Thomas Bowdler facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Thomas Bowdler
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Title page of Bowdler's best-known work
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| Born | 11 July 1754 |
| Died | 24 February 1825 (aged 70) Swansea, Wales
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| Occupation | Physician, editor |
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Notable work
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The Family Shakspeare (1807) |
Thomas Bowdler (1754–1825) was an English doctor and editor. He is best known for publishing The Family Shakespeare. This was a special version of William Shakespeare's plays.
Thomas and his sister, Henrietta Maria Bowdler, wanted to create a version of Shakespeare that was more suitable for families. They aimed to make it safe for women and children in the 1800s. The word bowdlerise comes from his name. It means to remove parts from a book, movie, or TV show that are considered unsuitable or offensive.
Contents
Thomas Bowdler's Life Story
Thomas Bowdler was born in Box, near Bath, Somerset, England. He was the youngest of six children. His father was a wealthy banker.
His Education and Travels
Thomas studied medicine at the University of St Andrews and the University of Edinburgh. He earned his degree in 1776. After finishing his studies, he spent four years traveling across Europe. He visited countries like Germany, Italy, and Portugal.
In 1781, he became ill while in Lisbon. After recovering, he decided he no longer wanted to practice medicine. Instead, he focused on helping to improve prison reform in England.
A Skilled Chess Player
Thomas Bowdler was also a very good chess player. He once played eight games against the best chess player of his time, François-André Danican Philidor. Philidor was so confident that he played with special handicaps. Even with these challenges, Bowdler managed to win two games and draw three others. There is even a chess move called the Bowdler Attack named after him!
Later Life and Works
In 1788, Bowdler published his first book, Letters Written in Holland. This book shared his experiences from a trip to Holland.
From 1811 until his death in 1825, Bowdler lived in Swansea, Wales. He continued to travel widely. In 1815, he wrote a book about traveling to France. He suggested that English people who were sick should avoid French spas. He thought they should go to Malta instead.
His most famous work, The Family Shakspeare, was first published in 1807. It included 20 plays. In 1818, he released a bigger edition with all 36 available plays. This book became very popular.
Before he died, Bowdler also worked on a "cleaned up" version of a history book by Edward Gibbon. This book was published after his death in 1826. Thomas Bowdler died in Swansea at the age of 70.
The Family Shakespeare
When Thomas Bowdler was a child, his father would read Shakespeare's plays to the family. His father would often skip or change parts that he felt were not suitable for his wife and children.
Bowdler realized that not all fathers were as careful as his own. He thought it would be helpful to publish a version of Shakespeare that families could read together without worry.
Making Shakespeare Family-Friendly
The first edition of The Family Shakspeare came out in 1807. It had 24 plays. In 1818, a second, larger edition was published, including all 36 plays. Each play in the book had an introduction. In these introductions, Bowdler explained why he made certain changes to the text.
His nephew later wrote that Thomas's sister, Harriet, actually prepared the first edition. However, it was published under Thomas Bowdler's name. This was probably because it was unusual for a woman at that time to publicly admit to such work. By 1850, the book had been printed eleven times.
The Bowdlers were not the first to try to make Shakespeare more "proper." However, Thomas Bowdler promised that he would only remove sensitive material. He would not add anything new to Shakespeare's original words.
Some people in the literary world saw The Family Shakespeare as a negative example of censorship. But the Bowdler editions made it easier to teach Shakespeare to more people, especially younger audiences. The poet Algernon Charles Swinburne even praised Bowdler. He said that Bowdler made it possible for "intelligent and imaginative children" to read Shakespeare.
Examples of Changes
The word bowdlerise means to remove words or sections from a book or other work. These parts are usually taken out because they are considered unsuitable or offensive. The related noun is bowdlerism.
Here are some examples of the kinds of changes made in Bowdler's edition:
- The exclamation "God!" was often replaced with "Heavens!"
It's important to know that some changes often linked to Bowdler were actually made by others. For example, the famous line "Out, damned spot!" from Macbeth was changed to "Out, crimson spot!" This change was made by Thomas Bulfinch and Stephen Bulfinch in their 1865 edition, not by Bowdler himself.
See also
In Spanish: Thomas Bowdler para niños
