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RomanticMemory?Forgetting,RememberingandFeelingintheChartist

PantheonofHeroes,c.1790–1840

MatthewRoberts

ABSTRACTThispaperexploresthepoliticsofremembrancethroughacasestudyof

Chartism,theBritishmassmovementfordemocraticandsocialrightsinthe1830sand

1840s.Itfocusesonthe‘paperpantheon’ofradicalgreatsconstructedbytheChartists

fromtheperspectivesofRomanticism,thepowerfulculturalandliteraryeffectsofwhich

werestillbeingfeltinthe1840s.Thepaperhighlightstwolinkedaspectsofromantic

memoryinChartistheritagepolitics.First,thequestion,notofremembering,but

forgettinganderasure;thatis,whichindividualsandepisodesintheradicaltradition

wereeitherforgottenorconsciouslyexcludedbytheChartists.Second,particular

attentionispaidtorecentscholarshipinRomanticStudieswhichhasexploredthe

relationshipbetweenmemoryandposthumousreputation,andindoingsoexploresthe

posthumouspotentialofJohnThelwall,ThomasPaineandWilliamCobbett.Whilethe

impactofRomanticismcanbehardlydeniedandwaspartoftheculturalinheritanceof

theChartists,includingtheintenseoutpouringoffeelingforheroesinthepantheon,itis

importantnottoexaggerateitsimpact.SomeChartistsrejectedtheuncheckedappealsto

thepassionsandintrospectionassociatedwithRomanticism.Chartistaversiontothispull

wasalegacyinpartoftheenduringimpactofradicalEnlightenmentanditsassociated

affectivepolitics.ThefinalsectionexploressomeofthetensionsbetweenRomanticismand

EnlightenmentinChartistheritagepoliticsviaacase-studyoftheFrenchrevolutionary

C.F.Volney,anddrawsonrecentworkonthehistoryofemotionstosketchouttheaffective

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politicsofChartistmemory,andindoingsosuggeststhatpoliticalhistorianspaymore

attentiontothepoliticsofthepassions.

Chartism,theBritishmassmovementfordemocraticandsocialrightsinthe1830sand

1840s,wasprofoundlyshapedbytheradicaltraditionfromwhichitemerged.Whilethe

constituentpartsofthattraditionwereinherited–theFrenchRevolution,Thomas

Paine,WilliamCobbett,forexample–theprocessesbywhichtheseweretransformed

intoaradicaltraditionwereatthehandsoftheChartiststhemselves.Theyeagerly

appropriatedandsubvertedmanyoftheritualizedformsofcommemorationusedby

elites,includingtheconstructionofanimaginedpantheonofheroes,thoughforreasons

ofcostandaccesstothepublicspheretheChartistheritageprojecttendedtobeapaper

pantheonratherthanonesetinstone.Thepaperpantheonandthisbroaderheritage

projectwasconstitutedandreconstitutedthrough‘mnemonicpractices’andthe

performanceofculturalremembrance:commemorativedinnersandsoireeswhich

revolvedaroundarollcalloftoaststothememoryofradicalgreats,pre-eminentlyPaine

andCobbettbutsupportedbyamuchwidercastofotherfigures,mostofwhomhad

diedinthefiftyyearsprecedingChartism;portraiture;publishingandreadingpractices;

thenamingofChartistchildrenafterradicalgreats;theregularquotingofwordsfrom

theradicalcanoninspeeches,extractsintheChartistpressandonbanners–indeedthe

re-useofbannersfromearlierradicalcampaigns.1Farfrombeinganostalgiccultureof

1GordonPentlandcoinedtheconceptof‘paperpantheon’in‘ThePosthumousLivesofThomasMuir’,inLiberty,PropertyandPopularPolitics:EnglandandScotland,1688–1815,ed.GordonPentlandandMichaelT.Davis(Edinburgh:EdinburghUniversityPress,2016),211.Forloyalist,toryandwhigcults,seeJ.J.Sack,‘TheMemoryofBurkeandtheMemoryofPitt:EnglishConservatismConfrontsitsPast,1806-1829’,HistoricalJournal,30(1987),623-40;AlisonYarrington,TheCommemorationoftheHero1800-1864:MonumentstotheBritishVictorsoftheNapoleonicWars(NewYork:Garland,1988);BelindaBeaton,‘MaterializingtheDuke’,JournalofVictorianCulture,10(2005),100-107;T.E.Orme,‘ToastingFox:TheFoxDinnersinEdinburghandGlasgow,1801-25’,History,99(2014),588-606;EmilyJones,EdmundBurkeandtheInventionofModernConservatism,1830–1914(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2017).Ontheshiftawayfromstaticsitesofmemorytotheperformanceofamoredynamicconceptofmemory,seeAnnRigney,‘TheDynamicsofRemembrance:TextsBetweenMonumentalityandMorphing’,inCultural

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consolation,radicalgroupssuchasChartistsdrewstrength,legitimacyandtenacity

fromthetraditionsandheritagepoliticsthattheypracticed.Theamountoftimeand

resourcesthatChartistsdevotedtotheirheritageistestamenttotheimportanceof

memoryinpoliticalandsocialmovements.

ThischapterfocusesontwolinkedaspectsoftheChartistheritageprojectfrom

theperspectivesofRomanticism,theliteraryandculturalforceofwhichwasstillbeing

feltatmid-century,withpopularpoliticsnoexception.2First,itshowshowtheformand

compositionoftheChartistpantheonwasshapedbyaromanticaestheticbyexploring

thequestion,notofremembering,butforgettinganderasure;thatis,whichindividuals

andepisodesintheradicaltraditionwereeitherforgottenorconsciouslyexcluded?As

GuyBeinerhasrecentlyobserved,‘Whileitiscommonlyacknowledgedthatmemory

involvesbothrememberingandforgetting,studiesofsocialandculturalmemoryhave

mostlyfocusedonrememberingandoverlookedforgetting’.3Thisthemeofforgetting–

orwhatmightbemoreaccuratelydescribedasexcluding–isexploredherethrougha

case-studyofthe‘radicalRomantic’JohnThelwall(1764–1834),ahugelypopular

radicalassociatedwiththeLondonCorrespondingSociety(LCS)inthe1790s.4A

numberofscholarshaveattributedtoThelwallanenduringlegacybequeathedto

MemoryStudies:AnInternationalandInterdisciplinaryHandbook,ed.AstridErllandAnsgarNünning(Berlin:DeGruyter,2008),345–53. 2MilesTaylor,ErnestJones,ChartismandtheRomanceofPolitics,1819–1869(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2003),10.SeealsoG.S.R.KitsonClark,‘TheRomanticElement–1830to1850’,inStudiesinSocialHistory:ATributetoG.M.Trevelyan,ed.J.H.Plumb(London,1955),209–39;RohanMcWilliam,‘SweeneyToddandtheChartistGothic:PoliticsandPrintCultureinEarlyVictorianBritain’,inEdwardLloydandHisWorld:PopularFiction,PoliticsandthePressinVictorianBritain,ed.SarahSusanLillandRohanMcWilliam(Abingdon:Routledge,2019),198–215.3GuyBeiner,ForgetfulRemembrance:SocialForgettingandVernacularHistoriographyofaRebellioninUlster(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2018),17.4AnumberofrecentworkshavepositionedThelwallasaRomanticradical,e.g.,JudithThompson,‘CitizenJuanThelwall:IntheFootstepsofaFree-RangeRadical’,StudiesinRomanticism,48(2009):67–100;RomanticRadicalandAcquittedFelon,ed.StevePoole(London:Pickering&Chatto,2009);JohnThelwall:CriticalReassessments,ed.YasminSolomonescu(Romantic-Circles,2011);‘JohnThelwallSpecialIssue’,Romanticism,16:2(2010).

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subsequentradicalmovements,includingChartismandsocialism.5Andyetthefact

remainsthathewasnotaprominentfigureintheChartistpantheon.Itmayseem

slightlystrangetodevotepartofanessaytoaradicalwhohardlyfeaturedinChartist

heritage,butforgettingandexcludingcanbejustasrevealingasrememberingand

including.Thus,acase-studyofThelwallisusedtoexplorewhatmightbetermed

posthumouspotentialinculturesofremembrance.6Inthe1790sThelwallwasseenby

thegovernmentasoneofthemostdangerousradicalsinthecountry.Inthelastdecade

orso,hishistoricalandliteraryreputationhasbeentransformed:frombeinga

relativelyobscureradicalandpoetknownonlytospecialists,hehasbeenrestoredto

hisrightfulplaceasamajorradicalandliteraryfigureinthe1790sandbeyond.7An

explorationofwhyThelwallwaslargelyforgottenbytheChartistsshedsnewlighton

thebroaderquestionofwhyhewasaneglectedfigureforsolong,and,broaderstill,

whyfamedoesnotalwaysoutlastthelifeofthefamous.

BuildingonthethemeofThelwall’sradicalRomanticism,thesecondareaof

focusisthecontestedlegacyandmemoryofRomanticism.Bymakinguseofarangeof

neglectedmanuscriptmaterialandChartistnewspapers/periodicals,thissectiondraws

onrecentscholarshipinRomanticStudieswhichhasexploredtheproblematic

relationshipbetweenmemoryandposthumousreputationbyshowinghowcoteries,

conviviality,publishingcirclesandprintculturemadeauthorsandradicalgreatsserve

5GwynA.Williams,ArtisansandSans-Culottes:PopularMovementsinFranceandBritain(London:Libris,1989),66;JudithThompson,‘Introduction’,inThePeripatetic,ed.JudithThompson(Detroit,MI:WayneStateUniversityPress,2001),15,18.6InarecentessayStevePoolehastakenmetotaskforprovidinganinsufficientexplanationforThelwall’sabsenceintheChartistpantheon,whichIlargelyattributedtoChartistpreferenceforgentlemanleadersinthepastaswellasthepresent,andThelwall’sambiguoussocialstatusdidnotqualifyhimforadmissiontothepantheon.WhileImaintainthattheChartistpantheonwasmostlypopulatedbygentlemanradicals,IacceptPoole’scriticismthattherewasmoretoThelwall’sabsencethanhisclassstatus.StevePoole,‘ThePoliticsof“ProtestHeritage”,1790–1850’,inRememberingProtestinBritainsince1500,ed.CarlJ.GriffinandBrionyMcDonagh(Basingstoke:Palgrave,2018),187–213.7OntherediscoveryofThelwall,seeNicholasRoe,‘TheLivesofJohnThelwall:AnotherViewofthe“JacobinFox”’,inJohnThelwall:RomanticRadical,13–24.

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theradicalcauseofthepeoplebeyondtheirownlifetimes.8Whiletheimpactof

Romanticismcanbehardlydeniedandwaspartoftheculturalinheritanceofthe

Chartists,itisimportantnottoexaggerateitsimpact:notallChartistswerekeento

dresstheirheroesinromanticclothing.SomeChartistsrejectedtheuncheckedappeals

tothepassionsandintroversionassociatedwithRomanticism.Romanticliterature,it

hasbeenargued,was‘themostpowerfulregisteroftheperiod’sgravitationalpull

towardfeeling’.9Chartistaversiontothispullwasalegacy,inpart,oftheenduring

impactoftheradicalEnlightenment,whichsuggeststhatthe‘emotionalcultureof

EnlightenmentBritain’didnottotallycollapseinthe1790sbutendured.10Thecluster

ofideas,attitudesandassumptionsassociatedwiththeradicalwingofthe

EnlightenmentwasalsopartofChartism’sintellectualandculturalheritage:someofthe

individualsintheChartistpantheonwereprominentfiguresoftheEnlightenment.11

ThefinalsectionexploressomeofthetensionsbetweenRomanticismand

EnlightenmentinChartistheritagepolitics,takingasacase-studytheFrench

philosopherandrevolutionaryConstantinFrancoisVolney(1757–1820),whofeatured

regularlyintheChartistpantheon.Itdrawsonrecentworkonthehistoryofemotions–

inparticular,therecastingoftheEnlightenmentasanaffectiveconstruction–tosketch

outthepoliticsoffeelinginChartistmemory.

