Edward Roome facts for kids

Edward Roome was an English lawyer and writer who lived in the early 1700s. He is best known for helping to write a popular comic opera called The Jovial Crew.

Edward Roome: A Lawyer and Writer

Who Was Edward Roome?

Edward Roome was the son of a person who arranged funerals in London. He grew up learning about law and became a lawyer. In 1728, he got an important job as the Solicitor to the Treasury. This meant he was a top lawyer working for the government. Edward Roome passed away in 1729.

Edward Roome and Alexander Pope

The famous poet Alexander Pope mentioned Edward Roome in his long poem The Dunciad. One person who wrote about Pope said that Roome wrote some articles called Pasquin. In these articles, Roome tried to make Pope look bad. He suggested Pope was involved in unfriendly actions with an important person who was facing government investigation.

Pope responded in his poem The Dunciad. He linked Roome's "funereal frown" with other serious-looking people. This was Pope's way of getting back at Roome for his comments.

A Poetic Jab

Pope also shared a short poem, called an epigram, that was made about Roome:

This epigram suggests that Roome was funny when you saw him in person. But when he wrote things down, his writing wasn't as exciting. The poem playfully says his jokes needed his face to make them work!

The Comic Opera: The Jovial Crew

About fourteen months after Edward Roome died, a comic opera called The Jovial Crew was performed. It opened at the Drury Lane theatre in London in 1731. This opera was based on an older play by Richard Brome called A Jovial Crew.

For the opera, some parts of the original play were shortened or removed. Many new songs were added, making a total of fifty-three songs! Edward Roome worked on this opera with Matthew Concanen and Sir William Yonge. The new, livelier opera was very successful. It was performed many times over the years.