Richard Henry (or Hengist) Horne
(1803-1884), WriterEarly Victorian Portraits Catalogue Entry
Sitter in 2 portraits
Intended for the army, Richard Horne entered at Sandhurst, but receiving no commission, he left his country and joined the Mexican navy, serving in the war against Spain. On his return to England, he became a journalist and in 1836-7 edited the Monthly Repository journal. In 1837, he published two tragedies, Cosmo de Medici and The Death of Marlowe, which were followed in 1841 by a History of Napoleon. The work for which he is chiefly remembered is the allegorical poem Orion (1843). The poem imagines the torments and distractions that befall genius. The following year Horne published a collection of social and literary studies, A New Spirit of the Age (1844), written with Elizabeth Barrett and others.
Richard Henry (or Hengist) Horne
by Margaret Gillies
oil on panel, circa 1840
NPG 2168
Richard Henry (or Hengist) Horne
by Charles Summers
plaster cast of medallion
NPG 2682
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