8ForthischaracterisationoftheevolutionofRomanticStudies,seeJosephRezek,‘RomanticismintheAtlanticWorld’,StudiesinRomanticism,55(2016),313.9SeeJoelFaflakandRichardC.Sha,‘FeelingRomanticism’,inRomanticismandtheEmotions,ed.JoelFaflakandRichardC.Sha(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2016),2.TherelationshipbetweenRomanticismandemotionwas,ofcourse,muchmorecomplexthanthis.Aswellastheabovecollection,seethespecialissue‘RomanticismandAffectStudies’,RomanticCirclesPraxisVolume(2018).10Fortheargumentthatthe1790ssawthecollapseof‘theemotionalcultureofEnlightenmentBritain’andwas‘replacedbyanewapproachtofeelinganddesire’,seeRachelHewitt,ARevolutionofFeeling:TheDecadethatForgedtheModernMind(London:Granta,2017),2.11ItisworthnotingthatJonathanIsraelhasarguedthattheradicalEnlightenment–thatwingwhichwascommittedtouniversalrightssuchasmanhoodsuffrage–endureddowntothe1848,atwhichpointitwasdisplacedbysocialism:TheEnlightenmentthatFailed:Ideas,Revolution,andDemocraticDefeat,1748–1830(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2019),28.

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ForgettingJohnThelwall

Oneofthemostimportantaspectsofanyformofcommemorationisinclusionand

exclusion.Whoisremembered,whoisforgotten,whoisabsent,andwhoisexcludedare

notonlygenerativeofthepantheonbutalsokeydynamicsinthepoliticsof

commemoration.Whileabsence,forgettingandexcludingappeartobesimilarinsome

respects,inotherstheyarequitedifferent.Itisnotalwayscleartothehistorian

whetherabsencesdenoteforgettingoraconsciousattempttoexcludewhich,by

definition,entailsaformofremembering,atleastforthosepolicinginclusionand

exclusioninthepantheon.Inarelatedway,andafurtherproblemforthehistorian,

‘silencesusuallybecomevisibleinhistoricalrecordsonlywhentheyarebroken’.12How,

then,doweaccountforThelwall’sabsencefromtheChartistpantheon?HadChartists

simplyforgottenhim?ThisseemsunlikelygiventhataslateasOctober1832,Thelwall

haddeliveredaeulogyatthegravesideofhisLCScolleagueThomasHardy,atwhicha

numberoffutureChartistswerepresent.13Clearly,hisabsencedidnotreflectawider

lackofinterestbyChartistsinthe1790sandinsomeoftheradicalleadersassociated

withthatdecade,theforemostofwhomwasPaine.Butforpreliminarypurposes,itmay

beinstructivetonotesomeoftheotherabsencesorthosewhoseldommadeitintothe

pantheonfromthe1790s.NeitherMaryWollstonecraft,WilliamGodwin,RichardPrice

orJosephPriestleywereaccordedanythingmorethanamarginalplaceinthepantheon,

thoughextractsfromWollstonecraftandGodwindidappearoccasionallyintheChartist

press.Thisappearslesssurprisingwhenwerecallthatnoneoftheseinfluentialradicals

participatedinanysignificantwayinpopular,grassrootspolitics,whetherforreasons

12MatthijsM.Lok,‘“Unoublitotaldupassé”?ThePoliticalandSocialConstructionofSilenceinRestorationEurope(1813–1830)’,HistoryandMemory,26(2014),43.Onthecomplexrelationshipbetweenrememberingandforgetting,seeBeiner,ForgetfulRemembrance,17–30.13TheNationalArchives(TNA),HomeOffice(HO)64/12,Secretservicereports,19Oct.1832,f.157v.

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prudentialorelitist.14ThelwallputthisveryclearlywhenhecomplainedofGodwin’s

aversiontopopularpolitics;thepublicmind,Thelwallsardonicallyretorted,wasnot

goingtobetransformed‘bywritingquartovolumesandconversingwithafew

speculativephilosophersbythefireside’.15

Ironically,theremaybeaclueherewhyThelwallwasnotraisedtotheChartist

pantheon.True,hecertainlywasafigureofgrassrootspopularradicalism,culminating

inhisimpassionedspeechesonthepublicplatformatCopenhagenFieldsin1795.But

theclamp-downonradicalisminthemid-1790s,whichresultedinThelwall’sarrestand

trialfortreason(acquittedthoughhewas)andthenthe‘GaggingActs’forcedhimto

abandonovertJacobinism,thenamegiventotheadvocatesofultra-radicalismin

imitationoftheFrenchJacobins.Evenlecturingundertheguiseofanhistorianof

classicalantiquitytocamouflagehisradicalismdidnotsaveCitizenThelwallfromthe

vigilanteanti-radicalmob.Althoughhisradicalismwaslittledented,therecanbeno

doubtthatThelwall’sabandonmentofplatformpoliticsandhisreinvention,following

hisperipatetictourofthewestcountry,firstasareclusefarmer-poetinruralWalesand

thenasawell-to-doelocutionlecturer,didlittletoensurehisposthumouspotential.16

Noneofthemainradicalnewspapersorperiodicalsmarkedhisdeathin1834,much

14Roberts,Chartism,CommemorationandtheCultoftheRadicalHero(Abingdon:Routledge,2020),21–2.GodwinenjoyedgreaterposthumousfamewiththeOwenitesocialistsonaccount,nodoubt,thathehadbeenamentorofOwenwhilehisphilosophicalanarchismandnecessitarianismlentitselfmuchmorereadilytothecommunitarianethosofOwenism.Thiswasalsoconsistentwiththeanti-politicalthrustofOwenismasGodwin,likeOwen,wasdismissiveofthepotentialofdemocraticpoliticstoredresspopulargrievances.SeeGregoryClaeys,CitizensandSaints:PoliticsandAnti-PoliticsinEarlyBritishSocialism(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1989),33–35.15E.P.Thompson,TheRomantics:EnglandinaRevolutionaryAge(Rendlesham:Merlin,1997),99.16PenelopeJ.Corfield,‘Rhetoric,RadicalPoliticsandRainfall:JohnThelwallinBreconshire’,typescriptofanessaypublishedinBrycheiniog,40(2008),http://www.penelopejcorfield.co.uk/PDF%27s/CorfieldPdf14_Thelwall.pdf[accessed16Aug.2019].

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lesscontainedlengthyobituaries.Morerevealing,though,severalfashionabletitlesdid

noteThelwall’spassing.17

Ultimately,Thelwallreinventedhimselftoomanytimesandtoosuccessfullyto

ensureposthumousfame.Althoughhispersonalcommitmenttoradicalismendured–

hencehisre-emergenceasaradicaljournalistinthe1810sand1820s–hedidnotre-

establishhimselfasaleaderofpopularradicalisminthepost-waryears.Rather,hewas

aliteraryradical,akintoHazlittandthebrothersHuntoftheExaminer,buthisliterary

andradicaloutputpaledincomparison.Andjustattheverymomentwhenheappeared

tobereconnectingwithmetropolitanpopularradicalismintheaftermathofPeterloo

andtheCatoStreetConspiracy,athreatenedchargeofconspiracyin1822,alliedtothe

commercialfailureofhisnewspaper,theChampion,sawThelwalldistancehimselfonce

again.18Tooradicalforhismiddle-classreadersandtooremovedfromanypotential

working-classradicalconstituency,hefellbetweenthesetwostools.Thelwallendedhis

careerashehadbegunit:afigureintheworldofletters,withtheepisodeasthe

foremostoratoroftheLondonCorrespondingSocietyappearingpreciselyassuch–an

episode,andanatypicaloneatthat.IncontrasttoThelwall,neitherPainenorCobbett

appearedtohaveabandonedradicalism,despiteimprisonment,whilepersecution,

banishment,andexile–Painein1792,Cobbettin1817–didwondersfortheir

posthumouscareersasradicalheroes.19

17YorkHerald,8Feb.1834;LondonCourier,19Feb.1834;MorningChronicle19Feb.1834.18MichaelScrivener,‘JohnThelwall’sPoliticalAmbivalence:ReformandRevolution’,inRadicalismandRevolutioninBritain,1775–1848,ed.inMichaelT.Davis(Basingstoke:Macmillan,2000),70.19AtthetimeofhisfleeingtotheUSAin1817,CobbettwasaccusedofcowardicebysomeradicalsthoughthischargewaseitherconvenientlyairbrushedoutofCobbett’sposthumouscareerorelseitwasjustifiedasCobbettdidatthetime:hadheremainedinBritainhewouldalmostcertainlyhavebeenimprisoned(ifnotforseditionthenpossiblyinsolvency),afatehehadalreadyenduredin1811forsedition,afatewhichwouldnothaveenabledhimtocontinueservingtheradicalcause.GeorgeSpater,WilliamCobbett:ThePoorMan’sFriendVolume2(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1982),357–58.ForanexampleofaChartisthomagetoCobbettwhichexcusedhisfailings,seeWilliamLovett’sappreciationinAdvocate&MerthyrFreePress,1Apr.1841.

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Ironically,whatalsohelpedwithPaineandCobbett’sposthumouscareerwasthe

sustainedvitrioloftheirenemies,duringtheirlivesandevenaftertheyhaddied.Itwas

theloyalistsonbothsidesoftheAtlanticwhodidmorethanmosttokeepmemoriesof

Painealiveinthedecadefollowinghisdeath(1809).20ThelwalllackedPaineand

Cobbett’snotoriety,atleastbythetimehedied:the‘acquittedfelon’labelofthe1790s

hadlongbeenburiedbeneathhisreclusivenessandreinventions.Whatalsoaided

Paine’sposthumouslifewasthepersecutionandthousandsofsymbolicdeathsthathe

hadsufferedinthe1790s:Painediednotonce,butmanytimeswheneffigiesofhim

werefiredinthespateofburningswhichspreadacrossEngland.21Intheyearsafter

Paine’sdeath,anumberofhisdevoteesmounteddefencesofhim–mostnotably

Cobbett,whowentfrombeingoneofPaine’sarch-enemiestohisgreatestdefender–

whichagaindidwondersforPaine’sposthumousreputation.22

AfurtherfactorinThelwall’sabsencefromtheChartistpantheonwasthat,

unlikePaineorCobbett,hewasnotagreatwriter,atleastwhenitcametoradical

pamphleteeringandjournalism.Hispungentandhighlyeffectivestyleontheradical

platform(hewasknowncolloquiallyasJohn‘Tellwell’),which,bydefinition,wasmore

transient,didnottranslateeffectivelyontotheprintedpage.AsHazlittobserved,

possiblywithThelwallinmind,‘ThemostdashingoratorIeverheardistheflattest

writerIeverread’.23Herewebegintoseetherelativeimportanceofprintoverthe

spokenwordinsecuringposthumousfame:PaineandtoamuchlesserextentCobbett

20MatthewRoberts,‘PosthumousPaineintheUnitedKingdom,1809–1832:JacobinorLoyalistCult?’,inTheLegacyofThomasPaineintheTransatlanticWorld,ed.SamEdwardsandMarcusMorris(Abingdon:Routledge,2018),107–132.21FrankO’Gorman,‘ThePaineBurningsof1792–93’,PastandPresent,193(2006):111–55.22CorinnaWagner,‘LoyalistPropagandaandtheScandalousLifeofTomPaine:“HypocriticalMonster!”’,BritishJournalforEighteenth-CenturyStudies,28(2005):97–115.23Thompson,Romantics,158.ForThelwall’slecturingandthedemocraticculturehesoughttocreatethroughit,seeJonMee,Print,Publicity,andPopularRadicalisminthe1790s(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2016),ch.6.

