran, John Philpot	4
Baxter Family,	3
Curran, Amelia	3
Payne, John Howard	3
Cooper, Thomas (Abthorpe)	3
Coulson, Walter	3
Novello, Vincent	3
Davy, Sir Humphry	3
Taylor, John	3
Holcroft, Thomas	3
Nicholson, William	3
Adams, Dr Joseph	2
Godwin, Joseph	2
Hammond, Elton (Hamond)	2
Payne, John and Sarah	2
Harwood, Colonel William	2
Gutch, John Matthew	2
Taylor, Richard	2
Ogilvie, James (Ogilvy)	2
Hone, William	2
Thelwall, John	2
Fenwick, Eliza Anne	2
Hazlitt, John	2
Cooper, Grace Mary Rae	2
Buchan, Dr Alexander Peter	2
Williams, Jane (Mrs Hogg)	2
Brent, Miss Charlotte	2
Hogan,	2
Wolcot, Dr John (pseudonym Peter Pindar)	2
Montagu, Basil	2
Elwes, Sarah	2
Aldis, Lady Mary Frances (née Berridge)	2
Carlisle, Sir Anthony	2
Holcroft, Thomas	2
Rosser, Henry (Blanche)	1
Wilkie, Sir David	1
Heywood, Samuel	1
Rodd, Thomas (Thomas Rodd the elder)	1
Hardy, Thomas	1
O'Bryen, Dennis (O'Brien)	1
Place, Francis	1
Reid, William Hamilton	1
Lemaitre, Paul Thomas (Le Maitre)	1
Orme, Cosmo	1
Amyot, Thomas	1
	1
Flather, John	1
Boinville, Cornelia (Turner)	1
Boinville, Harriet	1
Holcroft, Harwood	1
Masters, M. K.	1
Newton, John Frank	1
Newton, Gilbert Stuart	1
Kemble, Maria Theresa (née De Camp)	1
Lloyd, Robert	1
Kean, Edmund	1
Hunt, Leigh James Henry	1
Shield, William	1
Bevan, Joseph	1
Hepburn, John	1
Lubé, Denis George	1
Hopwood,	1
Mercier, Charles André	1
Godwin, Hannah	1
LeClercq, Théodore	1
Fiévée, Joseph	1
Smith, Charlotte (née Turner)	1
Poole, Thomas	1
Southey, Robert	1
Hill,	1
	1
Barry, James	1
Adair, Robert	1
Raine, Matthew	1
Horne Tooke, John	1
Porson, Richard	1
Perry, James (Pirie)	1
Reynolds, Frederick	1
White, James	1
Gent, Thomas	1
Godwin, Harriet	1
Tobin, James Webbe	1
Forsyth,	1
	1
Curran, William Henry	1
Wilson,	1
Morgan, Mary	1
Knapp, Leonora	1
Collier, Jane (Payne)	1
Wordsworth, Dorothy	1
Dubois, Edward	1
Boaden, James	1
De Quincey, Thomas	1
Wordsworth, William	1
Tuthill, Sir George Leman	1
Holcroft, Louisa	1
Wordsworth, Richard	1
Mulready, William	1
Kemble, John Philip	1
Godwin, John	1
Burney, Dr Charles	1
Joyce, Jeremiah	1
Allen, Robert	1
Rutt, John Towill	1

Lamb, Charles

1800

1801

1802

1803

1804

1805

1806

1807

1808

1809

1810

1811

1812

1813

1814

1815

1816

1817

1818

1819

1820

1821

1822

1823

1824

1825

1826

1827

1830

1833

1834