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{{short description|
{{about|the 18th-century author|others|Richard Steele (disambiguation)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2020}}
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| alt = Portrait of Sir Richard Steele
| caption = Portrait by [[Jonathan Richardson]]
| birth_date =
| birth_place = [[Dublin]], Ireland
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1729|9|1|
| death_place = [[Carmarthen]], Wales
| alma_mater = [[Christ Church, Oxford]] <br /> [[Merton College, Oxford]]▼
▲| alma_mater = [[Christ Church, Oxford]]<br>[[Merton College, Oxford]]
▲| occupation = Writer and politician
| known_for = Founder of ''[[The Spectator (1711)|The Spectator]]''
}}
'''Sir Richard Steele''' (
[[File:Godfrey Kneller (1646-1723) - Sir Richard Steele - NPG 3227 - National Portrait Gallery.jpg|thumb|A {{circa|1712}} [[Kit-cat Club|Kit-Cat Portrait]] of Steele by [[Godfrey Kneller]]]]
==Early life==
Steele was born in [[Dublin]], [[Ireland]], in
His father died when he was four, and his mother a year later.
A member of the Protestant gentry, he was educated at [[Charterhouse School]], where he first met Addison. After starting at [[Christ Church, Oxford]], he went on to [[Merton College, Oxford]], then joined the [[Life Guards (British Army)|Life Guards]] of the [[Household Cavalry]] in order to support King William's [[Nine Years' War|wars against France]]. He was commissioned in 1697, and rose to the rank of captain within two years.<ref>{{Cite ODNB|id=26347|title=Steele, Sir Richard}}</ref>
In 1706 Steele was appointed to a position in the household of [[Prince George of Denmark]], consort of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain]]. He also gained the favour of [[Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Robert Harley]], [[Earl of Oxford]].▼
==
Steele's first published work, ''The Christian Hero'' (1701), attempted to point out the differences between perceived and actual masculinity. Written while Steele served in the army, it expressed his idea of a pamphlet of moral instruction. ''The Christian Hero'' was ultimately ridiculed for what some thought was hypocrisy because Steele did not necessarily follow his own preaching. He was criticized
Steele became a [[British Whig Party|Whig]] Member of Parliament in 1713, for [[Stockbridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockbridge]].<ref>{{HistoryofParliament |1690|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/steele-richard-1672-1729|last=Hanham|first=Andrew A.|title=Steele, Richard (1672-1729), of Bloomsbury Square, London, and Llangunnor, Carm.}}</ref> He was soon expelled for issuing a pamphlet in favor of the [[Hanoverian succession]]. When [[George I of Great Britain]] came to the throne in the following year, Steele was knighted and given responsibility for the [[Theatre Royal, Drury Lane]], London. He returned to parliament in 1715, for [[Boroughbridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Boroughbridge]].<ref>{{HistoryofParliament |1715|last=Lea|first=R. S.|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1715-1754/member/steele-richard-1672-1729|title=Steele, Richard (1672-1729), of Llangunnor, Carm.}}</ref>▼
Steele wrote a comedy that same year titled ''The Funeral''. This play met with wide success and was performed at Drury Lane, bringing him to the attention of the King and the Whig party. Next, Steele wrote ''[[The Lying Lover]]'' (1703), one of the first sentimental comedies, but a failure on stage.
While at Drury Lane, Steele wrote and directed the [[sentimental comedy]] ''[[The Conscious Lovers]]'', which was an immediate hit. However, he fell out with Addison and with the administration over the [[Peerage Bill]] (1719), and in 1724 he retired to his second wife's homeland of [[Wales]], where he spent the remainder of his life.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Life of Sir Richard Steele|url=http://www.luminarium.org/eightlit/steele/steelebio.htm|website=Luminarium: Anthology of English Literature}}</ref>▼
Steele was a member of the Whig [[Kit-Kat Club]]. Both Steele and Addison became closely associated with Child's Coffee-house in [[St Paul's Churchyard]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Michael North |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9sFEdVbQ1MUC&pg=PA154 |title='Material Delight and the Joy of Living': Cultural Consumption in the Age of Enlightenment in Germany
Steele left the army in 1705, perhaps due to the death of the 34th Foot's commanding officer, [[Robert Lucas, 3rd Baron Lucas of Shenfield|Lord Lucas]], which limited his opportunities of promotion.
