Published 2020. Paperback, 184pp, 9 x 6ins, £14.95 / $23
ISBN 9781848616172 [Download a sample PDF from this book here.]

Richard Lovelace (1618-1658) was born in 1618, probably in Woolwich, but there is some uncertainty. He was the son of Sir William Lovelace, and the eldest of four brothers, and came from a family of considerable wealth. His father was a soldier in the Low Countries who died in action in the war between Spain and Holland in 1627. Richard was only nine. Because of his father’s services he was given a courtly education and studied at Charterhouse School and at Gloucester House in Oxford. Here he wrote a comedy, The Scholars . In college he was known more for being a social connoisseur than a good student; the ladies loved him. Thus, it was while at Oxford that he gained the reputation for being a Cavalier. King Charles I and Queen Henrietta Maria visited Oxford and were impressed by Lovelace’s work and demeanour. In 1634 he was made an M. A. after only two years study, at the request of visiting Royals.

Lovelace integrated himself into courtly life and served in the King’s military expeditions in Scotland. In 1639 he served under Lord Goring and wrote the poem 'Sonnet. To General Goring about his experiences'. He was given the position of a “Gentlemen Wayter Extraordinary,” and wrote elegies to the Princess Katherine. After the campaign in Scotland failed, he returned to his home in Kent. He is thought to have met fellow Cavalier poet Sir John Suckling, none years his senior, during this time.

In 1641 Lovelace was involved in the destruction of a petition asking for the removal of Episcopalian rule. Then in 1642, he presented a Royalist petition to Parliament asking for the inclusion of Anglican Bishops that had been excluded from the Long Parliament. He was imprisoned in the Gatehouse prison in Westminster for these actions. During this two-month period he wrote 'To Althea. From Prison', from which comes the famous quote "Stone walls do not a prison make, nor iron bars a cage."

Following his release from prison he joined General Goring to fight in the Low Countries like his father. Here he was wounded in battle at Dunkirk. He remained in Holland and France until 1646, and then returned to London. Upon his return he was imprisoned for complications probably involving disturbances in Kent. He was released from prison in 1649, and shortly after published Lucasta . He died in poverty, and probably as a result of his war wounds, in 1658. The church he was buried in was burned down in the great fire of London in 1666.

[Drawn from the details on this site.)

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