"Mr Thomas Clio Rickman, the Citizen of the World". Illustration by Robert Dighton (?1752-1814), from Kirby's Wonderful and Eccentric Museum or Magazine of Remarkable Characters, 1820. Courtesy Lewes Quakers.
Thomas "Clio" Rickman (27 July 1761 - 15 February 1834) was an English poet and bookseller.
Life[]
Rickman was born at The Cliffe, Lewes, the son of John Rickman by his wife, Elizabeth (Peters), was born there on. Both his parents were quakers. He was intended for the medical profession, and was apprenticed to an uncle practising as a doctor at Maidenhead.[1]
When about 17 years old he revisited Lewes, and became intimate with Thomas Paine the freethinker, who was settled there as an exciseman. Both joined the Headstrong Club, which met at the White Hart Inn. Here Rickman's precocious poetical and historical taste procured for him the sobriquet of "Clio." He wrote much under that pseudonym, and permanently incorporated it with his other names.[1]
His friendship with Paine, and an early marriage with a non-member, led the Sussex Friends to disown Rickman in 1783. Thereupon he left Lewes and settled in London as a bookseller, initially at 39 Leadenhall Street, and afterwards at 7 Upper Marylebone Street, which was his abode for the rest of his life. He was twice married, but outlived both his wives and most of his children.[1]
Paine lodged in his house in 1791 and 1792, and there completed the 2nd part of The Rights of Man. On the small table at which Paine wrote, Rickman afterwards fixed a tablet with a commemorative inscription. It was exhibited, with many other relics of Rickman, at the Paine exhibition, December 1895.[1]
Like Paine, Rickman had a mechanical turn, and he assisted the former in his inventions for iron bridges, besides patenting a signal trumpet. The friends became the centre of a circle of reformers; their frequent visitors included Mary Wollstonecraft, George Romney, Horne Tooke, and others. Rickman supplied interesting sketches of them all in his chief work, the Life of Paine, which he published in 1819, 8vo.[1]
He was under suspicion as an associate of Paine, and was often in trouble for selling his books. At the close of 1792, while in hiding for this reason, he was protected for a night by Maria Anne Fitzherbert. More than once he was obliged to flee to Paris, where Paine subsequently lived, and on the last journey of the latter to America Rickman accompanied him to Havre, where, on 1 September 1802, the friends finally parted.[1]
Rickman's devotion to Paine and his principles was boundless, and the christian names of his children — Paine, Washington, Franklin, Rousseau, Petrarch, and Volney — testified to his enthusiasm for liberal ideas.[1]
Rickman died at 7 Upper Marylebone Street, and was buried as a quaker at Bunhill Fields.[1]
Writing[]
Rickman possessed a vein of satirical humour, and from the age of 15 wrote much in verse and prose. Some pieces appeared in the Black Dwarf and other weekly journals. Many of his republican songs were published as broadsides, often with music.[1]
Recognition[]
Portraits of him by William Hazlitt and Robert Dighton were engraved. The latter, a full-length coloured print in walking costume, is called A Citizen of the World; some of Rickman's verses are inscribed on it.[1]
Publications[]
Poetry[]
- The Fallen Cottage: A poem. London: privately published, 1786.
- The Evening Walk: A sentimental tale; interspersed with poetic scraps. London: John Walker / Thomas Clio Rickman, 1795.
- Ode: In celebration of the emancipation of the blacks of St. Domingo. London: T.C. Rickman, 1804.
- Poetical Scraps. (2 volumes), London: privately published, 1803.
- Corruption: A satire. London: privately published, 1806.
- Elegy to the Memory of Thomas Paine. London: privately published, 1810.
Non-fiction[]
- Emigration to America, Candidly Considered: In a series of letters. London: Thomas Clio Rickman, 1798.
- Rights of Discussion; or, A vindication of dissenters of every denomination. London: Thomas Clio Rickman, 1799.
- Mr. Pitt's Democracy Manifested. London: A. Seale, 1800.
- Hints upon Hats (by "Clio"). London: privately printed, 1803.
- An Address to the Society of Friends, Commonly Called Quakers. London: Thomas Clio Rickmn, et al, 1804.
- The Atrocities of a Convent; or, The necessity of thinking for ourselves. (3 volumes), London: Clio Rickman, 1808.
- The Life of Thomas Paine. London: T.C. Rickman, 1819.
- also published in The Life and Writings of Thomas Paine (edited by Daniel Edwin Wheeler). New York: Vincent Parke, 1908.
Edited[]
- A Select Collection of Epigrams: Many of them original. London: T.C. Rickman / John Walker, 1796.
Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.[2]
See also[]
References[]
Smith, Charlotte Fell (1896) "Rickman, Thomas ‘Clio’" in Lee, Sidney Dictionary of National Biography 48 London: Smith, Elder, p. 266}. Wikisource, Web, Oct. 11, 2016.
Notes[]
External links[]
- Poems
- Thomas Clio Rickman (1761-1834) info & 2 poems at English Poetry, 1579-1830
- Books
- Thomas Clio Rickman at Amazon.com
- About
- "Clio Rickman: Shelley's Bookseller at Fitzrovia News
This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain, the Dictionary of National Biography (edited by Leslie Stephen). London: Smith, Elder, 1885-1900. Original article is at: Rickman, Thomas ‘Clio’
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