A Short Biographical Dictionary of English Literature. John W. Cousin
Fife, and ed. at St. Andrews, went to London in 1824, where he wrote largely for the "Society for the Promotion of Useful Knowledge." In 1849 he was appointed Prof. of English Literature and History at Belfast. Among his books are The Pursuit of Knowledge under Difficulties (1831), History of British Commerce (1844), and History of English Literature and the English Language (1861). He was also joint author of The Pictorial History of England, and wrote books on Spenser and Bacon.
CRANMER, THOMAS (1489–1556).—Theologian and Churchman, b. at Aslacton, Notts, ed. at Camb., and became an eminent classical and biblical scholar. He supported Henry VIII. in his divorce proceedings against Queen Catherine, gained the King's favour, and obtained rapid preferment, ending with the Primacy. He was one of the chief promoters of the Reformation in England. On the accession of Mary, he was committed to the Tower, and after a temporary failure of courage and constancy, suffered martyrdom at the stake. It is largely to C. that we owe the stately forms of the Book of Common Prayer. He also wrote over 40 works, and composed several hymns; but the influence of the Prayer-book in fixing the language is his great, though indirect, service to our literature.
Fox's Book of Martyrs, Strype's Memorials of Cranmer, Hook's Lives of Archbishops of Canterbury, etc.
CRASHAW, RICHARD (1613?-1649).—Poet, s. of William C., a Puritan divine, was b. in London, and ed. at Charterhouse and Camb., where he became a Fellow of Peterhouse, from which, however, he was, in 1643, ejected for refusing to take the Solemn League and Covenant. Thereafter he went to France, and joined the Roman communion. He suffered great straits, being almost reduced to starvation, but was, through the influence of Queen Henrietta Maria, appointed Sec. to Cardinal Palotta. About 1649 he went to Italy, and in the following year became a canon of the Church of Loretto. He d. the same year. C. is said to have been an eloquent preacher, and was a scholar as well as a poet of a high order in the ecstatic and transcendental style. His chief work is Steps to the Temple (1646), consisting mainly of religious poems somewhat in the style of Herbert; his Weeping of the Magdalen is full of the most extravagant conceits, a fondness for which is, indeed, his besetting sin as a poet. His friend Cowley commemorated him in a beautiful ode.
CRAWFORD, FRANCIS MARION (1854–1909).—Novelist and historian, s. of Thomas C., an American sculptor, b. at Bagni di Lucca, Italy, and ed. in America, at Camb., and in Germany, he went to India and ed. The Indian Herald (1879–80). Thereafter he settled in Italy, living chiefly at Sorrento, and becoming a Roman Catholic. His principal historical works are Ave Roma Immortalis (1898), The Rulers of the South (reprinted as Sicily, Calabria, and Malta, 1904), and Venetian Gleanings (1905), but his reputation rests mainly on his novels, of which he wrote between 30 and 40, the best known of which are perhaps Mr. Isaacs (1882), Dr. Claudius (1883), A Roman Singer (1884), Marzio's Crucifix (1887), Saracinesca (1887), A Cigarette-maker's Romance (1890), generally considered his masterpiece, Don Orsino (1892), Pietro Ghisleri (1893), and The Heart of Rome (1903). His one play is Francesca, da Rimini. His novels are all interesting, and written in a style of decided distinction. His historical works, though full of information, lack spirit.
CREASY, SIR EDWARD SHEPHERD (1812–1878).—Historian, ed. at Eton and Camb., and called to the Bar in 1837, he became in 1840 Prof. of History, London Univ., and in 1860 Chief Justice of Ceylon, when he was knighted. His best known contribution to literature is his Fifteen Decisive Battles of the World (1852). Other works are Historical and Critical Account of the Several Invasions of England (1852), History of the Ottoman Turks, and Imperial and Colonial Institutions of the British Empire (1872).
CREECH, THOMAS (1659–1700).—Translator, b. near Sherborne, ed. at Oxf., became Head Master of Sherborne School. He translated Lucretius in verse (1682), for which he received a Fellowship at Oxf., also Horace, Theocritus, and other classics. Owing to a disappointment in love and pecuniary difficulties he hanged himself.