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werenotgreatoratorslikeThelwall,butthatmatteredlittlefortheirposthumous

careersastheyachievedpoliticalimmortalitythroughtheirpensinawaythatThelwall

wasunable.24Unfortunatelyforthelatter,thedepthsofhisradicalismasexpressedin

hispoetry,andtheheightsofhisliteraryability,didnotmatchthatofByronand

Shelley,bothofwhomwerefirmfavouriteswithmanyChartists.Itmaybetellingthat

theclosestThelwallcametohavingagroupoffollowerswasinruralWaleswhere,if

hostilereportsandlegendaretobebelieved,duringhistimetherehekepttheradical

embersburningbyparticipatinginsecretreadingsofPaineandotherradicalwritersin

themountainsofSouthWales.ReportsfromspiesandinformersallegethatThelwall

hadbeenpresentatMerthyrinSeptember1800,andatHerefordwherehewasa

memberofaJacobingroupwhousedtomeetattheCrownandSceptre.25Thus,itwas

oraltraditionandthememoriesofthesesecretmountaingatherings,whichwereretold

inthenineteenthcenturyandgainedwiththetelling,thatmayhavekeptmemoriesof

ThelwallaliveamongstWelshradicals.26

ItisrevealingthatthosewhowerecommemoratedthemostbyChartiststended

tobegentlemen,broadlydefined.27Theonlynotableexceptionsappeartohavebeen

PaineandCobbett.ChartistssometimesemphasizedthehumbleoriginsofPaineand

Cobbett,butthiswasrare–perhapsbecausetheenemiesofthetwomenhadoften

24Hazlitt,forone,judgedthat‘MrCobbettspeaksalmostaswellashewrites’.WilliamHazlitt,TheCharacterofWilliamCobbett(London,1835),12.25TNA,HO42/51,HomeOfficepapers,disturbancecorrespondence,SamuelHomfreytoHomeOffice,23Sept.1800;HO42/43,EdwardEdwardstoHomeOffice,30Apr.1798.26Williams,ArtisansandSansCulottes,66.27Roberts,Chartism,19,75,171.ManonNouvianhasrecentlychallengedthisargument,butthefactremainsthatmostofthoseinthepantheonweregentlemen,theonlynotableexceptionbeingSamuelHolberrywho,despitetheunderstandableangerandgriefwhichgreetedhisdeath,nevercameclosetorivallingtheplaceofthelongerestablishedgentlemenfiguresinthepantheon.Theotherworking-classfiguresthatManoncitesasmemberoftheChartistpantheonwereonlyadmittedafterthemovementhadlargelyceasedtoexistasamassmovement.ManonNouvian,‘DefiantMourning:PublicFuneralsasFuneralDemonstrationsintheChartistMovement’,JournalofVictorianCulture,24(2019),208–26.

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drawnattentiontotheirplebeianbackgroundsasawayofdiscreditingthem.28Eventhe

pricklyartisanWilliamLovett,whoworkedtirelesslytokeepChartisminthehandsof

hisfellowworkingmen,inaeulogisticarticleonCobbettonlymentionedhishumble

originsinpassing.29ThisisnotthatsurprisingasneitherPainenorCobbettcould,in

truth,bedescribedasworkingclass,certainlynotbythetimeoftheirdeaths.The

working-classclassidentityofthoseinthepantheonwasalsofurtherobscuredbythe

tendencytolabelluminariesas‘noblesofnature’.30ThevisualcultureofChartismalso

reflectsthisobscuring.PortraitsofPaineandCobbettissuedbyChartistsinvariably

depictedtheirsubjectsasgentlemanly,inparttounderlinethemovement’s

respectabilityviaitspatrimony.31Inshort,therewasnothingexplicitlycomparableto

theAmericanposthumouscultofBenjaminFranklinasthe‘workingman’ssymbol’,

tracedbyGordonS.Wood,inwhichartisansandmiddlingsortsreadintohishumble

birthandself-madestatusavalidationofproductivelabourandupwardsocial

mobility.32Franklinhimself,wemightnote,wasinvokedbyChartistsmuchlessoften

thanGeorgeWashington,whoselifelentitselfmuchmorereadilytoRomantic

brushstrokesthanFranklin’sdid.Indeed,itwaspaintedinthesetermsbyandforthe

Chartists:‘thatillustrioussoldieroffreedom,andemancipatorofAmerica’begana

seriesofbiographicalarticlesonWashington,commencedinthefirstissue,noless,of

28See,forexample,thesatiricalLifeofWilliamCobbettbyJamesGillray(1809)whichlampoonedCobbett’shumblebackgroundandhisupstartpretensions.ThewayinwhichtheloyalistpressandsatiristsparodiedPaine’soccupationasastay-makeriswellknown.29EnglishChartistCircular,No.8,1841.30E.g.NorthernStar,5Feb.1842(PainebirthdaycommemorationatMerthyrTydfil),7Feb.1846(PainecommemorationatAshton-under-Lyne),4Jan.1845(Cartwright,HuntandCobbettdescribedas‘noblesofnature’atRotherham).31MalcolmChase,‘BuildingIdentity,BuildingCirculation:EngravedPortraitureandtheNorthernStar’,inPapersforthePeople:AStudyoftheChartistPress,ed.JoanAllenandOwenR.Ashton(London:Merlin,2005),26.32GordonS.Wood,TheAmericanizationofBenjaminFranklin(NewYork:Penguin,2004).

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theEnglishChartistCircular.33Paine,andtoalesserextentCobbett,haddiedas

scourgesoftheestablishment,andtheircareersillustratednotsomuchthetriumphof

theworking-classmanbutthefrustrated,talentedmanwho,despitehavingrisentothe

statusofgentleman,wasstillpersecutedbytheestablishment.BythetimethatThelwall

died,hewasnosuchscourge.Ironically,itwasonlyafterhiscareerasaradicalleader

wasoverthathetrulyachievedgentlemanlystatusasanelocutionlecturer.

TherarityofChartistcelebrationofPaineandCobbett’sworking-classoriginsis

alsoconsistentwiththecompositionandemphaseswithinthewiderpantheon.Inthis

respect,ChartistheritagepoliticswashardlycongruentwiththeRomanticpastoral

rediscoveryofthepeople.Ontheotherhand,itwascongruentinthesensethat

gentlemanradicals,inthepresentaswellasthepast,likelyricpoetsspokeforthe

peopleanddrewattentiontotheirplight.ThiswasmostevidentwithCobbettwhose

sympathyforthepoorwasgroundedinhisknowledgeandpoliticisationofpopular

culture,andinRuralRidesatleastaddressedtoreaderswhowerenotofthepeople.34

EventhoseChartistslikeThomasCooperandErnestJones,whowenttogreatlengthsto

sketchouta‘people’shistory’fortheChartists,whichcertainlyincludedworking-class

groupssuchasmedievalpeasants,stilltendedtoplacemostemphasisongentleman

radicalsandreformers.InanamendedversionofCharlesCole’spoemTheSpiritofWat

Tyler,theCarmarthenChartistleaderHughWilliamssituatedTyler(ablacksmithby

trade)mainlyinthetraditionofgentlemanleaders:ThomasMuirandthe‘Scotch

Martyrs’ofthe1790s,theUnitedIrishmenLordEdwardFitzgeraldandRobertEmmet,

33EnglishChartistCircular,No.1&2.ThemainarticlesonWashingtonwerebyCharlesPhillips,andextractsfromGuizot’slife,translatedbyPaulParnell.Alittleunderayearlater,thisnewspaperbeganamuchfuller,serializedlifeofWashington,whichcommencedinissue48.34IanDyck,WilliamCobbettandRuralPopularCulture(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1992).ForthesesortsoftensionsinRomanticism’srelationshiptothepeopleandpopularculture,seePhilipConnellandNigelLeask,‘WhatisthePeople?’,inRomanticismandPopularCultureinBritainandIreland,ed.PhilipConnellandNigelLeask(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2009),3–48.

13

whilethelowlyoriginsofTyler,JohnArchamber(oneoftheleadersofaninsurrection

againstHenryVII),JackCadeandRobertKett(eponymousleadersofrebellionsin,

respectively,1450and1549)arementionedeitherinpassingornotatall.35Totake

anotherexample,inhisperiodicalTheMidlandCounties’Illuminator,ThomasCooper

serializedthe‘LivesoftheCommonwealthsmen’JohnHampden,SirJohnElliotandJohn

Pym.36ChartistsrarelyexplicitlyinvokedtheLevellers,thoughnodoubtthishadlessto

dowiththeirsocialcomposition(themostprominentleaderswere,inanycase,

gentlemen)andrathermorewiththedangerouslevellingconnotationsthatthename

couldstillexciteamongsttheupperclasses,reactivatedduringthe1790swhenJacobin

andlevellerweresynonymized.37

TherewerefewtoaststotheplebeianradicalsoftheLCS;indeed,theLCSitself

doesnotfeatureasprominentlyasonemightexpectforthisobviousprogenitorof

Chartism,butthenitsclosestdescendant,theLWMA,forreasonswhichwillbecome

clearerlateron,werereluctantcommemorators.Thelwall,alongwithThomasHardy

andtheotherradicalswhowereacquittedoftreasoninthe1790s,werecommemorated

eachyearbyagroupofgentlemanradicalsintothe1850s(the‘friendsoftrialbyjury’

and‘friendsofparliamentaryreform,ledbytheex-UnitarianradicalW.J.Fox),for

upholdingtheprincipleoftrialbyjury,thereportsofwhichdulyappearedinthe

ChartistNorthernStar.Butthesewerecommemorativeeventsorganizedbygroups

largelyextraneoustoChartism.38ThetrialoftheNewportrebels–theleadersofthe

SouthWalesChartistrisinginNovember1839–fortreasonandthereturnofaguilty

verdictinJanuary1840ledsomeChartiststomakecomparisonswiththetreasontrials

35HughWilliams,NationalSongsandPoeticalPieces(London:HenryHetherington,1839),13–21.36MidlandCountiesIlluminator,20Mar.,3and17Apr.1841.37AsFredDonnellyhasargued,whenradicals–includingThelwall–didinvoketheLevellerstheylockedthem‘carefullywithinaWhiggishviewoftheseventeenthcenturyconflict’.F.K.Donnelly,‘LevellisminEighteenthandEarlyNineteenth-CenturyBritain’,Albion,20(1988),268.38Operative,11Nov.1838;NorthernStar,12Nov.1842,11Nov.1843,8Nov.1851.

14

inthe1790s,butnobiographicaldetailsofThelwallorarediscoveryofhiswritings

ensued.39Indeath,Thelwallwasthepropertyofbourgeoisradicalism,adirectionin

whichhehadbeenmovingsincethe1790sasdemonstratedbyhisconnectionswiththe

anti-warnetworksinthefirstdecadeofthenineteenthcentury.40Thelwallwasnever

thesubjectofaChartisttoast;Hardyonlyonce;andnoextractsfromThelwall’swritings

appearedintheChartistpress.41Farmoreattentionwaspaidtothe‘MartyrsofLiberty’

–thevictimsoftheScottishseditiontrialsof1793and1794–perhapsbecausethey

werefoundguiltyandtransportedratherthanacquitted.Butonceagainnoneofthe

ScottishMartyrs–Muir,Gerald,Skirving,Palmer,MargarotorWatt–couldbedescribed

asworkingclass.42

ThemostpopularfigurefromthisperiodwastheIrishnationalistRobertEmmet

who,inthewordsofChartism’sfirsthistorian,R.G.Gammage,‘wasayounggentleman

withgoodpromiseofsuccessinlife’,until,thatis,hisfailedrebellionof1803ledtohis

executionattheyoungageoftwentyfive.43TheportraitofEmmetissuedbythe

NorthernStarwasbyfarthemostsoughtafterofallitsportraits.44Chartistsseemto

havebeennolessfascinatedbygentlemenleadersinthepastthantheywereinthe

present;fewworking-classheroeswereraisedtothepantheon.EmmetwasaRomantic

radicalparexcellence:young,idealistic,foolhardy(someChartistswerefullyalivetothe

flawsinhisRomanticcharacter)andatragicdeathatthehandsoftheEnglishstateand,

39NorthernLiberator,23Nov.1839(‘InsurrectioninWales’),18Jan.1840(‘MrFrost’).40E.P.Thompson,‘HuntingtheJacobinFox’,Past&Present,142(1994),114–5.41NorthernStar,16Nov.1839(toasttoHardyatAshton).42ThememoirsofThomasHardywere,however,serializedintheEnglishChartistCircular.ForChartistcommemorationoftheScottishMartyrs,seeRoberts,Chartism,12–13;Pentland,‘ThePosthumousLivesofThomasMuir’.43RobertGammage:ReminiscencesofaChartist,ed.W.H.Maehl(Manchester:SocietyfortheStudyofLabourHistory,1983),38.44Chase,‘BuildingIdentity’,38.

