Thomas Chatterton Manuscript Project
Works
The Revenge, A Burletta;
with Six Additional Songs
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Written 1770 - Printed 1795. Age: 17
Control Page - Quick Links
The Revenge (recto)
Bristol Central Library
The Revenge (verso)
Bristol Central Library
Chatterton's original manuscript is now in three random parts : The British Library has 495 lines, plus two songs; Bristol Library has 28 lines (on the recto and verso of one leaf, see image above) ; the remaining 53 lines, plus four of the songs, are missing presumed lost.
​​Fortunately, the complete work, including the six songs, was preserved in the First Printed Edition, 1795, which was, according to Warren, never published.
If you accept the contents list of the First Printed Edition, then Chatterton's The Revenge includes six additional songs. However, Chatterton's handwritten manuscript, by the time it arrived at the British Library, contained only two songs; A Bacchanalian sung by Mr Reinhold, & The Invitation to be sung by Mrs Barthelemon and Master Cheney. Donald Taylor is of the reasonable opinion that the 1795 edition should be trusted, as it is supposed to have been taken directly from the original manuscript when it was still complete.
And why not indeed, I can see Chatterton sweetening the pot when he was doing the deal with Atterbury. I can imagine him saying 'make it five guineas and I will include six new songs'.​ I know that I am a bit of a romantic, but I also endeavour to treat Chatterton as a human being, a youth no less, with all the baggage that goes with it.​​​​
The Strange Story of the Loss and Rediscovery of the Manuscript
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The timeline looks something like this:
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1769 : August 12th : Chatterton writes Amphitryon. a burletta (Unfinished - a precursor to The Revenge)
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​​1769 - 1770 : Chatterton writes The Revenge, a burletta.
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1770 : July 6th : Chatterton, sells his copyright of The Revenge, a burletta to Mr Luffman Atterbury for £5 5s.
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1794 : John Haslewood states that a man known as 'Honest Tom King' bought the MS from Luffman Atterbury for £5 5.
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1794 : Tom King handed the manuscript to John Eggerton to oversee printing.
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1795 : John Eggerton promptly upped and died on 17th January 1795.
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1795 : According to Tom King, the manuscript is now missing or is lost at the Printing House.
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1795 : The few printed copies (actual numbers unknown), due to the death of Egerton, were not published widely - this, along with doubts about authenticity, accounts for their rarity.
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1824 : William Upcott saves Chatterton's handwritten manuscript from destruction when he discovers it in a pile of scrap paper on the counter of a cheesemonger. I assume that at this point the Ms. is still complete.
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1837 : John Dix's Life of Chatterton is published, raising the interest in Chatterton.
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1841 : The British Museum buys the incomplete Ms. from the Rev Thomas Butler.
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1973 : British Library separates from the British Museum.
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The following two cuttings cover the story quite nicely.
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The following article is from the strangely named periodical 'The Crypt, Or Receptacle for Things Past: An Antiquarian, Literary, & Miscellaneous Journal, dated 1827 : View online
Chatterton's Manuscript of The Revenge
Found in a Cheesemonger's Shop.
(A paraphrase of my Facebook Post 5/01/2024)
​A remarkable story of good fortune befalling a warm-hearted gentleman in a 'Cheesemonger's shop' :
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Back in 1825, Mr Upcott (1779-1845), a Sub-Librarian of the London Institution (image below), rescued ‘a great literary treasure’, namely Chatterton’s handwritten manuscript of ‘The Revenge,’ a burletta, with additional songs. (Note for me : William Upcott's scrapbook online . Another Scrapbook )
So, what drew Mr Upcott, (image above) to the Cheesemonger’s shop, where, fortuitously, the manuscript was resting on the counter among a pile of waste paper? Was he peckish and buying a nibble for lunch, or getting supplies for an evening soirée? Or was he actually visiting a pub named Ye Olde Chesire Cheese?
In the old days, pubs would sell almost anything, so it is not against probability that William walked the mile or so from the London Institution to Ye Olde Chesire Cheese pub, where he had a pint and bought some cheese.
