Thomas Bowdler
Thomas Bowdler (
July 11,
1754 –
February 24,
1825) was an
English physician who published a
censored edition of
Shakespeare's work so that it would be considered appropriate for children.
The Family Shakespeare was published in 10 volumes, and had considerable success—four editions having been published before
1824 (and others after his death, in
1831,
1853, and
1861). This expurgation was the subject of some criticism and ridicule—and his name is now permanently associated with the
whitewashing of literature in the
eponym bowdlerise (or
bowdlerize[The "-ise" form is common in British English and Australian English, "-ize" is most commonly used in American English.])
Bowdler was not the first to undertake such a project—and despite being considered a negative example, his efforts made it possible to teach Shakespeare to new audiences. Poet
Algernon Swinburne said, "More nauseous and foolish cant was never chattered than that which would deride the memory or depreciate the merits of Bowdler. No man ever did better service to Shakespeare than the man who made it possible to put him into the hands of intelligent and imaginative children."
Bowdler was born near
Bath, the son of a gentleman of independent means, studied medicine at
St. Andrews and at
Edinburgh, where he took his degree in
1776, but did not practice, devoting himself instead to the cause of prison reform.
He was a strong
chess player for his day, and played a game against the best chess player of the time,
François-André Danican Philidor [
1], who was confident enough of his superiority to Bowdler that he gave
odds. The first recorded game to feature a double
Rook sacrifice was played between Bowdler (white) and H. Conway at London in 1788.[
2]
In
1818, after retiring to the
Isle of Wight, he published his
Family Shakespeare, in which he "endeavoured to remove every thing that could give just offence to the religious and virtuous mind" and "in which nothing is added to the original text, but those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family." The first edition appeared in
1807 and was written by his sister Henrietta, but attributed to her brother until the twentieth century, since women were not expected to be able to identify anything which could give 'offence to the religious and virtuous mind.' Bowdler subsequently attempted to do the same with the works of historian
Edward Gibbon, a project which was not as successful.
He later settled in south
Wales, where he died, and is buried at
Oystermouth in
Swansea. His large
library, consisting of volumes collected by his ancestors Thomas Bowdler (
1638-
1700) and Thomas Bowdler (
1661-
1738), was donated to the
University of Wales, Lampeter.
* In
Hamlet, the death of
Ophelia was euphemistically referred to as an accidental
drowning rather than the deliberate suicide implied by Shakespeare.
* In
Macbeth, Lady Macbeth's famous cry "Out, damned spot!" was changed to "Out, crimson spot!"
*
Dr. Bowdler's Legacy: a history of expurgated books in England and America, by Noel Perrin. David R. Godine, Boston, 1969. ISBN 0-87923-861-5.
** note also 1992 extended edition - Nonpareil, Boston, 1992. ISBN 0-87923-861-5.
