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The Bucks Advertiser
and Aylesbury News, May 1847, the local newspaper serving Tring,
Massey's home town. This article is a critical review of Massey's first
published volume of verse, 'ORIGINAL POEMS AND CHANSONS'.
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The Friend Of The
People, April and May 1851. A two-part review of Massey's
recently published (and earliest surviving) collection, 'VOICES OF
FREEDOM AND LYRICS OF LOVE'. This review ― unattributed, but
probably by Julian Harney ― provides much of the background material on
Massey that later reviewers were to draw on.
――――♦――――
The Ladies'
Repository, August 1851. A brief comment on Massey's "poetic
genius" together with an early poem.
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The Bucks Advertiser and
Aylesbury News, January 1853. A report in the local newspaper
serving Tring, Massey's home town, of two of his lectures on 'MESMERISM',
a subject on which he was to return to over the years. Massey's first
wife, Rosina, was a noted medium and it was through Rosina that Massey
developed his lifelong interest in spiritualism.
――――♦――――
The Athenæum
(No.1371), London, Saturday, February 4th
1854. William Hepworth Dixon reviews the 'BALLAD OF BABE
CHRISTABEL, WITH OTHER LYRIC POEMS' (London, David Bogue).
――――♦――――
Hogg's Instructor
(1854). A 'portrait' of Massey by George Gilfillan based on Masseys'
Babe Christabel and other lyric poems. Gilfillan (1813-78) — a
friend of de Quincy and Carlyle and a Presbyterian Minister (this
article deterioratesinto pious sermonising) — was a highly
influential critic during the middle years of the 19th Century.
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Harper's New Monthly Magazine, June to November 1854. Comments
on 'POEMS AND BALLADS' published by J. C. Derby, New York.
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The Irish Quarterly
Review, Vol. V, 1855. 'POETS OF LABOUR' - following
the biographical notes, the reviewer draws some interesting comparisons
between the life and poetry of Massey and that of the Scottish artisan
poet and radical journalist,
Robert Nicoll, concluding with a stark
warning, that politicians should listen and take heed!
――――♦――――
Harper's New Monthly Magazine, December 1854 to June 1855.
Comments on 'WAR WAITS'.
――――♦――――
The Ladies'
Repository, June, 1855. 'GERALD MASSEY, THE CHARTIST POET',
a comprehensive review of Massey's poetry (at that date) by the Rev. D.
Curry, D.D.
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The Athenæum,
October 1856. 'CRAIGCROOK CASTLE', a generally encouraging review
by the Athenæum's then resident music critic, Henry Fothergill Chorley.
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Littell's Living Age,
December 1856. A review of Massey's 'CRAIGCROOK
CASTLE' collection, then recently published in London by David Bogue.
――――♦――――
Putnam's
Monthly Magazine, July 1857. Comments on an unidentified volume
of Massey's verse recently published by Ticknor and Fields of Boston
(possibly 'THE POETICAL WORKS OF GERALD MASSEY').
――――♦――――
The North American Review, July 1857. Comments on 'POEMS' by
Charles Swain and on 'THE POETICAL WORKS OF GERALD MASSEY'.
――――♦――――
The Poetical Works of
Gerald Massey: pub. Boston, Ticknor and Fields, 1857. 'OPINIONS
OF THE PRESS' - some comments reproduced at the rear of the book.
――――♦――――
Putnam's
Monthly Magazine, July to January, 1857. An extract from....'WHAT
IS POETRY?'
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Robert Burns: A Centenary
Song, and other Lyrics - pub. London, W. Kent and Co., 1859. 'OPINIONS
OF THE PRESS' - some comments reproduced at the rear of the book.
――――♦――――
The Saturday
Review, March 1859. 'ROBERT BURNS, A CENTENARY SONG;
AND OTHER LYRICS.' According to this critic "A certain narrowness of
mind is inseparable from all self-taught geniuses" - Robert Burns
included. Some valid observations, but overall a supercilious
review.
――――♦――――
Littell's Living Age,
May 25, 1861. A review of the 'POETICAL WORKS OF GERALD MASSEY'.
――――♦――――
The Athenæum
(No.1764), London, August 17th 1861. William hepworth
Dixon reviews 'HAVELOCK'S MARCH; AND OTHER POEMS' (London,
Trübner & Co.)
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The Athenæum
(No. 2009), London, April 28th, 1866. William Hepworth
Dixon's fair, if somewhat naïve review of Massey's 'Shakspeare's
Sonnets never before Interpreted : his Private Friends Identified :
together with a recovered Likeness of Himself.' To Dixon the
suggestion of a beautiful, worldly middle-aged woman seducing a teen-age
boy, or perhaps even the reverse, appear quite unthinkable (...if
this passion were genuine, it would be one of the strangest aberrations
of the heart on record).
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The Illustrated London News,
May 5, 1866. Shakspeare's Sonnets and his Private Friends.
