The Life and Letters of the Rev. Richard Harris Barham .: With a Selection from His Miscellaneous Poems Volume 1

The Life And Letters Of The Rev. Richard Harris Barham.: With A Selection From His Miscellaneous Poems by R. H. Barham is a two?volume biographical work that presents the life of the English cleric commonly known as Thomas Ingoldsby, the author of The Ingoldsby Legends. The work is published as a memoir by Barham’s son and blends narrative with his letters and diary entries to trace Barham’s ancestry, education, ecclesiastical career, and years in London, along with his country living. The editor explains that the biography is not a comprehensive chronology but a compilation focused on leisure hours, anecdotes, and incidental details, drawing heavily on family correspondence and contemporaries. The text intertwines Barham’s clerical duties with social life and literary circles, including friendships with Dr. Blomberg, Dr. Cannon, Theodore Hook, Sir Walter Scott, Sydney Smith, Moore, and O’Connell. It also covers parish politics, ghost stories, the Garrick Club, and the cultural milieu of early 19th?century England, portraying Barham as a humane, energetic parish priest with wit and wide sympathetic reach.