author
Horace Smith
1779–1849
A witty English poet and novelist, he is best remembered for sparkling literary parodies and for writing a rival sonnet on Ozymandias alongside Percy Bysshe Shelley. His work mixes humor, literary play, and a lively feel for the literary world of early 19th-century Britain.
1 Audiobook
Rejected Addresses; Or, The New Theatrum Poetarum
by James Smith, Horace Smith
About the author
Born in London on December 31, 1779, Horace Smith was an English poet, novelist, and humorist who also worked as a stockbroker. He wrote closely with his older brother James Smith, and together they became famous for Rejected Addresses (1812), a brilliant collection of parodies that playfully imitated well-known writers of their day.
He moved in lively literary circles and is often remembered now for his connection to Percy Bysshe Shelley: the two took part in a friendly sonnet challenge on the theme of Ozymandias in 1818. Alongside his poetry, Smith published novels and essays, building a reputation as a versatile writer whose work could be comic, polished, and sharply observant.
Though not as widely read today as some of his contemporaries, he remains an appealing figure from the Romantic period: a writer with a gift for satire, an eye for literary style, and a talent for making serious culture feel entertaining. He died at Tunbridge Wells on July 12, 1849.