Steele remained in Carmarthen after his wife Mary's death, and was buried there, at [[St Peter's Church, Carmarthen|St Peter's Church]]. During restoration of the church in 2000, his skull was discovered in a lead casket, having previously been accidentally disinterred during the 1870s.▼
Also in 1705, Steele married a widow, Margaret Stretch, who died in the following year. After Margaret's death, a [[slave plantation]] she owned in [[Barbados]] came into the ownership of Steele.<ref>{{cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gcBkAwAAQBAJ&dq=richard+steele+plantation&pg=PA132 |title=The Epistolary Correspondence of Sir Richard Steele |date=22 May 2014 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=9781108074018}}</ref> At her funeral he met his second wife, [[Mary Steele|Mary Scurlock]], whom he nicknamed "Prue" and married in 1707. In the course of their courtship and marriage, he wrote over 400 letters to her.
▲Steele's first published work, ''The Christian Hero'' (1701), attempted to point out the differences between perceived and actual masculinity. Written while Steele served in the army, it expressed his idea of a pamphlet of moral instruction. ''The Christian Hero'' was ultimately ridiculed for what some thought was hypocrisy because Steele did not necessarily follow his own preaching. He was criticized{{By whom|date=March 2013}} for publishing a booklet about morals when he himself enjoyed drinking, occasional dueling, and debauchery around town.
Steele wrote
▲In 1706 Steele was appointed to a position in the household of [[Prince George of Denmark]], consort of [[Anne, Queen of Great Britain]]. He also gained the favour of [[Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer|Robert Harley]], [[Earl of Oxford]].
He wrote a [[preface]] to Addison's 1716 comedy play ''[[The Drummer (play)|The Drummer]]''.▼
''[[Tatler (1709)|The Tatler]]'', Steele's first public journal, first came out on 12 April 1709, and appeared three times a week: on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays.
Steele described his motive in writing ''The Tatler'' as "to expose the false arts of life, to pull off the disguises of cunning, vanity, and affectation, and to recommend a general simplicity in our dress, our discourse, and our behaviour".<ref name="Herrig1869">{{cite book |author=Ludwig Christian Friedrich Herrig |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_BLAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA138 |title=The British Classical Authors: Select Specimens of the National Literature of England with Biographical and Critical Sketches. Poetry and Prose |
[[File:Joseph Addison and Richard Steele.jpg|thumb|Of the 271 essays published in ''[[Tatler (1709)|The Tatler]]'', Joseph Addison (left) wrote 42, Richard Steele (right) wrote roughly 188, and the rest were collaborations between the two writers.]]▼
''The Tatler'' was closed down in early 1711 to avoid the complications of running a Whig publication that had come under Tory attack.<ref>{{cite book |author=Ross Eaman
▲''[[Tatler (1709)|The Tatler]]'', Steele's first journal, first came out on 12 April 1709, and appeared three times a week: on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays. Steele wrote this periodical under the pseudonym [[Isaac Bickerstaff]] and gave Bickerstaff an entire, fully developed personality.
Steele had an illegitimate child, Elizabeth Ousley, whom he later adopted.▼
▲Steele described his motive in writing ''The Tatler'' as "to expose the false arts of life, to pull off the disguises of cunning, vanity, and affectation, and to recommend a general simplicity in our dress, our discourse, and our behaviour".<ref name="Herrig1869">{{cite book|author=Ludwig Christian Friedrich Herrig|title=The British Classical Authors: Select Specimens of the National Literature of England with Biographical and Critical Sketches. Poetry and Prose|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=f_BLAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA138|year=1869|publisher=George Westermann|page=138}}</ref> Steele founded the magazine, and although he and Addison collaborated, Steele wrote the majority of the essays; Steele wrote roughly 188 of the 271 total and Addison 42, with 36 representing the pair's collaborative works. While Addison contributed to ''The Tatler'', it is widely regarded as Steele's work.<ref name="MAURER1991">{{cite book|author=Shawn Lisa Maurer|title=Reforming Men: Gender, Sexuality, and Class in the Early English Periodical|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=olkeAQAAMAAJ|year=1991|publisher=University of Michigan|page=116}}</ref>
== Parliamentary and late literary life ==
▲''The Tatler'' was closed down to avoid the complications of running a Whig publication that had come under Tory attack.<ref>{{cite book|author=Ross Eaman|title=The A to Z of Journalism|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=e98aMyleL-cC&pg=PA271|year=2009|publisher=Scarecrow Press|isbn=978-0-8108-7067-3|pages=271–2}}</ref> Addison and Steele then founded ''[[The Spectator (1711)|The Spectator]]'' in 1711 and also the ''[[The Guardian (1713)|Guardian]]'' in 1713.
