‘Poor Claridge’
Anne Falloon- Literature and Literary Theory
- History
John Cam Hobhouse and John Claridge – one of Byron’s Harrow ‘favourites’ – are the subjects of this essay. They make strange companions: the first, the most steadfast of Byron’s friends, went on to lead a significant political life; the second, a very minor player in the poet’s life, faded into failure and obscurity. Although the three men shared an early friendship, Hobhouse developed an inexplicable enmity towards Claridge and, almost twenty-five years after Byron’s death, a dramatic public occasion revealed the depth of this animosity. This essay cites material from the Hobhouse archive that has not been published before.
Saturday October 11th 1817: At the library until half past two, having first visited the hideous
pozzi
. Then walked about with Claridge in the gardens – the first warm day we have had.