author
Philip Lybbe Powys Lybbe
Remembered mainly outside literature for public life and sport, he also left behind a small poetic work that survives in the historical record. His life moved through Victorian England’s worlds of Oxford rowing, the law, and Parliament.
1 Audiobook
The Lay of the Sheriff
by Philip Lybbe Powys Lybbe
About the author
Born in Middlesex on June 12, 1818, Philip Lybbe Powys Lybbe was an English barrister, rower, and Conservative politician. He studied at Balliol College, Oxford, became known in rowing, and later served as Member of Parliament for Newport in Cornwall from 1859 to 1865.
For audiobook listeners, he is a minor literary figure rather than a major one. Project Gutenberg lists The Lay of the Sheriff under his name, suggesting that his lasting connection to books comes from this small surviving work rather than from a large body of writing.
That mix of pursuits gives him an unusual profile: part gentleman sportsman, part legal and political figure, and only lightly connected to literature. Even so, his name remains of interest because one of his writings has been preserved and is still accessible to modern readers.