Epitaph for Sir D----y R---r, Kn---t.

(RYDER, Sir Dudley)

Published by (London, n.p.) [1756], 1756

About this Item

Light fold marks. 43.5 x 14.5cm. ESTC T87673, BL and Harvard only. A savage satirical slip-song, in the form of a mock epitaph on the death of Sir Dudley Ryder, Lord Chief Justice, who died the night before he was due to be elevated to the peerage [as 1st Earl of Harrowby]. 'A true Time-serving Spirit / in spite of Genius, / from the basest Original, / he acquired the immense Sum / of Three hundred thousand Pounds; / and wriggled himself into the Post / of Att----y G-----l.' His diary, written in shorthand, when he was a young Dissenter law student in London in 1715-1716 is an important source for contemporary social commentary. In the 1970's his notes, also in shorthand and kept whilst an Old Bailey judge, were discovered, and described as vastly more detailed than any previously known for the 18th century. His progress through the law however saw him characterised as a shameless social climber. See: Langbein, John H. Shaping the Eighteenth-Century Criminal Trial: A View from the Ryder Sources. 1983.

Seller Inventory # 97372

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Epitaph for Sir D----y R---r, Kn---t.
• Publisher: (London, n.p.) [1756]
• Publication Date: 1756