15

asweshallseeinthenextsection,anexemplarofposthumouslife-writing.45AsWilliam

Farish,aScottishChartistweaver,recalledofEmmetinhisautobiography:‘thefervour

ofhisyouthfulpatriotismandthepoeticpassionofhissweetheartMissCurran…throw

ahaloaroundamemorywhichisalwaysattractivetosentimentalandsympathetic

natures’.FarishframedhiscopyoftheNorthernStarengravingofEmmetandhungitin

hisbedroom.46

RomancingthePantheon

TheabsenceofThelwallfromtheChartistpantheonwascertainlynotsymptomaticofa

widerrejectionofRomanticism,atleastnotforsomeChartists.Threekeyaspectsof

Chartistpantheonismclearlyregistereditsenduringculturalimpact.First,buildinga

paperpantheonaroundasetofflawedradicalindividualleaderswhowereaccorded

heroicstatus,amongstwhomnumberedsomeofhistory’smostRomanticheroes,and

werecommemoratedassuchbytheChartists,wasquintessentially,ifrather

stereotypicallyRomantic.Forexample,inadditiontoEmmet,alsointhepantheonwere

theUnitedIrishmanLordEdwardFitzgeraldwhodiedduringthe1798Irishrebellion,

WatTyler,WilliamTellandAndreasHofer,‘TheTelloftheTyrol’.Second,theinvoking,

publishing,andreadingofRomanticauthors,notablyByronandShelley.Theshort-lived

ChartistSheffieldWorkingMan’sAdvocatepublishedextractsfromShelley’sQueenMab,

interestinglyopeningwiththestanzafrombookIII:‘Naturerejectsthemonarch,notthe

man’,whichmayhavereflectedthelessthansubtlerepublicanismoftheperiodical.But

itwasnotjustByronandShelleywhowereinvoked,butalsooccasionallyWilliam

45ForEmmet’sliferetoldasacautionarytaleagainstphysicalforceChartism,seeChartistCircular(Scotland),10Jul.1841.46WilliamFarish,TheAutobiographyofWilliamFarish:TheStrugglesofaHandloomWeaver(London:Caliban,1996[1889]),50.

16

Wordsworth,RobertSoutheyandRobertBurns.Occasionally,Chartistsevenpartookof

the‘literarytourism’andpilgramesbyvisitingthebirthplacesortheformerresidences

ofromanticwritersthatwassuchamarkedfeatureofliterarycommemorationinthe

Victorianperiod.47Theneo-Jacobin,ultra-ChartistLondonDemocraticAssociation

placedattheheadofitsconstitutionandrulesnotaquotationfromPaineoraFrench

revolutionary,butanextractfromRobertSouthey’sdramaticplayWatTyler.48When

ThomasCoopertriedtoencouragetheLeicesterChartistWilliamJonestocomposea

longpoem,heentreatedhimto‘Read-think’,andheasked:‘Whatbookshaveyou?-a

Shakespeare,aMilton,aByron,aKeats,aShelley?DoyougetScott’snovelsfromanyof

thecirculatinglibraries?’49

ThethirdregisterofRomanticismwastheliteraryformationandcultural

productionsofanumberofChartistimaginativewriterssuchasErnestJones,Thomas

CooperandG.W.M.Reynolds.50TheculturalstylisticsofseveralChartistleaders,notably

FeargusO’Connor,DrsJohnTaylorandPeterMurrayMcDouallalongwiththeyoung

GeorgeJulianHarney,alsohintedstronglyattheinfluenceofRomanticismwiththeir

47Forliterarytourism,seeCommemoratingWritersinNineteenth-CenturyEurope:Nation-BuildingandCentenaryFever,ed.AnnRigneyandJoepLeerssen(Basingstoke:Palgrave,2014).SheffieldWorkingMan’sAdvocate,3Apr.1841;AdvocateandMerthyrFreePress,Aug.1840;R.J.Richardson,PoliticalAlmanac(London,1840),copyinTNA,HO45/55;Taylor,ErnestJones,79;MikeSanders,ThePoetryofChartism:Aesthetics,Politics,History(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2009),8–9,47;RobertLowery:RadicalandChartist,ed.BrianHarrisonandPatriciaHollis(London:Europa,1979),116.ForthecontestedlegaciesandinvokingofBurnsbyChartists,seeChristopherA.Whatley,‘“ItissaidthatBurnswasaRadical”:Contest,ConcessionandthePoliticalLegacyofRobertBurns,ca.1795–1859’,JournalofBritishStudies,50(2011):653–54;AnnRigney,‘EmbodiedCommunities:CommemoratingRobertBurn,1859’,Representations,115(2011),71–101.48TheConstitutionoftheLondonDemocraticAssociation(London,1838),copyinTNA,HO44/52,f.221.49LeicestershireRecordOffice(LRO),DE2964/22,PapersofWilliamJones,ThomasCoopertoWilliamJones,30Sept.1845.SeealsoIanHaywood,‘TheLiteratureofChartism’,inTheOxfordHandbookofVictorianLiteraryCulture,ed.JulietJohn(Oxford,2016),87–8.50AnneJanowitz,LyricandLabourintheRomanticTradition(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1998),chs5–6;G.W.M.Reynolds:Nineteenth-CenturyFiction,PoliticsandthePress,ed.AnneHumpherys(Aldershot:Ashgate,2008);Taylor,ErnestJones;SimonRennie,ThePoetryofErnestJones:Myth,Songandthe‘MightyMind’(Oxford:Legenda,2016).

17

flareforthemelodramaticorexoticappearancesandeccentricitiesofdressandstyle.51

TheRomanticfacetsofthesenationalleadersiswellknowntohistoriansandliterary

scholars,lesswellknownarethewaysinwhichRomanticismwasregisteredbylocal

figuresinthemovementthroughpoetryandsong,figuressuchasHughWilliamsor

WilliamJones–citedabove,theframeworkknitter-cum-poetandhymnwriterwhose

outputs,whichincludedpastoralandlyricalpoems,werefrequentlypublishedin

Cooper’sChartistperiodicals.OneofJones’s‘Ode’s’wasprintedalongsideShelley’s

defenceofpoetryinanissueoftheChartistPilot,which,interalia,emphasizedthe

importantroleplayedbypoetryinactivatingfeelings–keytosuccessfulpolitical

mobilizationinShelley’sview.52Cooper,unsurprisingly,tooktheviewthatpoetryand

songwerecrucialtothemovement.AsheinformedWilliamJonesin1845:‘Youmay

guessthatIambentonresurrectingChartisminearnest,inLondon,-and,therefore,

intendtointroducesinging.’53Inanearlierletter,Cooperelaboratedalittlemorefully

thathevaluedsongs,andinparticulartheradicalversesthatJoneshadcomposedand

senthim‘asameansofrestoring,ifpossible,thespiritthatseemsnearlytooextinct’

amongstChartism’sfollowers.54Butitwasnotjustamongstthe‘labourlaureates’that

theinfluenceofRomanticismwasregistered.Eventhedown-to-earthSalfordChartist

R.J.Richardsoncomposedamonodytothememoryofhisinfantson,Harry,who

51McDouall’sChartistJournalandTradesAdvocate,7Aug.and4Sept.1841(Byron),28Aug.1841(Shelley),18Sept.1841(Southey);P.PickeringandS.Roberts,‘Pills,PamphletsandPolitics:TheCareerofPeterMurrayMcDouall(1814–54)’,ManchesterRegionHistoryReview,11(1997):35.IexploretheRomanticandGothicfacetsofO’Connor(andthe‘Tory-Radical’RichardOastler)inmybook,DemocraticPassions:ThePoliticsofFeelinginBritishRadicalism,1809–1848(forthcoming,Manchester:ManchesterUniversityPress).ForTaylor,seeW.HamishFraser,DrJohnTaylor,Chartist:AyrshireRevolutionary(Trowbridge:AyrshireArchaeological&NaturalHistorySociety,2006),16,25.52ChartistPilot,22Dec.1843.Jones’poetrydeservesmoreextendedtreatment.Foraselectionofhispoems,seeTheAnthologyofLeicesterChartistSong,Poetry&Verse,ed.NedNewitt(Leicester:LeicesterPioneerPress,2006).53LRO,DE2964/20,PapersofWilliamJones,ThomasCoopertoJones,30Jun.1845.54LRO,DE2964/17,CoopertoJones,4Mar.1845.

18

tragicallydiedagedsevenmonthsinJuly1844.55Themonody,apoemwhichlaments

another’sdeath,hadclassicaloriginsbuthadbeenrevivedbytheRomantics,notablyin

Coleridge’smonodyonthedeathofThomasChatterton.56

Theinventionoftraditionandmythsof(re)creation‘werecentraltothe

Romanticimagination’.57Legitimatingappealstothegloriousdemocraticpastofthe

EnglishConstitution,ofbenevolentmonarchslikeAlfredtheGreatandtherecoveryof

SaxonlibertiesfromthefoulimpositionoftheNormanYokewereeachincarnationsof

theRomanticcreationofhistoricalmythsbytheChartists.58Itwouldbeinaccurate,

however,toassumethatChartistheritageproductionsnecessarilyviewedthepast

throughrose-tintedspectacles.Rememberingtraumaticepisodes,oftenreactivatedby

eventsinthepresent,suchasthePeterlooMassacreortheexile,executionandtragic

deathofradicalmartyrscouldbejustasRomantic.59Whennewsarrivedthatthe

SheffieldChartistSamuelHolberryhaddied–oneofthefewworkingmentobe

admittedtotheChartistpantheon–asaresultofthedeplorableconditionshehad

sufferedinprison,theaffectiveresponseofChartistswassimilartothatwhicha

previousgenerationofradicalshadexperiencedintheaftermathofPeterloo:shock,

anger,betrayalandgrief.WritingtohisfriendThomasCooper,theChartistlecturer

55Archives+,ManchesterCentralLibrary,R.J.RichardsonPapers,‘MonodyontheDeathofHarryRichardson’,July1844,f.195.56Thegenericshiftfromsatiretomelodramainpopularradicalimaginativeliterature,tracedbySallyLedgerandMikeSandersinthetransitionfromregencyradicalismtoChartism,wasalso,arguably,indicativeoftheaestheticpurchaseofRomanticism:MikeSanders,‘NoLaughingMatter:ChartismandtheLimitsofSatire’,inNineteenth-CenturyRadicalTraditions,ed.J.BristowandJ.McDonagh(Basingstoke:Palgrave,2016),21–35.57RoyPorterandMikulášTeich,‘Introduction’,inRomanticisminNationalContext,ed.RoyPorterandMikulášTeich(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1988),3.58Charter,17Mar.1839.SeealsoChristopherHill,‘TheNormanYoke’,inPuritanismandRevolution(London:Secker&Warburg,1969),119–25;JamesEpstein,RadicalExpression:PoliticalLanguage,RitualandSymbolinEngland,1790–1840(NewYork:OxfordUniversityPress,1994),ch.1;PeterSpence,TheBirthofRomanticRadicalism:War,PopularPoliticsandEnglishRadicalReformism,1800–1815(Aldershot:ScolarPress,1996).59JosephCozens,‘TheMakingofthePeterlooMartyrs,1819tothePresent’,inSecularMartyrdominBritainandIreland:FromPeterlootothePresent,ed.KeithLaybournandQuentinOutram(Basingstoke:Palgrave,2018),31–58.

Figure 1

‘Murders demands Justice’, broadside, n.d. [1842]

Source: The National Archives, MFQ1/265

Figure 2

‘Working Men of Barnsley!’, 6 Aug. 1839.

Source: The National Archives, HO 40/51, f. 361.

19

JonathanBairstowconveyedhisaffectivestateonlearningofHolberry’sdeath(during

themiddleofalectureatSheffield):‘Iwasstruckdumb,Istaggered,myheadreeledto

andfrolikeadrunkenman’s–Ifeltmad.’60AfuneralhymnforHolberrycomposedby

theLeicesterChartistJ.H.Bramwich,whileexpressingthemovement’ssadness,strucka

moredefiantnote:‘Tho’Freedommournshermurder’dson,/Andweepingfriends

surroundhisbier;/Tho’tearslikemountaintorrentsrun,/Ourcauseiswater’dby

eachtear.’61OneChartistbroadsideimplicitlylinkedHolberry’sdeathwithPeterlooby

exclaiming‘MurderdemandsJustice’,arefrainthatwasrepeatedlyheardinthe

aftermathofPeterloo.Thegenreofthebroadsideisdistinctlymelodramatic(seeFigure

1).Anotherbroadside–addressedto‘WorkingMenofBarnsley!’warnedChartistsnot

toattendamassmeetinglesttheauthoritiesrepeatthe‘DramaofPeterloo’(Figure2).