▲Steele became a [[British Whig Party|Whig]] Member of Parliament in 1713, for [[Stockbridge (UK Parliament constituency)|Stockbridge]].<ref>{{HistoryofParliament |1690|url=http://www.historyofparliamentonline.org/volume/1690-1715/member/steele-richard-1672-1729|last=Hanham|first=Andrew A.|title=Steele, Richard (1672-1729), of Bloomsbury Square, London, and Llangunnor, Carm.}}</ref> He was soon expelled for issuing a pamphlet in
▲He wrote a [[preface]] to Addison's 1716 comedy play ''[[The Drummer (play)|The Drummer]]''.
In 1705, Steele married a widow, Margaret Stretch, who died in the following year. At her funeral he met his second wife, [[Mary Steele|Mary Scurlock]], whom he nicknamed "Prue" and married in 1707. In the course of their courtship and marriage, he wrote over 400 letters to her. Mary died in 1718, at a time when she was considering separation. Their daughter, Elizabeth (Steele's only surviving legitimate child), married John Trevor, 3rd [[Baron Trevor]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Elizabeth (Steele), Lady Trevor|url=http://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/portrait/mw06401/Elizabeth-Steele-Lady-Trevor#sitter|publisher=[[National Portrait Gallery, London]]}}</ref>▼
▲
▲Steele had an illegitimate child, Elizabeth Ousley, whom he later adopted.
Steele ended his parliamentary career in March 1722.
While at Drury Lane, Steele wrote and directed the [[sentimental comedy]] ''[[The Conscious Lovers]]'', which was an immediate hit on stage in November 1722.
== Retirement ==
▲
▲Steele
▲[[File:Joseph Addison and Richard Steele.jpg|thumb|Of the 271 essays published in ''[[Tatler (1709)|The Tatler]]'', Joseph Addison (left) wrote 42, Richard Steele (right) wrote roughly 188, and the rest were collaborations between the two writers.]]
==In literature==
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==References==
{{reflist |refs=
<ref name=DNB>{{cite DNB |wstitle=Steele, Richard (1672-1729) |last=Dobson |first=Austin |authorlink=Henry Austin Dobson|volume=54 |pages=130–137 |quote= |vb= |supplement= |no-icon= |title= |url= |display= |access-date=}}</ref>
}}
==External links==
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{{commons category}}
{{wikiquote}}
* {{FadedPage|id=Steele, Richard|name=Richard Steele|author=yes}}
* {{StandardEbooks|Standard Ebooks URL=https://standardebooks.org/ebooks/richard-steele}}
* {{Librivox author |id=13619}}
* {{cite book | first=George Atherton|last=Aitken |authorlink=George Atherton Aitken| title=The Life of Richard Steele | year=1889 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-ubqvcp2yN8C}}
* {{Gutenberg author |id=
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Richard Steele}}
* [http://essays.quotidiana.org/steele/ Essays by Steele at Quotidiana.org]
* {{cite book |author=Dobson, Austin |title=Richard Steele |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=A8NpAAAAMAAJ |place=New York|publisher=D. Appleton & Co |year=1886 }}
* [http://www.luminarium.org/eightlit/steele/steelebio.htm Biography], luminarium.org
* [http://www.libraryireland.com/biography/SirRichardSteele.php Profile], libraryireland.com
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[[Category:
[[Category:1729 deaths]]
[[Category:Politicians from County Dublin]]
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[[Category:British MPs 1722–1727]]
[[Category:Irish magazine editors]]
[[Category:Irish slave owners]]
[[Category:17th-century Irish people]]
[[Category:18th-century Irish dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Expelled members of the Parliament of Great Britain]]
[[Category:18th-century Irish male writers]]
[[Category:Knights Bachelor]]
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