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:
“Pedants make a great rout about criticism, as if it were a science of great depth, and required much pains and knowledge—criticism however is only the result of good sense, taste and judgment—three qualities that indeed seldom are found together, and extremely seldom in a pedant, which most critics are.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“[Corneille] was inspired by Roman authors and Roman spirit, Racine with delicacy by the polished court of Louis XIV.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“When Prince William [later King William IV] was at Cork in 1787, an old officer ... dined with him, and happened to say he had been forty years in the service. The Prince with a sneer asked what he had learnt in those forty years. The old gentleman justly offended, said, ‘Sir, I have learnt, when I am no longer fit to fight, to make as good a retreat as I can’ —and walked out of the room.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“An ancient prophecy ... pronounced, That the castle and lordship of Otranto should pass from the present family, whenever the real owner should be grown too large to inhabit it!”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)
“It was said of old Sarah, Duchess of Marlborough, that she never puts dots over her i’s, to save ink.”
—Horace Walpole (1717–1797)