LikeallRomanticheroes,themembersofthepantheonwereflawedcharacters

andChartistsoccasionallydweltonthisasseenpreviouslywithEmmet,invariably

excusingthelesssavouryaspectsoftheircharactersasproductsofthevilificationand

persecutiontheyenduredortheexceptionalcircumstancesinwhichtheyfound

themselves.62Theidealism–akeyRomanticcharacteristic–thatChartistsreadinto

theirheroeshadlesstodowiththepersonalitiesofindividualfiguresandrathermore

withatranscendenttimelessnessthattheywerepartofanongoingstruggleforliberty

thatwouldneverdie.WilliamJones,whomwehavealreadyencountered,capturedthis

inhishymn‘Immortality’,whichisapaeantotheradicalpatriotsofbygonedays,not

oneofwhomisnamed;allaresubsumedundertheidentityofpatriot,‘spiritsofthe

dead’.JonesalsocapturedhowtheheritagepoliticsofChartismwasnomereexercisein

60TNA,TS11/602,TreasurySolicitor’sPapers,confiscatedlettersofThomasCooper,JonathanBairstowtoThomasCooper,22Jun.1842.61SheffieldLocalStudiesLibrary,MP1216S,J.H.Bramwich,‘FuneralHymn,SamuelHolberry’,Jun.1842.ForthechoreographingofHolberry’sfuneral,seeNovian,‘DefiantMourning’.62W.J.Linton,TheLifeofThomasPaine(London:JamesWatson,1842),43

20

consolation,ofturninginwardsandbackwards;akintowhatsomehavereadinto

Romanticism’s‘transmutationofradicalpoliticalidealismintopurelyimaginative

revolutionandredemption’.63Evenindeath,andbyextensionindefeat,Jonessounds

thenoteofeventual,inexorabletriumph:‘Ohhowgloriouslytheyfought,how

triumphantlytheyfell!’Therewardofthefallenpatriotswas‘immortalityoffame’.64

Thus,theradicaltraditioninventedbytheChartistswasempowering:theystoodonthe

shouldersofgiants;werepartofamovementthatwasbiggerthanitsparticipantsand

whichhadhistoryonitsside.SpeakingatajointmeetingofChartistsandIrish

RepealersatManchesterin1848,O’Connorrelayedtothecrowdhowhisuncle,the

UnitedIrishmanArthurO’Connor,hadtoldhimasayoungboynottomournthedeaths

ofLordEdwardFitzgeraldandRobertEmmetfor‘everydropofbloodspilledoftheirs,

tenthousandspatriotswouldarise’.65Farfrombeingindividualizing,theradical

traditioninventedbytheChartistswasacollaborativeandsocialpractice:

commemorativedinners,communalreadingsofradicalgreats,andbyengagingin

criticaldialogueoverthecompositionofthepantheonandwiththeideasofthoseinthe

pantheonwithfellowChartistsinclassesandthroughthemediumofthepress.While

thepantheonmayhavebeenpopulatedwithindividualradicalgreats,theywere

symbolicallymadethecommunalpropertyofthepeople.66

Theroundofdinners,teasandsoireescompletewithrollcallsoftoaststo

departedheroes,whichpunctuatedtheChartistcalendar,couldbeintensely

sentimentalandmelodramaticoccasions,ascouldthepoemsandsongscomposedfor

63AidanDay,Romanticism(London:Routledge,1996),90.64LRO,DE2964/7,PapersofWilliamJones,‘Immortality’,byWilliamJones,n.d.65NorthernStar,25Mar.1848.66IdevelopthesepointsatagreaterlengthinRoberts,Chartism,68–71,207–8.

21

theseoccasions.67R.Beith’ssong‘SpiritsoftheMightyDead’(avariationonan

Americansongofthatnamefromthewarof1812)invokedradicalgreatsasprotectors

andtonics:‘Shieldmydevotedhead/Fromtheillsthatwoundme,/Milton,Shelley,

Byron,Burns,/Thewearyheart-delighting…Franklin,WashingtonandPainebanish

woefromeveryland!Yesetallheartsinmotion’.68Expressionsofsorrowandmourning

atthepassingofheroes,whose‘likewillneverbeseenagain’,couldformpartof

Chartistcommemorativerituals,andwereaccompaniedbysongsandpoemssuchas

the‘DeathofHenryHunt’,oftentellinglycalled‘laments’.AdinnerheldatAshton-

under-LyneinNovember1838tocommemoratethebirthdayoftheregencyradical

HenryHuntconcludedwithalinefromThomasMore’spoemaboutRobertEmmet,

recitedbythelocalChartistleaderWilliamAitken:‘Thetearthatweshed,tho’insecret

itrolls,/Shalllongkeephismemorydearinoursouls’.OtherRomanticnotesonthese

occasionscouldalsoincludeenduringfeelingsofangerandoutrageoverthelossoflife

atPeterlooandtheunrepentantauthoritieswhoinflicteddeathandinjuryonthe

defencelesscrowd,feelingsthatwereheightedbythepresenceofPeterlooveteransand

paintingsoftheMassacre.Someofthetoastswere‘drunktoinsolemnsilence’,while

thetoaststhemselvescouldbemelodramatic.69Whenthejuvenilemembersofthe

Ashton-under-LyneNationalCharterAssociationperformedRobertEmmet’strial,the

reportintheNorthernStarobservedthat‘everyoneconcernedacquittedhimselfso

well,thatthehearerscouldnotbutbestruckwiththereflectionsofreality–indeed,

67Ontherelationshipbetweenmelodramaandpopularpolitics,seePatrickJoyce,DemocraticSubjects:TheSelfandtheSocialinNineteenth-CenturyEngland(Cambridge,1994),ch.14;RohanMcWilliam,‘MelodramaandtheHistorians’,RadicalHistoryReview,78(2000),57–84.68ChartistCircular(Scotland),13Mar.1841.FortheoriginalAmericanrendition,seeJenniferClark,TheAmericanIdeaofEngland,1776–1840:TransatlanticWriting(Abingdon:Routledge,2013),107.69NorthernStar,17Nov.1838.

22

whilethecharacterofEmmetwasbeingperformed,tearswereseentricklingdown

manycheeks’.70

Theritualizedcommemorationofradicalheroes,themourningattheirpassing

andtherepeatedinvokingoftheirnamesbyChartistshintsatthecollaborative

relationshipbetweenthedeadandthelivingthathasbeenthesubjectofrecentworkin

RomanticStudiesonposthumouslifewriting.SeveralRomanticauthorswereextremely

anxiousabouttheirposthumousreputations.AsMarkSandyhasshown,thisisatheme

thatsomeRomanticauthorsexploredintheirownwriting.71Itishardlysurprisingthat

radicalgreatswhoweremostanxiousintheirownlifetimesaboutimmortalitywere

morelikelytogainadmissiontothefutureChartistpantheon.Fewradicalleaderswere

moreconcernedwiththeirlegacythanPaineandCobbett,afacet,itcouldbeargued,of

theirmoregeneralandwidelyacknowledgedarrogance.InfairnesstobothPaineand

Cobbettitwasthepoweroftheirproseandthewayinwhichtheydirectlyaddressed

posteritythatbegantheirposthumouscareers,aswesawinthecomparisonwith

Thelwall.‘Tisnottheconcernofaday,ayear,oranage;posterityarevirtuallyinvolved

inthecontest’,PainewroteinCommonSense.72EventhoughPainespentthelastdecade

ofhislifelivinginobscurity,sowellhadhelaidthegroundworkforhisposthumouslife,

inpartbytrumpetinghisself-importance,thatthisdidlittletodenthisimmortality.

Cobbettwasjustas,ifnotmore,concernedinhislastyearswithhislegacy,evencalling

someofhisfinalworksLegacies.Asheexplainedinthededication(toSirRobertPeel)

appendedtohisLegaciestoLabourers,whichwasanattackontheNewPoorLaw:

70NorthernStar,31Oct.1840.71MarkSandy,Romanticism,MemoryandMourning(Aldershot:Ashgate,2013).SeealsoH.J.Jackson,ThoseWhoWriteforImmortality:RomanticReputationsandtheDreamofLastingFame(NewHavenandLondon:YaleUniversityPress,2015).72TheThomasPaineReader,ed.MichaelFootandIsaacKramnick(London:Penguin),80.

23

IcallitaLEGACY,becauseIamsure,that,notonlylongafterIshallbelaid

undertheturf;butafteryoushallbelaidtherealso,thislittlebookshallbean

inmateofthecottagesofEngland,andwillremindtheworkingpeople,

whenevertheyshallreadit,orseeit,orhearit,thattheyoncehadafriend,

whomneithertheloveofgainontheonehand,northefearoflossonthe

other,couldseducefromhisdutytowardsGod,towardshiscountry,and

towardsthem.73

Thearchetypalposthumousradicalwas,ofcourse,RobertEmmet.Wehave

alreadyseensomethingoftheaffectiveintensitywithwhichChartistsrememberedhim.

ThisintensitywasheightenednotjustbythetragiccircumstancesofEmmet’sdeath,but

alsobythewayhedirectlyengagedposterityinhisdefiantcourt-roomspeech:

Letnomanwritemyepitaph…letnomandaretocalumniateme.Letmy

characterandmymotivesreposeinobscurityandpeace,tillothertimesand

othermencandothemjustice;Thenshallmycharacterbevindicated.Then

maymyepitaphbewritten.74

AsEmmet’shugepopularitywiththeChartistsimplies,thisinjunctionwasnotjust

takenupbysubsequentgenerationsofIrishnationalists,butalsobyBritishradicals.By

contrast,thoseradicalswhowerelesspreoccupiedwiththeirownimmortality–John

73Cobbett’sLegacytoLabourers(London:CharlesGriffin,1870[1835]),31.SeealsoCobbett’sLegacytoParsons(London:CharlesGriffin1870[1835]).74Onthemakingofthe‘EmmetLegend’seeReinterpretingEmmet:EssaysontheLifeandLegacyofRobertEmmet,ed.AnneDolan,PatrickM.Geoghegan,DarrylJones(Dublin:UCDPress,2007).

24

Thelwall,atleastinpoliticalterms–werelessassuredofaplaceinthepantheon.

Thelwallclearlywrotepoetrywithposterityinmind.75Butthiswasclearlynotthecase

whenitcametohisroleasaradicalleader.Whenitcomestopantheons,thereisno

roomformodesty.

Posthumouslife-writingoftentakesonacollaborativerelationshipbetweenthe

deadauthorandthoseinthepresentwhoperpetuatethatlifethrougha‘webof

reception’intheformofbiographies,especiallythegenreoflivesandletters,elegies,

epitaphs,tombstones,monuments,andsculptures.76TimChiouhaspersuasivelyshown

inastudyofRomanticposthumouslife-writingthat‘theposthumousenduranceofthe

artistiscontingentnotonhisworksalone,butalsoonalargecommunityoffriends,

family,colleaguesandreaderscommittedtotheethicsofremembrance.’77Thereisan

obviousparallelherewithChartistcommemorativepractices.Arecurringrefrain,and

onethatgoesallthewaybacktotheRomanpoetHorace,isthenotionthatawriter’s

oeuvrerepresentsamonumentinitself,andonefarmorelasting,interactiveand

dynamicthanaflat,inertmonument.Chartistsmadethisverypointwhen

recommendingtheworksofradicalgreats.78Theadvertisementcolumnsbyradical

booksellersintheChartistpressarelitteredwitheditions,oldandnew,ofworksby

radicalgreats(ofteninterspersedwithRomanticproseandpoetry).PaineandCobbett

werefortunatethattheyhaddevotedfollowers,someofwhombecameChartists,who

wenttogreatlengthstokeeptheirnamesbeforethepublic,notleastbyensuringthat

75JonMee,‘TheDungeonandtheCell:ThePrisonVerseofColeridgeandThelwall’,inJohnThelwall:RomanticRadical,107.76For‘websofreceptions’,seeTomMole,WhattheVictoriansMadeofRomanticism:MaterialArtefacts,CulturalPractices,andReceptionHistory(Princeton,2017).77TimYi-ChangChiou,‘RomanticPosthumousLifeWriting:Inter-stitchingGenresandFormsofMourningandCommemoration’,(PhDthesis,UniversityofOxford,2012),14.Chioudefinesposthumouslifewritingas‘anticipatorydeathwritings,worksofmourning,commemorativelifewritings,memorialaids,andbelateddefences’,20.78ThePoliticalWorksofThomasPaine(London:T.M.Wheeler,1846),n.p.,copyheldbytheWorkingClassMovement’sLibrary,Salford.

