Edmond Malone

Edmond Malone (4 October 1741 – 25 May 1812) was an Irish barrister, Shakespearean scholar and editor of the works of William Shakespeare. After his father passed away in 1774, Malone could stop working as a lawyer and focus on literary activities. He moved to London and became part of important literary and artistic circles.

Malone often visited Samuel Johnson and helped James Boswell with revising and proofreading his Life. He was also friends with Sir Joshua Reynolds and even sat for a portrait that is now in the National Portrait Gallery. Malone helped publish a collection of Reynolds' works after his death in 1798, along with a memoir.

Encouraged by friends like Lord Charlemont and George Steevens, Malone studied the order in which Shakespeare's plays were written. His work in 1778 made it possible to build a biography of Shakespeare using the plays themselves, and this idea is still accepted today. He also added notes and observations to editions of Shakespeare's works and played a key role in showing that the Ireland Shakespeare forgeries were not real writings by Shakespeare.

Biography

Edmond Malone was born on October 4, 1741, in Dublin. His father was a lawyer and politician, and his mother was Catherine Collier. Edmond grew up with two sisters and an older brother. He went to school in Dublin and later attended Trinity College Dublin, where he did very well in his studies.

After finishing school, Edmond studied law in London. He worked as a lawyer in Ireland but wasn’t very successful. He felt bored and unhappy with his work, especially when he was away from London, which he loved for its theaters, coffee shops, and lively discussions.

In 1774, Edmond’s father passed away, leaving him enough money to stop working as a lawyer. This gave him the freedom to follow his passion for literature. He moved to London and began studying the works of William Shakespeare. Edmond became friends with many famous writers and scholars of the time, including Samuel Johnson and George Steevens. He worked hard to edit and organize Shakespeare’s plays, helping to make them more accurate and easier to understand for readers. His work brought him recognition, and he became a respected scholar in literary circles.

Collections

Before he passed away, Edmond Malone wrote down his wishes for his library. He asked his brother, Lord Sunderlin, to keep the books instead of selling them. He especially wanted a big collection of old English poetry and plays, including many original editions of William Shakespeare's works, to stay together. Lord Sunderlin decided to give part of the library to the Bodleian Library once a new version of Malone's Shakespeare was finished. About 800 books were kept for the Bodleian, and the rest were sold in 1818.

In 1821, the collection arrived at the Bodleian. It included many early editions of Shakespeare's plays and poems, though a few were missing. Over the years, the Bodleian added more items to the collection, like poems, research notes, and letters from famous people. Many of Malone's books had his initials, "E. M.", on the spine.

Works

Edmond Malone wrote many important books and studies about William Shakespeare and other writers. Some of his key works include:

• In 1778, he wrote about the order of Shakespeare’s plays.
• In 1782, he studied poems said to be by someone named Thomas Rowley.
• In 1790, he published an edition of Shakespeare’s plays and poems.
• In 1800, he edited the works of writer John Dryden.
• In 1809, he wrote about Parliament and the Corn Laws.
• In 1821, after his death, a book about Shakespeare’s life was published.

From 1783 to 1790, Malone worked hard on his own edition of Shakespeare’s plays. He wrote essays about the history of theater and Shakespeare’s life. He also questioned if three parts of Henry VI were really written by Shakespeare.

Malone was one of the first to say that some old papers said to be by Shakespeare, Queen Elizabeth, and Henry, Earl of Southampton, were not real. He also showed that poems said to be very old by a writer named Thomas Chatterton were not true.

When Malone died, he was working on a new edition of Shakespeare’s plays. His materials were used by another writer, James Boswell the younger, to finish the book in 1821. Many of Malone’s books and notes were given to the Bodleian Library, and some are kept at the British Museum.

Main article: Ireland Shakespeare forgeries

Reputation and legacy

The Malone Society, a group that studies plays from the sixteenth and early seventeenth centuries, was named in his honor.