Horace Walpole

Horace Walpole

Horatio Walpole, 4th Earl of Orford (24 September 1717 – 2 March 1797) was an English art historian, man of letters, antiquarian and Whig politician. He is now largely remembered for Strawberry Hill, the home he built in Twickenham, south-west London where he revived the Gothic style some decades before his Victorian successors, and for his Gothic novel, The Castle of Otranto. Along with the book, his literary reputation rests on his Letters, which are of significant social and political interest. He was the son of Sir Robert Walpole, and cousin of the 1st Viscount Nelson.

Read more about Horace Walpole:  Early Life: 1717–1739, Grand Tour: 1739–1741, Early Parliamentary Career: 1741–1754, Strawberry Hill, Later Parliamentary Career: 1754–1768, Later Life: 1768–1788, Last Years: 1788–1797, Writings, Formal Styles From Birth To Death

Famous quotes by horace walpole:

    “When Sir Robert Walpole was dying, he told Ranby his surgeon that he desired his body might be opened. Ranby acting great horror cried, ‘Good God, my Lord, don’t talk of that!’ ‘Nay,’ said Sir Robert, ‘it will not be till I am dead, and that I shall not feel it—nor you neither.’”
    —Horace Walpole (1717–1797)

    “When the Prince of Wales [later King George IV] and the Duke of York went to visit their brother Prince William [later William IV] at Plymouth, and all three being very loose in their manners, and coarse in their language, Prince William said to his ship’s crew, ‘now I hope you see that I am not the greatest blackguard of my family.’”
    —Horace Walpole (1717–1797)

    “‘Heaven nor hell shall impede my designs,’ said Manfred, advancing again to seize the princess. At that instant the portrait of his grandfather ... uttered a deep sigh and heaved its breast. ... Manfred ... saw it quit its panel, and descend on the floor with a grave and melancholy air.”
    —Horace Walpole (1717–1797)

    “Defaced ruins of architecture and statuary, like the wrinkles of decrepitude of a once beautiful woman, only make one regret that one did not see them when they were enchanting.”
    —Horace Walpole (1717–1797)

    “When the Prince of Piedmont [later Charles Emmanuel IV, King of Sardinia] was seven years old, his preceptor instructing him in mythology told him all the vices were enclosed in Pandora’s box. ‘What! all!’ said the Prince. ‘Yes, all.’ ‘No,’ said the Prince; ‘curiosity must have been without.’”
    —Horace Walpole (1717–1797)