A well-balanced and generally sympathetic review. After giving
some helpful pointers, the reviewer leaves the verdict to be decided by
a jury of Shakspearean "experts" and an "enlightened public."
――――♦――――
Notes
and Queries, May 5, 1866. A brief review of Massey's
interpretation, 'Shakspeare's Sonnets, never before interpreted :
his private Friends identified; together with a recorded Likeness of
himself '.
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The
Athenæum: having read Massey's recently published book on the
Shakespeare's Sonnets, Professor Philarète Chasles (1798-1873), eminent
French critic and man of letters, writes to the Athenæum
(Feb. 1867) about aspects of 'The Sonnets', referring to "some very
hard words against the small fry of sceptical critics who fail to chime
in with the author's [Massey's] settled opinions" - the
inevitable Massian broadside in response is not long in coming!
Both articles are re-published here.
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Living Age,
January-March 1867.
'Shakespeare in Domestic Life' - ostensibly a review of 'Shakespeare’s
Sonnets, never before Interpreted; His Private Friends Identified:
together with a Recovered Likeness of Himself'. While the
reviewer says comparatively little — some agreement, some disagreement —
about this, Massey's first published volume of conjectures on the
circumstances of the Sonnets, the article provides an interesting
contemporary view of Shakespeare's life and times.
――――♦――――
The Ladies
Repository, May 1866.
'GERALD MASSEY', by Martha D. Hardie.
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Fortnightly Review,
August 1866. A reasonably argued - but unflattering - review of 'SHAKESPEARE'S
SONNETS NEVER BEFORE INTERPRETED : HIS PRIVATE FRIENDS IDENTIFIED
: together with a recovered likeness of himself.'
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The
Galaxy, September 1, 1866, to December 15, 1866. Comments on
Massey's 'Shakespeare's Sonnets Never Before Interpreted'
: this appears to be an example of a review where its author has
probably given the book no more than cursory glance through, commenting
on a subject about which he knows little.
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The Sun,
28 January, 1870. A generally favourably review of "A Tale of
Eternity and other Poems", although the paper's editor, Charles
Kent, struggles at times to contain his total lack of sympathy for
Massey's spiritualist convictions.
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The
Athenæum, April 9th, 1870. A fairly superficial review of
Massey's new collection, 'A TALE OF ETERNITY AND OTHER POEMS'.
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Harper's New Monthly
Magazine, March 1870. Comments on Massey's newly published 'A
TALE OF ETERNITY'.
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The Globe,
13 May 1872 (p.3), 'AMONG THE SPIRITUALISTS.' A report of
an entertaining but, so far as this critic was concerned, unconvincing
lecture. This article ties in with a report published some 20
years earlier in the
Bucks Advertiser.
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Human Nature, Vol. 6, April 1872. 'THE SECRET DRAMA OF
SHAKESPEAR'S SONNETS, BY GERALD MASSEY.' (The 1888 edition of
this work is available here.)
――――♦――――
Gerald Massey in Chicago:
editorial article, originally published in the Chicago Daily Times (Tuesday
Feb. 17, 1874), on Massey's lecture on 'The Devil' given at Grow's Opera
Hall.
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Scribner's Monthly,
1875. 'MINOR VICTORIAN POETS', a lengthy review of minor British
poets by the noted American literary critic Edmund C. Stedman.
Interesting for Stedman's short section on the Chartist poets, in which
he's generally dismissive of Massey. [Part of the section dealing with
the Chartist poets originally appeared at the end of Part I, but has
been transferred to Part II to bring the material together].
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The Galaxy, 1876.
W. C. BROWNELL's jaundiced views on the subject of
'ENGLISH LECTURERS IN AMERICA.' Although Massey receives short
shrift (here), in this respect
he's in good company. His lecturing in the U.S.A. was sufficiently
lucrative to justify three visits.
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Human Nature, July 1874. 'THE
SERPENT SYMBOL: ITS SPIRITUAL AND PHYSICAL SIGNIFICANCE.'
This, the earliest published account of Massey lecturing on a
mythological subject, took place at Boston, USA, in 1874. At that
time Massey had not researched his theme in depth, and the content still
shows his opinions as theistically influenced. He later presented
this subject in greater detail in his "Natural Genesis" (1883).
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The Scotsman,
May, 1881. A highly sceptical review of Massey's newly published 'A
BOOK OF THE BEGINNINGS'.
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Journal
of Science, Vol. 3, June 1881: a review of the Preface to "The
Book of Beginnings", giving Massey's broad conclusions. "We
salute Mr. Massey as a fellow Evolutionist, though knowing nothing of
him save what we glean from these pages, and we trust his views will
meet with that impartial scrutiny which, we are sure, is all he demands."
――――♦――――
The Quarterly
Journal of Science, Vol. V., July 1883 (pp.414-8): a review
of "The Natural Genesis", Vol. I: "Reluctantly breaking off our
survey of this remarkable book, we can merely hope that what we have
said may at least excite the curiosity of the reader, and lead him
to inquire for himself. We would, indeed, bespeak for Mr.