25

theirworkscontinuedtobepublishedwellintothenineteenthcentury.79Cobbettleft

behindaveritablemini-familypublishingbusinessdedicatedtoediting,publishingand

sellinghisworks.Thelwallwaspoorlyservedinrespectofthis‘assistedauthorship’;his

secondwifemanagedtopublishthefirstvolumeofhisbiography,butthesecond

volumedetailinghislifefrom1795neverappeared.80

FeelingforVolney

Astheprecedingdiscussionsuggests,Chartismclearlyregisteredthelongreachof

Romanticism.Butitdidsocritically.Forexample,someofthoseChartistswhoused

Shelley’spoetrydidsowithdiscrimination.CasieLeGettereachessimilarconclusions

byshowinghowradicalpublishersandeditorsintheearlynineteenthcenturyused

extractsfromRomanticeratextsfortheirownpoliticalends,effectivelyremakingthose

textsintheprocess.81TherewerealsosomeChartistswhoweredeeplyuneasy,ifnot

resistant,towhatwewouldnowrecognizeassomeofthekeycharacteristicsof

Romanticism:theuncheckedexpressionoffeeling(orpassionsinthelanguageofthe

period);nostalgiaandaromanticattachmenttothepast;culturalnationalism;andlast,

butbynomeansleast,thecultoftheindividual-hero.82Thisaversionishardly

surprisinggiventhecloseassociationbetweencertainstrandswithinRomanticismand

conservatism,reactionandcounter-revolution.83Thelinkingthreadinmuchofthis

79MalcolmChase,‘Cobbett,hisChildrenandChartism’,inWilliamCobbett,RomanticismandtheEnlightenment,ed.JamesGrandeandJohnStevenson(London:Pickering&Chatto,2015),123–36.80Corfield,‘JohnThelwallinBreconshire’,17.For‘assistedauthorship’,seeJackson,ThoseWhoWriteforImmortality,23.81JenMorgan,‘TheTransmissionandReceptionofP.B.ShelleyinOweniteandChartistNewspapersandPeriodicals’,(PhDthesis,UniversityofSalford,2014);CasieLeGette,RemakingRomanticism:TheRadicalPoliticsoftheExcerpt(Basingstoke:Palgrave,2017),1.82ForChartistresistancetoculturalnationalism,seeMatthewRoberts,‘DanielO’Connell,RepealandChartismintheAgeofAtlanticRevolutions’,JournalofModernHistory,90(2018):9–10.83MarilynButler,Romantics,RebelsandReactionaries:EnglishLiteratureanditsBackground,1760–1830(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1981),180–1.

26

anti-Romanticcurrentconcernedthedestructivepotentialofinflamingthepassions.

ThoseChartistswhowereexercisedbythisfollowedthoseEnlightenmentthinkerswho

positedafundamentalseparationbetweenreasonandfeeling,whichledthemtocreate

andpracticewhatmightbetermedanasceticradicalism.Thisasceticradicalismoweda

greatdebttoluminariesoftheradicalEnlightenment,inparticularGodwinand

Wollstonecraft,notwithstandingtheirrelativeabsencefromthepantheon.84

GodwinandWollstonecrafthadbeenparticularlyanxiousaboutthepassionsand

theirdestructivepotentialinthepublicsphere,perhapsbecausebothwereacutely

awareofhowdangerouspassionscouldbefromtheirownprivatelives.85Reacting

againstthesentimentalismofthelateeighteenthcentury,theyhadrejectedthe

deterministicviewthathumanswereentirelyorlargelyhelplessvictimsoftheir

passions;suchaview,theyheld,wasdangerousasitreinforcedpassivity.Therejection

ofobfuscating,effeminateandenervatingsentimentalismhadformedthebasisof

Wollstonecraft’srebuttalofEdmundBurke’sReflectionsinherVindicationoftheRights

ofMen.InWollstonecraft’sview,Burkehadelevatedpassionstoanauseatingand

saccharinelevelinhisattackontherationalismofRichardPrice’seffusivesupportof

theFrenchRevolution.ForWollstonecraftandother‘rational’radicals,thisbaseappeal

tofeelingswasdangerousasitthreatenedtounderminetheradicalcause.Humans

neededtocontroltheirpassionsthroughtheexerciseofindividualrationalwill,which

wouldleadtotheacquisitionofdisciplinedhabits(liketemperance).ForWollstonecraft

84BrianHarrison,‘TeetotalChartism’,inThePeople’sCharter:DemocraticAgitationinEarlyVictorianBritain,ed.StephenRoberts(Merlin,2003),45.85RobBoddice,AHistoryofFeelings(London:Reaktion,2019),118.Godwinwouldlaterrejecttheexcessiverationalismofhispuritaninheritanceandasserttheprimacyoffeelingoverreasonasthemostusefulandproperdeterminantofhumanbehaviour.RowlandWeston,‘Politics,Passionandthe“PuritanTemper”:Godwin’sCritiqueofEnlightenedModernity’,StudiesinRomanticism41(2002),448.

27

inparticular,menandwomenhadthesamebasiccapacityforthinkingandfeeling.86

ThereissomeevidencethatChartistswereawareoftheseaspectsofWollstonecraft’s

thinking.TheMidlandCountiesIlluminatorprintedanextractfromtheVindicationofthe

RightsofWomaninwhichWollstonecraftemphasizedthepoliticalevilsandsocial

miserieswhichflowedfrombaserpassions:‘Thedesireofdazzlingbyriches,the

pleasureofcommandingsycophants,andmanyothercomplicatedlowcalculationsof

self-love,haveallcontributedtooverwhelmthemassofmankind’.87Suchevils,

Wollstonecraftinveighed,wereanaffronttoreason.Inanotherextractfromthe

Vindication,reprintedintheScottishChartistCircular,Wollstonecraftcomplainedof

how‘mereGothicgrandeur’exhibitedbyaristocracywith‘stupidpompbeforeagaping

crowd’haddulledreason.88

Allthiswasgristtothemillforself-improving,respectablemoral-forceChartists,

suchasWilliamLovett,whodismissedinPaineitetonestheirrationalityof‘gothic

ignorance’(inLovett’swords),withitsromanticpreoccupationwithhistorical

precedents,baubles,pageantsand‘militaryspirit’which‘tendstoGothicizea

nation…thebaneofallhappiness’.89Inplaceofthisgothicirrationality,moral-force

Chartistssoughttore-establishanageofreason:‘Wefeltanxioustoredeembyreason

whathadbeenlostbymadnessandfolly’,inthewordsoftheAddressoftheNational

Association,setupbyLovettasasuccessororganizationtotheLondonWorkingMen’s

Association(LWMA).90Thisasceticradicalismwasincreasinglyaccentedwithin

Chartismfollowingtheearlysetbacksitsufferedin1838–9,andwasconceivedasan

86JaneRendall,TheOriginsofModernFeminism:WomeninBritain,FranceandtheUnitedStates,1780–1860(Basingstoke:Macmillan,1985),56–7.SeealsoHewitt,ARevolutionofFeeling,41–2,54,63–9.87MidlandCountiesIlluminator,13Feb.1841.88ChartistCircular(Scotland),2Jan.1841.89LondonDispatch,1Oct.1837;ChartistCircular,3Oct.1840.90WilliamLovett,TheLifeandStrugglesofWilliamLovettinhisPursuitofBread,KnowledgeandFreedom(1876;London:KeganPaul,1976),209.

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antidotetotheuncheckedpassionsofthemasses,whippedupbydemagoguessuchas

FeargusO’Connorwhomade‘furiousappealstotheirpassions’and‘spurn[ed]with

Gothicferocityallknowledge,truthofjustice’.91InJanuary1839,theLWMAmoveda

resolutiondeclaringthat‘allappealstothepassionsofthemultitudetendingtoexciteto

violenceanddisordercanonlybeproductiveofevil’.92Themoderatevoicesinthefirst

ChartistConventionsimilarlyrebukedneo-JacobinssuchasHarneyandDrTaylorwho

were,ingloryinginthenamesofMaratandRobespierre,dangerouslyinflamingthe

passionsofthepeople.93TheNationalAssociationGazette,impliedwhattheirmodelof

theidealleaderwasinabiographicalarticleonGeorgeWashington:‘ifhehadstrong

passions,hehadlearnedtosubduethem,andtobemoderateandmild.’94Thisalso

explainswhytemperance,self-improvementandrespectabilitywerecentraltothis

asceticradicalism.Oneoftheguidingprinciplesofthemoral-forceChartismofthe

LWMAwasoftheneedfortheworkingclassestoexerciserestraintandmastertheir

passionstodemonstratetheirfitnessforthefranchise.

Inwhippingupthemassesintofrenziedadvocatesofphysicalforce,demagogues

liketheReverendJosephRaynerStephens,RichardOastlerandO’Connorwereno

friendsoftheworkingclass,atleastintheviewoftheLWMA.Thelatterbodywas

aversetothemovement’srelianceongentlemanleaderslikeO’Connor,whichthey

denigratedasirrationalandimmature‘man-worship’.95Thischargecouldalsoextendto

thepantheon.BronterreO’Brien,Chartism’sgreatesttheoretician,believedthatman-

91LondonDispatch,25Feb.1838;NorthernStar,25Sept.1841.92BritishLibrary,AddMS37,773,WorkingMen’sAssociationMinutes,2Jan.1839,f.135.93NorthernStar,27Apr.1839.94NationalAssociationGazette,16Jul.1842.ForasimilarappreciationofWashington,seethepoemintheScottishPatriot,19Oct.1839.95Ontheproblemsof‘manworship’,seetheseriesofarticlesunderthatnamewhichappearedintheNorthernStar,thefirstofwhichwaspublishedon7Jan.1843.Tellingly,eventheauthorofthisarticlereachedforgreatmen–WashingtonandTell–whenwarningagainstthedangersof‘manworship’.Theseleaderswereacceptablebecausethey‘check[ed]everydispositionofthepeopletoGod[them]’.NorthernStar,21Jan.1843.

29

worshipofPainewasabarriertocriticallyengagingwithhisideas,which,inhisview,

wereoutdatedbythe1830s.96ButeventheLWMAstruggledtoriditselfentirelyof

‘man-worship’,thoughtheiridealtypeofradicalleaderwassomewhatdifferent.On

occasion,Lovettdelivered,recited,andpossiblycomposed,poetrywhich

commemoratedradicalgreats.97Inhisautobiography,Lovettrecalledhowhe

‘cherished’thememoryofbothHuntandCobbett‘for,withoutseekingtoextenuatethe

failingsofeither,Iregardthemastwonoblechampionsoftherightsofthemillions

who…stampedthenecessityforreformsodeeplyintotheheartandmindofEngland’.98

O’Brien,ineffect,hadhisownpantheon,thoughinhiscaseitwaspopulatedlargelyby

oneradicalgreat:Robespierre.ToO’Brienatleast,hewasnotengagedina

romanticizedworshipoftheFrenchRevolutionaries;ratherhewastryingtorescue

theirreputationsfromliestoldbytheirenemies,pastandpresent.‘Thedaywillcome’,

O’Brientoldthereadersofhisnewspaper,theOperative,‘whentheinjuredshadesof

MaratandRobespierrewillbeavengedoftheoutragesinflictedontheirmemoriesby

lyingromances,dubbedhistorians’.99Yet,thereisasenseinwhichtheLWMAand

O’Brien,indenigrating‘manworship’werenotgivingChartiststheirdue.Sentimental

theymayhavebeenwhentheoccasiondemanded,butthisdidnotnecessarilyactasa

barriertocriticalengagementwiththeideasofthoseinthepantheon.Forexample,

manyChartistadmirersofPainewerequicktodistancethemselvesfromthelatter’s

viewsonreligion.TherewerealsomanyChartistswhofollowedPaineindismissingthe

irrationalityofRomanticattachmentstothepast.100

96PoorMan’sGuardian,8and15Dec.1832;NorthernStar,27Mar.1841.97LondonDispatch,11Dec.1836.98Lovett,LifeandStruggles,44–5.99Operative,21Apr.1839.100Roberts,Chartism,112–116.

