Charles Bucke

Charles Bucke (16 April 1781 – 31 July 1846) was an English writer who, despite being poor most of his life, still managed to produce roughly eleven different works, each varying in number of volumes and topics.

Life

Little is recorded concerning the life of Mr. Bucke, but he is remembered for his eloquence with nature writing and a dispute with the actor Edmund Kean. He worked for over thirty years on his publications, often recalling them repeatedly to re-edit them. This caused some of the same works to be published under different titles, most notably his two-volume series "The Philosophy of Nature, or the Influence of Scenery on the Heart and Mind", which he later expanded to four volumes under the title "On the Beauties, Harmonies, and Sublimities of Nature".

Disputes with contemporaries In the midst of writing, Mr. Bucke also clashed on occasion with fellow writers, and, in one instance, an actor, Edmund Kean. In the dispute with Kean, Mr. Bucke relates that in 1817 he submitted his play "The Italians, or; The Fatal Accusation" to the Committee of Management at Drury Lane where it was accepted and put on the bill for future performance. Upon the death of Princess Charlotte of Wales the theatre closed for three weeks out of respect and Bucke conceded his priority in favour of a play that was thought to better appeal to the feelings of the general public regarding the princess's death.

After various delays and assurances that the play was well-liked and would be performed, Kean made an offhand comment suggesting that one of the female supporting actors had a superior role than his and that his part should be rewritten to be more centre-stage, much to the surprise of Bucke. After speaking with the theatre management, the issue was pushed aside in favour of focusing on the current production of a play by Jane Porter, who Kean had a personal dislike for, that was to be shown in February 1819. The play was performed and, according to Bucke who was at opening night (and also according to popular media at the time), it was almost as if the entire production staff and actors were against the play's performance.

Despite a concerted effort by some of the actors, Porter's play was a devastating failure and was not repeated. Upon witnessing this spectacle and bearing in mind the strange reaction he'd received previously from Kean, he went back stage to the management and requested his play to be pulled. After being called back by the theatre's committee and the insistence of the theatre's benefactors that 'The Italians' still be performed, Mr. Bucke then later had it republished with a preface concerning the incident, including excerpts from correspondences between himself, the theatre, and Mr. Kean which was later challenged in two books, The Assailant Assailed and A Defense of Edmund Kean, Esq. The ending result was loss of face on both sides and the play being performed anyway on 3 April 1819 to disastrous results due to the sensationalism surrounding Kean's contempt for the play as well as his behaviour towards the production of Jane Porter's piece beforehand.

Death

Charles Bucke died on 31 July 1846 at the age of 65, presumedly of natural causes, leaving behind a widow, two sons (the eldest recorded as being 'imbecile from birth') and two daughters