Massey's work the earnest attention of Evolutionists. To us it
seems that he is turning the only position of importance still held
by our opponents, and that his movement, if properly followed up,
will be decisive."
――――♦――――
Littell's Living Age, August 18, 1883. An extract from 'HALF
A CENTURY OF LITERARY LIFE'.
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The
Athenæum, 29 December, 1883: a short and sceptical
review of Massey's 'THE NATURAL GENESIS', the sole redeeming feature
being to acknowledge that the "immense amount of materials, and the
collection must always have a value for the anthropologist."
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The Brooklyn Eagle,
10 February, 1884.
'SHAKESPEARE'S SONNETS IN A NEW LIGHT'..... "so many literary folk
have taken turns at the sonnets, especially in the last fifty or sixty
years, illuminating them with darkness rather than light, explaining
them opaquely by far fetched theories, that Massey's generally direct,
lucid method appears exceptional." Junius
Henri Browne.
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Gerald Massey
as an Evolutionist, December, 1885. A short, well-balanced
review from the New York Tribune of 'THE NATURAL GENESIS'.
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Medium
and Daybreak, June 18, 1886. Not so much a review as an
advertisement for Massey's 'ELECTION
LYRICS.'
――――♦――――
Medium and Daybreak,
September 10, 1886. 'MASSEY ON SHAKESPEARE AND BURNS.'
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The Scotsman,
22 October, 1886.
A report of Massey lecturing on 'PAUL THE
GNOSTIC NOT A WITNESS FOR HISTORIC CHRISTIANITY.'
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My Lyrical Life, Poems
Old and New
(1889). 'A FEW OPINIONS': a collection of testimonials from such
notables as Ruskin and Arnold, reproduced as part of the introduction to
this two volume set.
――――♦――――
The Saturday
Review, August 31, 1889. 'REVIEWS. A REVIVED POET.'
Become a Spiritualist by all means, sympathise with Woman's Suffrage,
even support home rule for Ireland - but keep it to yourself, or else
the caustic soda will run!
――――♦――――
The Athenæum,
November 9, 1889. 'MY LYRICAL LIFE: POEMS OLD AND NEW.'
Presumably this reviewer never faced any difficulty in paying his
household bills, nor felt for those whose lives were dominated by the
factory bell.
――――♦――――
The Secret Drama of Shakspeare's
Sonnets:
testimonials on Massey's analyses of the Sonnets, reproduced as part of
the introduction to his two volume set, 'My Lyrical Life, Poems Old and
New' (1889).
――――♦――――
The Atlantic Monthly: May 1890. An extract from 'THE
EASTER HARE' by Katharine Hillard.
――――♦――――
The Medium And
Daybreak: February 5, 1892. 'GERALD MASSEY ON SHAKESPEAR'
- An enthusiastic review of the 1890 edition of Massey's 'The Secret
Drama of Shakespear's Sonnets.'
――――♦――――
The Bookman:
November 1897. 'MR. GERALD MASSEY AT HOME' - an interview.
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Echoes of
Iceland in Later Poets: an extract from 'The Influence of Old
Norse Literature upon English Literature' by Conrad Hjalmar Nordby,
1901.
――――♦――――
The Poetry of Mr.
Gerald Massey: By John Churton
Collins and published in 'STUDIES IN POETRY & CRITICISM' (1905).
'.......His revolutionary lyrics have done their work. The
least that can be said for them is, that they are among the very best
inspired by those wild times when Feargus O'Connor, Thomas Cooper, James
[Bronterre] O'Brien and Ernest Jones were in their glory. Of
their effect in awakening and - making all allowance for their
intemperance and extravagance - in educating our infant democracy and
those who were to mould it there can be no question.'
――――♦――――
'Poet and Thinker
- Gerald Massey's Memories And His "Magnum Opus"'. An
interview with Massey shortly before his death in 1907.
――――♦――――
A Short Critique of Gerald
Massey’s work on Shakesapeare’s Sonnets by
Ernie Wingeatt (December, 2008).
". . . . what Massey’s
research lacks is complete intellectual honesty and rigour. This is
emphasised when considering what Akrigg has to say at the end of his
study of Shakespeare and Southampton where he touches precisely on the
problems that a modern academic faces in achieving a truly objective
account of what took place historically. He notes the need for caution
by observing: “all those warning uses of ‘probably’, ‘apparently’,
‘might’ and ‘may’ which scholarly conscience requires” are what he as a
scholar for a moment suspends in order to summarize the probable in
terms of the relationship between the two men.
What should matter about Massey and his ideas on Shakespeare is that
they be studied more for the worth of the understanding it gives to us
of the age in which he [Massey] lived, its view of the world and how he
[Massey] fits into that age, rather than for the work alone. There
is a rich seam of material here for the student of Victorian mores, the
growth of English Literature as a subject for academic study and the
working man’s part in those things. . . ."
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