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Therewas,then,ananti-RomanticcurrentwithinChartistheritagepolitics.True,

itwashardlydominant,butitdoessuggestthatthetension,highlightedinRomantic

Studies,betweenEnlightenmentandRomanticism,wasstillbeingplayedoutinthe

1840satthelevelofpopularpolitics.Asrevisionistworkhasunderlined,thesetwo

culturalmovementswereneverfixed,stableandantithetical;rather,theywere

heterogeneousandtosomeextentinterlockingandchronologicallyoverlapping.The

Enlightenmentwasnotaboutunbridledreasonandcoldrationalityattheexpenseof

feeling,justasRomanticismwasnotanexpressionofunbridledfeeling.Ashistoriansof

emotionhaveremindedus,the‘ageofreason’wasitselfanaffectiveconstruction:Paine,

theapostleofthe‘ageofreason’appealedtosentimentsrepeatedlyinhisworks,andhe

‘deniedthattherewasanyconflictbetweentherationalandtheemotional’.101The

notionofafundamentalseparationbetweenreasonandfeelingwasalsoaconstruction

thatconcealedthepassions,andwas,insomerespects,aretrospectiveconstruction

inventedbythoselikeGodwinandWollstonecraftwhowereanxiousaboutthe

sentimentalismoftheirera.102Romanticismwas,ithasbeenargued,bornfromwithin

theEnlightenment,andcanmoreaccuratelybeseenasareactiontoaparticularkindof

Enlightenment–onethatwasassociatedwithanover-refinedNeo-classicalism.Several

RomanticsfusedEnlightenmentthinkingwithwhatwehavecometoidentifyas

Romanticcurrents.103

Theinabilityofthose‘rational’ChartistslikeLovetttofullyliberatethemselves

fromtheromanticmemorythatplayedsuchanimportantgenerativeroleinChartist

101Boddice,HistoryofFeelings,112–3;NicolaEustace,PassionistheGale:Emotion,PowerandtheComingoftheAmericanRevolution(ChapelHill:UniversityofNorthCarolinaPress,2008),445.102WilliamReddy,TheNavigationofFeeling:AFrameworkfortheHistoryofEmotions(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2001),142;Hewitt,RevolutionofFeeling,188.103Day,Romanticism,ch.3;AlexanderRegier,FractureandFragmentationinBritishRomanticism(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,2010);idem,ExorbitantEnlightenment:Blake,HamannandAnglo-GermanConstellations(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2018).

31

heritagepoliticscanbeinterpretedasevidenceofthecomplexities,interactionsand

tensionsbetweenEnlightenmentandRomanticism.Thepursuitofreasonitselfcouldbe

anaffectiveexperience:afterall,afundamentalcomponentofasceticismissuffering

andpainashundredsofincarceratedChartists,includingLovett,knewonlytoowell.

Hence,thecoiningoftheconceptofaffectiveasceticismbyhistoriansofemotion.104We

shouldalsobewaryofthebinarypositedbetweenreasonandpassionintheascetic

radicalismofthoselikeLovettwhenmuchthatwaspassedoffasreasoncould,infact,

beseenasdisgust–attheadulationofthemassesforFeargusO’Connor,forexample.

Thishybriditywasalsoreflected,andinpartcreated,byworking-classreading

practices,whichwerefarfromuniform:‘asagroupandasindividualstheyconsumed

theracyandthereligious,thelyricalandthesensational’.105

Wecanobservesomeofthesetensionsandhybridsinthepopularityofthe

FrenchphilosopherandrevolutionaryConstantinFrancoisVolney,asecond-tierfigure

intheChartistpantheon,anotherfigureoftheradicalEnlightenment.ReadingVolney’s

Ruins;oraSurveyofRevolutionsofEmpire(1791)wasaformativeexperiencefora

numberoffutureChartists,especiallythosewhohadtroddenthepathoffreethought

intothemovement.Volneyhadbeen‘noagitatoramongthesansculottes’,106buthis

memoryandhisRuins,unlikeThelwall,hadbeenkeptalivesincethe1790sbyultra-

radicalfreethinkers,aninheritanceclaimedsubsequentlybyChartistswhooccasionally

displayedVolney’sportraitatcommemorativeevents.107Theubiquityofreferencesto

Volney’sRuinsinmetropolitanradicalismintheearly1830s,alongwiththe

104BarbaraH.RosenweinandRiccardoCristiani,WhatistheHistoryofEmotions?(Cambridge:Polity,2018),76.105RobBreton,‘GenreintheChartistPeriodical’,inTheWorking-ClassIntellectualinEighteenthandNineteenthcenturyBritain,ed.ArunaKrishnamurphy(Farnham:Ashgate,2009),112.106Ibid,197.107Epstein,RadicalExpression,195;E.P.Thompson,TheMakingoftheEnglishWorkingClass(NewYork:VintageBooks,1963),98–9;SheffieldIris,22Oct.1839.

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freethinkinglecturesanddiscussionssurroundingit,suggestthathistorianshave

seriouslyunderestimatedthecentralityofaninfidelcurrentinpopularradicalismat

thistime–evenattheheightofReformbillagitations.108Thegovernmentwere

certainlyalivetothiscurrentandsawitasoneofthemanifestationsofdecliningpiety

andvirtue,hencetherecoursetoroyalproclamationfortheencouragementofpietyand

virtuein1830whichincludedtheissuingofatableofpenaltiesforprofanes,sabbath-

breakingandimmorality.109

Intheearly1830s,theFrenchsocialistPierreBaume,thenresidinginLondon,

printedanextractfromtheRuins(chapter15,onwhichmorebelow),aspartofatract

advertisinghis‘FrenchOptimistChapel’inWindmillStreet,Finsbury,aradicalschoolof

freediscussion,whichfounditswayintotheHomeOfficefilesasaseditiouspublication.

BaumealsoappendedanEnglishtranslationoftheFrenchLaMarseillaisehopingno

doubttocapitaliseontherecentFrenchrevolution.110ThomasCooperlaterrecalled

how,asayoungman,‘hefellinlove’withVolney’sRuins.111TheradicalinfidelRichard

CarlileandthemercurialdefrockedRobertTaylorbegantheirSundaylecturesatthe

Rotunda,thepremiervenueofLondonradicalismintheearly1830s,byreciting

chaptersfromVolney’sRuinsmuchasareligiousservicebeganwithreadingsfromthe

Bible.112ThefutureleadersoftheLWMAwereregularattendersandspeakersatthe

RotundaandOptimistChapel,asthesecretservicefilesattest.Volney’sRuinsgained

108Thebesttreatmentofmetropolitanworking-classradicalismintheearly1830sisIorwerthProthero,ArtisansandPoliticsinEarlyNineteenth-CenturyLondon:JohnGastandHisTimes(Folkestone:Dawson,1979),ch.14.109Foracopyoftheproclamationandthetableofpenalties,andevidenceofitscirculation,seeNottinghamArchives,CT12/55/20,AProclamationbytheKing,28June1830,andaccompanyingATableofPenalties.110TNA,HO64/17,Seditiouspublications,1830–31,‘ARevolutioninEngland’,f.77.ExtractsfromVolneywerealsoserialisedintheradicalpress,e.g.Cosmopolite,21Apr.1832.111AddresstotheJurybyThomasCooper(Leicester:T.Warwick,1842),13.HenryVincentalsolistedVolneyasaformativeinfluence:NottinghamReview,9Apr.1841,asdidLinton:W.J.Linton,Memories(London:LawrenceandBullen,1895),26.112TNA,HO64/11,SecretServicereportsofseditiousmeetings,1830,fos147,170.

33

renewednotorietyinthemid-1830sasitwasaformativeinfluenceonAlibaud,the

FrenchmanwhohadtriedtoassassinateLouisPhilippein1836,whoseactionswon

plauditsfromsomeChartists.113Volney’sRuins,alongwithhisLecturesonHistory,and

LawofNaturewerefrequentlyadvertisedintheChartistpress.Themetropolitantrioof

JohnCleave,JamesWatsonandHenryHetherington,alongwithAbelHeywoodof

Manchester,weresellingVolney’sRuinsincheapinstalmentsforaslittleas2d.114

WatsonalsoincludedseveralextractsfromVolneyinhisencyclopaedicperiodicalThe

National:ALibraryforthePeople.115

BasedonVolney’stourofOttomanEgyptandGreaterSyriabetween1782and

1785,Ruinswas,inpart,astudyincomparativereligion,whichhighlighted

irreconcilablecontradictionsbetweenbeliefsystems.ToVolneythiswasevidencethat

allreligionswereman-made,theproductofhistoryandculture,andcouldbetraced

backto‘humanneedsornaturalexperiences…objectifiedindeities,thenceabstracted

fromtheiroriginalimpulse,andexploitedasserviceablemysteriesbypriestcraftandby

privilegedorders’.116Thus,revealedreligionwasbogus,divisiveandservednoother

purposethantoenslavemankind.Ruinsisessentiallyapleafordeismandfreethought,

andanattackonpriestcraft,politicalexclusion,unproductivelabour,andpersonal

greed.Further,Ruinscanalsobereadasanextendedessayonthedestructivepotential

ofthepassions.Volneysinglesout‘unbridleddesires’,‘theperpetualplayofpassions’,

‘theinordinatedesireofaccumulation’asevilsresponsibleforthedeclineofempires.

Morespecifically,‘underthenameofaristocracythestatehasbeentormentedbythe

passionsofthewealthyandthegreat’.Monarchyandaristocracysurvivebyappealing

113LondonDispatch,25Dec.1836;Champion,1Jan.1837.114Cleave’sLondonSatiristandGazetteofVariety,9Dec.1837.115TheNational:ALibraryforthePeople,ed.W.J.Linton(London:JamesWatson1839),95,142,157,187,245.116E.P.Thompson,WitnessAgainsttheBeast:WilliamBlakeandtheMoralLaw(Cambridge:CambridgeUniversityPress,1993),199–200.

34

tothe‘egotismthatdivide[s]mankind…heflatteredthevanityofone,excitedthe

jealouslyofanother,favouredtheavariceofathird,inflamedtheresentmentofafourth,

irritatedthepassionsofall’.SoimportantwerethepassionsinVolney’sestimationthat

theyfurnishthemotorofhistory:theriseandfallofempires‘havesprungfroman

eternalcircleofpassions’.117

ThepopularityofRuinswithChartistshasbeenattributedtothepersistenceof,

interalia,‘enlightenmentmoralphilosophy’.118Whilethiswasclearlyafactor,another

wasthatRuinswas‘drenchedinthenewRomanticism’.119Someofthisdrenchingmay

havederivedfromtheexuberanceandembellishmentbroughttotheoriginaltextby

theearlyEnglishtranslationsbeforeVolney,seeinghowgarbledthetranslationswere,

superintendedanewtranslation.Butitispossiblethattheoriginaltranslationwasthe

onereadbysomeChartists.120Eitherway,thereisnodenyingthatthereareRomantic

themes.Theprotagonistisalonelyanddepressedwandereramongsttheruinsof

formereasternempireswhose‘heartwasoppressedwithsorrowandindignation’not

justatthedecayhewitnessesbutbytheprospectofhisowncivilizationwithering

which‘broughttearsintomyeyes’.Hewishestheruinscouldspeakandtellofwhy

formergloriousempiresdecayed.Andsoitproves:theprotagonistisconfrontedbyan

apparitionwhoenableshimtotranscendhisearth-boundform,byliterallytransporting

himintoouterspacewhere,rangingbackwardsandforwardsintime,heisversedinthe

eternal,transcendentnaturallawsofthecreator-God.IfthecontentofVolney’sRuins

wasRomantic,so,too,wastheformwithitsruinsmotif,lyricalmode,andhybridgenre

–partphilosophicaltreatise,partpoemandpartnovel.Thisstylisticambivalenceis

117ConstantinFrancoisVolney,TheRuins,oraSurveyoftheRevolutionsofEmpire(Otley:WoodstockBooks,1791[2000]),25,29,34,36–7.118TomScriven,PopularVirtue:ContinuityandChangeinRadicalMoralPolitics,1820–70(Manchester:ManchesterUniversityPress,2017),15–18.119GwynA.Williams,‘RomanticisminWales’,inRomanticisminNationalContext,15.120Foracomparisonofthevarioustranslations,seeRichardCarlile’sLion,25July1828.

