Percy Hetherington Fitzgerald (26 April 1830[a] – 24 November 1925) was an Anglo-Irish author and critic, painter and sculptor.[1][2]
Fitzgerald was born in Ireland at Fane Valley, County Louth, the son of Thomas FitzGerald. He was educated at Belvedere college Dublin, Stonyhurst College, Lancashire, and at Trinity College, Dublin. He was called to the Irish bar and was for a time crown prosecutor on the northeastern circuit.
After moving to London, he became a contributor to Charles Dickens's magazine, Household Words, and later dramatic critic for the Observer and the Whitehall Review. Among his many writings are numerous biographies and works relating to the history of the theatre. He wrote:
- Life of Sterne (1864) (See Sterne.); 2nd edition; revised & enlarged (1896); reprinted 1904[3]
- Charles Lamb (1866) (See Charles Lamb.)
- Life of David Garrick (1868)[4] (See David Garrick.)
- The Kembles (1871)[5]
- The Romance of the English Stage (1874)
- Croker’s Boswell and Boswell: Studies in the “Life of Johnson” (Chapman and Hall, 1880)
- Life of George IV (1881) (See George IV.)
- A New History of the English Stage (1882)
- Recreations of a Literary Man (1882)[6]
- Life and Times of William IV (1884) (See William IV.)
- Lives of the Sheridans (1886)
- The Book Fancier (1886)[7][8]
- The Story of Bradshaw's Guide. London: The Leadenhall Press. 1890 – via Google Books.
- Life of James Boswell (of Auchinleck) with an Account of His Sayings, Doings, and Writings (1891) (See James Boswell.)
- Henry Irving: A Record of Twenty Years at the Lyceum (1893)
- The Savoy Opera and the Savoyards (1894) (deals with operas of Gilbert and Sullivan.)
- Memoirs of an Author (London, 1895)
- A Critical Examination of Dr G. Birkbeck Hill's "Johnsonian" Editions (1898)
- The Good Queen Charlotte (1899)
- The Garrick Club (1904)
- Life of Charles Dickens (1905)
- Sir Henry Irving, A Biography (1906)[9]
- "Boswell's Autobiography". The Quarterly Review. 214: 24–44. January 1911.
- Boswell's Autobiography (1912)
- Memories of Charles Dickens (1913)
- Worldlyman (1914)
In 1900 he completed a bust of his friend Charles Dickens, which can be seen in the Pump Room in Bath. In 1910 he created a statue of Samuel Johnson (Reference), which is standing behind St Clement Danes, Strand, London. (Photo)
He is buried at Glasnevin Cemetery, Dublin.
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- ^ Clarke, Frances (2009). "Fitzgerald, Percy Hetherington". Dictionary of Irish Biography. Dublin: Royal Irish Academy. doi:10.3318/dib.003184.v1. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
- ^ "Obituary – Mr Percy Fitz Gerald". The Times. No. 44129. London. 26 November 1925. p. 19.
- ^ "Review of The Life of Sterne by Percy Fitzgerald". The Saturday Review of Politics, Literature, Science and Art. 89: 531–532. 23 May 1896.
- ^ "Review of The Life of Garrick by Percy Fitzgerald". The Quarterly Journal. 125: 1–47. July 1868.
- ^ "Review of The Kembles by Percy Fitzgerald". The Quarterly Review. 132: 1–26. January 1871.
- ^ "Review of Recreations of a Literary Man". The Pall Mall Budget. Vol. 28. 12 May 1882. p. 15.
- ^ "Review of The Book Fancier by Percy Fitzgerald". The Literary World. 34: 537–538. 17 December 1886.
- ^ "Review of The Book-Fancier by Percy Fitzgerald". The Spectator (Literary Supplement). 60: 715–716. 21 May 1887.
- ^ Mayhew, Henry; Lemon, Mark; Taylor, Tom; Brooks, Shirley; Burnand, Sir Francis Cowley; Seaman, Sir Owen (2 May 1906). "Review of Sir Henry Irving, A Biography by Percy Fitzgerald". Punch, or the London Charivari: 324.