Bowdler, Thomas

Bowdler, Thomas
born July 11, 1754, Ashley, near Bath, Somerset, Eng.
died Feb. 24, 1825, Rhydding, near Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales

English physician, philanthropist, and man of letters.

He is known for his Family Shakspeare (1818), in which, by expurgation and paraphrase, he aimed to provide an edition of the plays suitable for a father to read aloud to his family without fear of offending their susceptibilities or corrupting their minds. The first edition (1807) contained a selection of 20 plays that probably were expurgated by Bowdler's sister, Harriet.

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▪ British physician and writer
born July 11, 1754, Ashley, near Bath, Somerset, Eng.
died Feb. 24, 1825, Rhydding, near Swansea, Glamorganshire, Wales

      English doctor of medicine, philanthropist, and man of letters, known for his Family Shakspeare (1818), in which, by expurgation and paraphrase, he aimed to provide an edition of Shakespeare's plays that he felt was suitable for a father to read aloud to his family without fear of offending their susceptibilities or corrupting their minds. Bowdler sought to preserve all Shakespeare's “beauties” without the “blemishes” introduced (he supposed) to please a licentious age. Bowdler also prepared an expurgated edition, published in 1826, of Edward Gibbon's The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.

      Although criticized for tampering with Shakespeare's text, Bowdler deserves credit for making the plays known to a wide audience. The word bowdlerize, current by 1838 as a synonym for expurgate and now used in a pejorative sense, remains his most lasting memorial.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • BOWDLER, THOMAS —    an English physician; edited expurgated editions of Shakespeare and Gibbon in the interest of moral purity; added in consequence a new term to the English language, Bowdlerism (1754 1825) …   The Nuttall Encyclopaedia

  • Bowdler, Thomas — (1754 1825)    Editor of The Family Shakespeare, b. near Bath, s. of a gentleman of independent fortune, studied medicine at St. Andrews and at Edin., where he took his degree in 1776, but did not practise, devoting himself instead to the cause… …   Short biographical dictionary of English literature

  • Thomas Bowdler — (* 11. Juli 1754 in der Nähe von Bath; † 24. Februar 1825 in Wales) war ein englischer Arzt, der eine nach moralischen Zensurkriterien bereinigte Ausgabe der Werke von William Shakespeare veröffentlichte. Dieses Vorgehen rief unter Zeitgenossen… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Bowdler — Thomas Bowdler (* 11. Juli 1754 in der Nähe von Bath; † 24. Februar 1825 in Wales) war ein englischer Arzt, der eine nach moralischen Zensurkriterien bereinigte Ausgabe der Werke von William Shakespeare veröffentlichte. Dieses Vorgehen rief unter …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Thomas — /tom euhs/ for 1, 2, 4 14; /taw mah / for 3, n. 1. an apostle who demanded proof of Christ s Resurrection. John 20:24 29. 2. Augustus, 1857 1934, U.S. playwright, journalist, and actor. 3. (Charles Louis) Ambroise /shannrddl lwee ahonn brddwannz… …   Universalium

  • Thomas Bowdler — (IPA IPA|/ˈbaʊdlə/) (July 11, 1754 ndash; February 24, 1825) was an English physician who published an expurgated edition of William Shakespeare s work that he considered to be more appropriate for women and children than the original. He… …   Wikipedia

  • Thomas Bowdler — (IPA /ˈbaʊdlə/) (11 de julio de 1754 – 24 de febrero de 1825) fue un médico y ajedrecista inglés que publicó Family Shakespeare, una versión de las obras de William Shakespeare modificada para que fuera, según su criterio, más apropiada que el… …   Wikipedia Español

  • Bowdler — Bowdler, a prominent Shropshire family descended from Baldwin de Boulers.People with the given name Bowdler:* George Bowdler Buckton (1818 1905), English entomologist * Richard Bowdler Sharpe (1847 1909), English zoologistPeople with the surname… …   Wikipedia

  • Bowdler (disambiguation) — Bowdler, a prominent Shropshire family descended from Baldwin de Boulers.People with the given name Bowdler:* George Bowdler Buckton (1818 1905), English entomologist * Richard Bowdler Sharpe (1847 1909), English zoologistPeople with the surname… …   Wikipedia

  • Thomas Bowdler — (1754 1825) est un médecin anglais qui publia une version expurgée des œuvres de William Shakespeare, version qu’il considérait plus appropriée pour les femmes et les enfants. Il publia de la même façon une version d’Histoire de la décadence et… …   Wikipédia en Français

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