John Hoole facts for kids
John Hoole (born December 1727, died August 2, 1803) was an English writer and translator. He was known for turning famous Italian stories into English. John's father, Samuel Hoole, was a mechanic. His mother, Sarah Drury, came from a family of clockmakers in Clerkenwell, London. John Hoole was also a close friend of the famous writer Samuel Johnson.
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About John Hoole's Family
John Hoole was born in Moorfields, a part of London. In 1757, he married Susannah Smith. She was a Quaker from Bishop's Stortford. They had one son, Samuel Hoole. Their son grew up to be a poet and a religious writer.
John Hoole's Career and Writings
John Hoole worked for a company called India House from 1744 to 1783. This company managed trade with India. He rose to a high position there, becoming a main auditor. An auditor checks financial records. Because of his job, he wrote a book in 1772 about the company's business. It was called Present State of the English East India Company's Affairs.
While working, John Hoole also spent a lot of time translating. He translated famous Italian poems into English. These included Jerusalem Delivered by Torquato Tasso in 1763. He also translated Orlando Furioso by Ludovico Ariosto between 1773 and 1783. He translated other Italian works too. Hoole also wrote three plays, but they were not very successful. One of them was Cleonice, Princess of Bithynia.
Friendships and Legacy
John Hoole was a close friend of the famous writer Samuel Johnson. Hoole even wrote about Johnson's last days in a magazine called the European Magazine in 1799. The poet Robert Southey remembered that Hoole's translation of Jerusalem Delivered was the very first book he ever owned.
People often described John Hoole as a friendly person. However, some felt his translations weren't as good as the original works. Sir Walter Scott once joked that Hoole was like someone who could "turn gold into lead." This meant his translations sometimes lost the beauty of the original stories.
After Samuel Johnson passed away, David Barclay of Youngsbury asked Hoole to write a biography. This was about Barclay's friend John Scott of Amwell. Johnson had originally planned to write it, but he died before he could.
Selected Plays by John Hoole
- Cyrus (1768)
- Timanthes (1770)
- Cleonice, Princess of Bithynia (1775)