35

characteristicoftheRomanticaesthetic.121Aswithotherexponentsofradical

Enlightenment,Volney’sdeploymentofreasonasanantidotetopoliticalcorruption,

religiousauthorityandsocietalatrophywasnotconstructedinoppositiontofeeling.As

AlexanderCookhasargued,Volneytranscendsthedichotomiesofreasonandsentiment

byshowinghowthepursuitof‘reasoncouldteachpeoplethatthepathtovirtuewas

alsothepathtohappiness’.122

TheChartiststhemselvescontributedtothissplicingofEnlightenmentwith

RomanticismbyincludingreadingsofVolney’sRuinsatcommemorativeevents,which

aswehaveseencouldbeverysentimentalaffairs.AdinneratAshton-under-Lyneto

commemorativeHenryHunt’sbirthdayconcludedwithareadingoftheinfamous

chapter15ofRuins,the‘NewAge’,themostpoliticallyradicalchapterofthebookin

whichthepeopleconfronttheprivileged.123ExtractswerereprintedintheChartist

press.HenryVincent’sWesternVindicatorevenincludedaWelshtranslationofchapter

15foritsWelshreaders,apracticecontinuedbytheWelsh-mediumUdgornCymru,

mostlikelyusingtheWelshtranslationundertakeninthe1790s.124Vincenthadalready,

implicitlyatleast,signalledtheimportanceofVolneybyincludinganextractfrom

chapter15asearlyasthesecondissueoftheWesternVindicator.Printedonthefront

page,thisextractswasclearlyno‘filler’ofsparecolumninches;appearingnexttoa

121ForVolney,theRuins,anditspre-ChartistreceptioninBritain,see:AlexanderCook,‘ReadingRevolution:TowardsaHistoryoftheVolneyVogueinEngland’,inAnglo-FrenchAttitudes:ComparisonsandTransfersbetweenEnglishandFrenchSincetheEighteenthCentury,ed.ChritopheCharl,JulienVincentandJayWinter(Manchester:ManchesterUniversityPress,2007),125–46;SanjaPerovik,‘LyristinBritain;EmpiricistinFrance:Volney’sDividedLegacy’,inHistoricalWritinginBritain,1688–1830,ed.BenDewandFionaPrice(Basingstoke:Palgrave,2014),127–44.122Cook,‘ReadingRevolution’,128,130.123NorthernStar,17Nov.1838.ForotherrecitalsofVolney’sRuins,seeNorthernStar,16Oct.1841(CityofLondon),1Jun.1844(BethnalGreen),17Oct.1846(Camberwell).124ChartistCircular(Scotland),28Dec.1839;WesternVindicator,20Apr.1839;UdgornCymru,1Apr.1841,copyinTNA,HO45/54,f.47;LondonDemocrat,13Apr.1839;ChartistPilot,7Dec.1844.TheChartistfreethinkerJamesWatsonappendedchapter15toABriefSketchoftheLifeofC.F.Volney(London:JamesWatson,1840).FortheWelshtranslationinthe1790s,seeGwynA.Williams,‘MorganJohnRhysandVolney’sRuinsofEmpire’,BulletinoftheBoardofCelticStudies,20(1964),58–65.

36

letterfromtheWelshChartistleaderJohnFrost,inwhichthecentralmessagewasan

attackonunproductivelabour.Chapter15notonlyreinforcesthiscritiquebutrecasts

Volney’sworkasapoliticallyradicaltext,ratherthanafreethinkingreligioustext.By

onlyrepublishingorrecitingchapter15,theChartistsconvenientlyerasedthe

geographicalandtemporalspecificitiesofVolney’sRuins,includingwhatsomehave

regardedasitsorientalism.Inaddition,focusingontheRuinsratherthanthelifeof

Volneyalsoconvenientlypreservesthelatter’sradicalcredentials,dentedsomewhatby

hissubsequentassociationwithNapoleonandFrenchimperialism.125

Thepopularityofchapter15isfurtherevidenceofhowChartistheritagepolitics

wasnotmerelybackwardslooking,butalsodirectlyconcernedwithlinkingthepast,

presentandfutureinsymbolicallyempoweringways.Havingthoroughlydepressedthe

protagonistwithvisionsofwhyandhowpreviousempiresendedinruins,heisthen

transportedtothefutureinchapter15wheretheapparitionshowshimthebeginnings

ofthepeoplerisingupagainsttheprivileged,castingthemoutandcreatinganew

societybasedonproductivelabour.Chapter15isdistinctlymillenarianintone,asisthe

thrustofthewholebookwhich‘carriesthereaderforwardonawaveofenthusiasm,not

toapoliticwisdomoftheworld,buttothevisionofa“NewAge”inwhichmenwillshed

theirwarringreligionsandattainbrotherhoodinclear-eyedself-knowledge’.126

TheLondonradicalfreethinkerandpornographerWilliamDugdalepublisheda

completeeditionofVolney’sworks,completewithportrait,andadvertiseditinthe

NorthernStaralongsidesomeofthemostpopularromancesandgothicfictionofthe

daywhichhestockedinhisbookshoponHolywellStreet.Fewotherradicals

125WesternVindicator,2Mar.1839.Forthisapproachtoreprintingexcerpts,seeLeGette,RemakingRomanticism,1–12;MatthewRoberts,‘LabouringintheDigitalArchive’,LabourHistoryReview,78(2013):113–26.ForausefuloverviewandcritiqueofVolney’sorientalism,seeUrsApp,TheBirthofOrientalism(Philadelphia:PennsylvaniaPress,2010),ch.8.126Thompson,WitnessAgainsttheBeast,200.

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personifiedtotheextentDugdaledidofthecontestedlegaciesandblurringof

Enlightenment,Romanticism,philosophyandpornography.127Itisunfortunatethatthe

ChartistsweresilentonVolney’swideroeuvre,particularlyhisLawofNature,included

inDugdale’scompleteedition,asVolneyoutlinedamoralcodeofpersonalconductthat

touchedontheneedtodisciplinethepassionsandappetiteswhichwouldhave

resonatedwithmoral-forceChartists.TheChartistfreethinkerJamesWatsonalso

conjoinedEnlightenmentandRomanticisminhisbookshopandintheadvertisements

heplacedintheChartistpress,inwhichtheworksofVolneyappearednexttoShelley’s

QueenMab.ThiswasfittinggiventhatShelleyreproducedVolney’saccountofhisvisits

toSyriaandEgyptinQueenMab.128Itisquiteconceivablethatitwasformative

encounterswithShelley’sQueenMabthatledChartiststoVolney,orpossiblyviaMary

Shelley’sFrankensteinasVolney’sRuinswasoneofthetextsreadbythecreature:

ChartistswerecertainlyfamiliarwithFrankensteinasitisreferencedinnumerous

speechesandthepress.129Volney’spopularitywiththeChartists,then,wasa

manifestationofthatheadybrewofrationalism,millenarianismandreligious

enthusiasmthatwassuchamarkedfeatureofthe‘ageofrevolution’.130

Conclusion

127NorthernStar,6Apr.1844.ForDugdale,seeIainMcCalman,RadicalUnderworld:Prophets,RevolutionariesandPornographersinLondon,1795–1840(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1993),ch.10.128Cleave’sPennyGazette,7Jul.1838;NorthernStar,9Sept.1843.129E.g.,Charter,27Jan.1839;LondonDispatch,13Jan.1839;NorthernStar,2Jun.1838,17Jul.1841;FeargusO’Connor,ASeriesofLettersfromFeargusO’Connor,Esq.,BarristeratLaw,toDanielO’Connell,Esq.,M.P.containingareviewofMr.O’Connell’sconductduringtheagitationofthequestionofCatholicemancipation,togetherwithananalysisofhismotivesandactions,sincehebecameamemberofParliament(London:HenryHetherington,1836),29,33,43.130McCalman,RadicalUnderworld,viii;JonMee,DangerousEnthusiasm:WilliamBlakeandtheCultureofRadicalisminthe1790s(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,1992),3–8,14;PhilipLockley,VisionaryReligionandRadicalisminEarlyIndustrialEngland:FromSouthcotttoSocialism(Oxford:OxfordUniversityPress,2013),166–8.

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AddressingtheHullWorkingMen’sAssociationinSeptember1837,andreachinghis

peroration,thecharismaticChartistlecturerHenryVincentaskedhisaudience:‘For

whomlivedVolney,Voltaire,Mirabaud,Rousseau,Paine,Bentham,Cartwright,Byron,

Shelley,Godwin,Cobbett?’‘[T]heyloved,struggled,anddiedforuniversalman’,Vincent

responded.Vincent’scastandhisstylearefurtherevidenceoftheblendingof

EnlightenmentandRomanticism.Atthesametime,wehaveseenhowtheboundaries

betweenEnlightenmentandRomanticismweremappedontoanaffectivepoliticswhich

pittedreasonagainstfeeling,illustratingtheimportanceoffeelinginpopularpolitics

andtheilluminatingpotentialofthehistoryofemotions.Vincent’sconcluding

injunctiontohisaudiencewasjustasrevealing:‘wewillbuildupupontheirruinsthe

greattempleofdemocraticfreedom,beneathwhosecapaciousarchshallbepromoted

andprotectedtheuniversalhappinessofthegreatfamilyofman’.131

Vincent’spantheon,likethatofthewiderChartistmovement,wasclearlyapaper

one,whichhadcertainadvantagessuchasportabilityandgreatercuratorialownership

andfreedomforindividualstopopulateastheysawfit.Vincenteventookpartofhis

paperpantheonintoprisonintheformofCobbett’sworkswhichhereadintheearly

hoursofeachmorning.132Thestatuesandmonumentsthatweresuchamarkedfeature

ofelitecultureinBritainandelsewhere,wereconspicuousbytheirabsenceinChartism,

andinBritishradicalismmoregenerally.133Inadditiontothesignificantbarriersofcost

andaccesstothepublicsphere,thisabsencemayalsohavereflected,andindeed

reinforced,theshiftingandheterogeneousnatureoftheChartistpaperpantheon.There

wasnoequivalentofan‘authorizedheritagediscourse’operatinginChartism,withthe

131LondonDispatch,17Sept.1837.132People’sHistoryMuseum,Manchester,HenryVincentPapers,VIN1/1/16,HenryVincenttoJohnMinikin,1June1839.133AntonyTaylor,‘Whateverhappenedtoalltheheroes?ThemonumentalfailureofBritishplebeianradicalism,c.1850-1920’(unpublishedessay).

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movement’sleadersandorganizationstryingtodeterminetheformandcontentofits

heritagepolitics.134Asbefitsademocraticmovement,theheritagepoliticsemergedjust

asmuchfrombelowasitdidfromabove.Inclusionsandexclusionsinthepaper

pantheontherecertainlywere,butasthecase-studyofThelwallsuggests,awholeraft

offactors–someofthemcontemporarytothelivesoftheradicalgreats,some

contemporarytothoserememberingandforgetting–accountforpresenceandabsence

inthepantheonofpoliticalandsocialmovements.Bydrawingonrecentworkin

RomanticStudiesonposthumouslife-writing,wehaveseenhowposthumouspotential

wasdependent,inpart,ontheextenttowhichhistoricalfiguresinitiatedadialogue

withposterity,butalsoonadedicatedgroupoffollowerswhoworkcollaborativelyto

furtherposthumouscareers.PaineandCobbett–andevenVolneytosomeextent–had

greatposthumouspotential;Thelwalldidnot.ToreturntoVincentonelasttime.His

metaphoricalallusiontoafuturetempleofdemocraticfreedomisareminderthat

commemoration,theinventionoftraditionandheritagepoliticsareoftenjustas

forward-lookingastheyarebackwards.Inthis,andinsomuchelse,theChartistswere

heirs,custodians,creatorsand,onoccasion,prisoners,ofRomanticmemory.

134Roberts,Chartism,ch.4.