William Combe

author

William Combe

1742–1823

Best known for the lively Dr. Syntax books, this prolific English writer mixed satire, travel spoof, and comic verse with the colorful life experience of an adventurer. His career was remarkably productive, even though much of his later life was spent under the restrictions of debt imprisonment.

2 Audiobooks

The first of April; or, The triumphs of folly A poem dedicated to a celebrated duchess. By the author of The Diaboliad.

The first of April; or, The triumphs of folly A poem dedicated to a celebrated duchess. By the author of The Diaboliad.

by William Combe

The History of Johnny Quæ Genus, the Little Foundling of the Late Doctor Syntax. A Poem by the Author of the Three Tours.

The History of Johnny Quæ Genus, the Little Foundling of the Late Doctor Syntax. A Poem by the Author of the Three Tours.

by William Combe

About the author

Born in 1742 and dying in 1823, William Combe was a British writer remembered above all for The Three Tours of Doctor Syntax, a hugely popular comic series created with artist Thomas Rowlandson. His writing ranged across satire, prose, verse, and literary imitation, giving him a reputation as a versatile and energetic man of letters.

Accounts of his life often describe a sharp contrast between its two halves: an adventurous early period and a later one shaped largely by financial trouble. He spent much of his later life within the "rules" of the King's Bench Prison, yet continued to write extensively and successfully.

Combe's work stands out for its humor, speed, and eye for social manners. Readers coming to him now usually meet him through Dr. Syntax, where mock travel writing and caricature combine into something playful, observant, and distinctly entertaining.