A Chronology of His Life (original) (raw)

1825 7 June. Born at Longworth Rectory, Berkshire
4 October Mother Anne Bassett died of typhus in the Rectory. Her twin sister Harriett Mercy died there on 19 September

1826 July. Family move to Bushey, Herts. RDB and brother stay in S Wales.

1831 1 November. Father marries Charlotte Platt in Bushey

1832 December. Family move to King's Nympton, Devon

1833 Attends Hugh Squier's School, South Molton

1833 Attends King's School, Bruton, until 1837

1835 March. Family move to Culmstock, Devon.

1837 16 August. Joins Blundell's School, Tiverton

1841 Family move to Tor Mohun, Devon

1843 7 November. Matriculates at Exeter College, Oxford

1844 Awarded the Gifford Scholarship

1845 April. Family move to Ashford, Devon

1847 2 December. Awarded Classics (Second Class) BA at Oxford

1849 27 January. Joins Middle Temple, London, to study for the Bar

1852 7 June. Called to the Bar. Practises as a conveyancer until ca. 1857

1853 8 November. Secretly marries Lucy Maguire in Holy Trinity, Holborn

1854 Publishes anonymously his first verse, Poems by Melanter and Epullia

1855 Teaches classics at Wellesley House School, Twickenham (until 1858)

1856 Moves to live at Lower Teddington Road, Hampton Wick

1857 Receives substantial inheritance from uncle Revd Henry Hey Knight

1858 Father died while visiting family in Newton Nottage, Glamorgan.

1860 ca. Moves into his newly built home and fruit gardens at Gomer House, Field Lane, Teddington. Takes up the life of horticulturist and novelist

1862 Publishes his translations of the first two of Virgil's Georgics anonymously

1864 Publishes first novel Clara Vaughan anonymously (but written ca 1853)

m id-1860s Opposes the building of the railway and station, which came very close to his property. Loses 5 acres of his land to the railway.

1866 Publishes Cradock Nowell

1869 Publishes Lorna Doone

1872 Publishes Maid of Sker (from first draft of late 1840s)
His nieces Eva and Dolly Pinto Leite visit him and Lucy with increasing regularity

1875 His older brother Henry dies at Yeovil in suspicious circumstances. Brings public law suit against Maggs the chemist: settles out of court the following year

1875 Publishes Alice Lorraine

1876 Publishes Cripps, the Carrier

1877 Publishes Erema, or My Father's Sin

1878 Death of his beloved aunt Mary Frances Gordon. Publishes a short poem in her memory, "Dominus Illuminatio Mea"

1880 Publishes Mary Anerley

1882 Publishes Christowell

1884 Publishes The Remarkable History of Sir Thomas Upmore

1887 Publishes Springhaven

1888 31 January. Lucy dies of pneumonia in Teddington

1890 Publishes Kit and Kitty

1894 Publishes Perlycross

1895 Publishes Fringilla (poems with illustrations)

1895 Publishes four short stories, Slain by the Doones (US title) and Tales of the Telling House (British title)

1897 Publishes his last novel, Dariel

1900 20 January. Dies after a long illness in Teddington, and buried in the Cemetery with his wife

Last updated 13 April 2006