- Robert Heron
Infobox Writer
name = Robert Heron
imagesize =
caption =
birthname =
birthdate = birth date|1764|11|6|df=yesNew Galloway ,Scotland
deathdate = death date and age|1807|4|13|1764|11|6|df=yes
occupation =Writer
notableworks = "The Comforts of Life".
influences =
influenced =
Robert Heron (
November 6 ,1764 -April 13 ,1807 ) was a Scottishwriter , born inNew Galloway ,Scotland . His father, John Heron, was a weaver. He attended theUniversity of Edinburgh , where he supported himself as a teacher and a translator from the French. He lived beyond his means, and was imprisoned for debt in1791 .While in
debtor's prison , he started a "History of Scotland". As a singular coincidence,John Pinkerton published a similar book under the same name using thepseudonym of Robert Heron. He was released in1793 and finished the work in six volumes. At the same time, he toured western Scotland, and wrote two volumes of "A Journey through the Western Parts of Scotland". In1796 , he wrote a five volume "Universal Geography" for R. Morison & Son, Booksellers, Perth.The same year, he wrote a play, "St Kilda in Edinburgh; or, News from Camperdown", but the only performance was so poorly received that it was stopped before it reached the second act.
After the death of his sister, Mary, in
1798 , he left Scotland forLondon . At first, he was an industrious and successful writer, but he fell into bad habits and sank into debt. He spent the last years of his life imprisoned for debt inNewgate Prison . His life there was described inIsaac D'Israeli 's "Calamities of Authors".In 1806, he wrote a
pamphlet addressed toWilliam Wilberforce on "The Justice and Expediency of theSlave Trade ". He also wrote aboutchemistry and shortly before his death he published "The Comforts of Life", which proved popular.He died in poverty on April 13, 1807.
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