CREIGHTON, MANDELL (1843–1901).—Churchman and historian, b. at Carlisle, and ed. at Durham Grammar School and Merton Coll., Oxf., he took orders, and was presented to the living of Embleton, Northumberland, in 1875, where, in addition to zealous discharge of pastoral duties, he pursued the historical studies on the results of which his reputation chiefly rests. In 1882 the first two vols. of his History of the Papacy appeared, followed by two more in 1887, and a fifth in 1894. In 1884 he was appointed first Dixie Prof. of Ecclesiastical History at Camb. He ed. the English Historical Review (1886–91). In 1891, after having held canonries at Worcester and Windsor, he became Bishop of Peterborough, from which he was in 1897 translated to London. His duties as Bishop of London made the completion of his great historical work an impossibility. He wrote in addition to it various text-books on history, a life of Queen Elizabeth, a memoir of Sir George Grey, and many articles and reviews. He was recognised as a leading authority on the department of history to which he had specially devoted himself, and he made his mark as a Churchman.
CROKER, JOHN WILSON (1780–1857).—Politician and miscellaneous writer. Ed. at Trinity Coll., Dublin, he entered Parliament as a Tory, and was appointed to various offices, including the Secretaryship of the Admiralty, which he held for 20 years. He was one of the founders of the Quarterly Review, and wrote some of its most violent political articles and reviews. He pub. in 1831 an ed. of Boswell's Life of Johnson. He also wrote some historical essays and satirical pieces.
CROKER, THOMAS CROFTON (1798–1854).—Irish Antiquary, b. at Cork, for some years held a position in the Admiralty. He devoted himself largely to the collection of ancient Irish poetry and folk-lore. Among his publications are Researches in the South of Ireland (1824), Fairy Legends and Traditions of the South of Ireland (1825–27), Popular Songs of Ireland (1837), Daniel O'Rourke (1829), and Barney Mahoney (1832). He assisted in founding the "Camden" and "Percy" Societies.
CROLY, GEORGE (1780–1860).—Poet, novelist, historian, and divine, b. at Dublin, and ed. at Trinity Coll. there, he took orders and became Rector of St. Stephen's, Walbrook, and had a high reputation as a preacher. He wrote poems, dramas, satires, novels, history, and theological works, and attained some measure of success in all. Perhaps his best known works are his novels, Salathiel (1829), founded on the legend of "the wandering Jew," and Mareton (1846). His chief contribution to theological literature is an exposition of the Apocalypse.
CROWE, CATHERINE (STEVENS) (1800–1876).—Wrote dramas, children's books, and one or two novels, including Susan Hopley (1841), and Lilly Dawson (1847), but is chiefly remembered for her Night-side of Nature (1848), a collection of stories of the supernatural. Though somewhat morbid she had considerable talent.
CROWE, EYRE EVANS (1799–1868).—Historian and novelist, s. of an officer in the army, b. near Southampton, and ed. at Trinity Coll., Dublin. He wrote several novels, including Vittoria Colonna, To-day in Ireland (1825), The English in France (1828), and Charles Dalmer (1853). Among his historical works are a History of France in Lardner's Cabinet Encyclopædia, afterwards enlarged and separately pub., and a History of Louis XVIII. and Charles X.
CROWE, SIR JOSEPH ARCHER (1825–1896).—Writer on art, s. of the above, was b. in London. Most of his childhood was spent in France, and on his return to England in 1843 he became a journalist. He was then for some years engaged in educational work in India, and was afterwards war correspondent for the Times on various occasions, and filled various important consular posts, for which he was in 1890 made K.C.M.G. In collaboration with G.B. Cavalcasselle, an Italian refugee, he was the author of several authoritative works on art, including The Early Flemish Painters (1856), A New History of Painting in Italy (1864–68), A History of Painting in North Italy (1871), Titian, His Life and Times (1877), and Raphael, His Life and Works (1883–85). The actual