My own first pint was in a pub in Wexford, Ireland, back in 1966. The pub still exists, but back then it was named Con Macken's (the image below is from an old postcard, which dates to the late 1970s). It had sawdust on the floor and, along with the Guinness, you could buy your groceries, which for sure included cheese, and you could also buy a coffin and arrange your funeral.
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In any case, whatever reason William Upcott had to be wandering the streets of London, he was actually in the right place at the right time. Or, perhaps, not exactly the right time, for a few pages containing lines 444-496, plus the last four songs are missing from the manuscript.
It’s a bit sad to imagine the pages of such an important manuscript leaving the cheese shop one by one, wrapped around various chunks of ‘Stinking Archbishop’. Fortunately, the name of that specific stinky cheese, modelled on a real cheese created in 1972, was actually coined in 2015 for a Wallace and Gromit movie. However, I think it is safe to assume that some cheeses in 1825 were pretty smelly too.
So, we ask, don’t we, what are the chances of such a remarkable discovery? Well, waste paper, in the form of the daily newspaper, was an important commodity when I was a lad. It was used primarily for starting the fire in the hearth (when coal was available), and of course torn into strips for use in the WC. – those were the days!
My guess is that it was much the same back in 1825, providing you were fortunate enough to have a WC. The upshot is, waste paper was used for many and sundry purposes, including the wrapping of food in shops.
However, this is not the first time a lost manuscript of Chatterton’s has been found in unusual circumstances. I refer to the discovery, in 1858, of Chatterton’s personal copy of Catcott’s book ‘A Treatise on The Deluge.’ The book was spotted on a shelf in a pub in Oxfordshire, by W. D. Macray, who, in his own words ‘for a trifle I became the possessor of the volume.’
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This particular book was written by the Reverend Alexander Catcott, and is important because Chatterton had used the blank pages in the book to write, among other other works, his Epistle to Catcott - it seems that the blank pages were simply too tempting to ignore.
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Books on shelves in themed pubs are there to add some extra atmosphere, and are usually of no monetary value. I know this because, as a result of Mr Macray’s good fortune, I always scan books plonked on shelves in pubs - but without any luck to date.
Note to self: must visit more pubs!
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My next post will be about this very book, which is now resting easy in a clamshell box at the Bodleian Library.
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Now, back to fate of Chatterton’s burletta ‘The Revenge’ :
Back on the 6th July 1770, Chatterton sold his rights to ‘The Revenge’, and the six additional songs, for five English guineas (£5.5s) ; my transcript of the receipt for the sale follows (Meyerstein p.402) :
​However, Chatterton had to wait until 1795, 25 years after his death, for the printing in book form of ‘The Revenge’ and the six additional songs.
​The story runs as follows:
In August 1769 Chatterton wrote an earlier burletta, 'Amphitryon'. Then, later in 1769 or during 1770, he seems to have abandoned 'Amphitryon' in favour of his newer work The Revenge, a burletta.
On July 6th 1770 he sold his copyright of The Revenge, along with six songs, to Mr Luffman Atterbury for £5 5s.
With the proceeds of the sale, he bought some extravagant presents for his family back in Bristol.
So, if you have ever wondered what Chatterton’s priorities were - here’s the answer:
Dear Mother-
I send you in the box-
Six cups and saucers, with two basons, for my sister.
If a China tea-pot and cream-pot is, in your opinion, necessary, I will fend them; but I am informed they are unfashionable, and that the red China, which you are provided with, is more in use.
A cargo of patterns for yourself, with a snuff-box, right French, and very curious in my opinion.
Two fans – the silver one is more grave than the other, which would suit my sister best. But that I leave to you both.
Some British-herb snuff in the box: be careful how you open it. (This I omit, left it injure the other matters.) Some British-herb tobacco for my grandmother, with a pipe. Some trifles for Thorne. Be assured whenever I have the power, my will won't be wanting to testify, that I remember you.
Yours, T. Chatterton. July 8, 1770.
N. B. I shall forestall your intended journey, and pop down upon you at Christmas.
I could have wished you had sent my red pocket-book, as ‘tis very material.
I bought two very curious twisted pipes, for my grandmother ; but, both breaking, I was afraid to buy others, lest they should break in the box, and, being loose, injure the China. Have you heard any thing further of the clearance?
Direct for me, at Mrs. Angel’s, sack-maker, Brook-Street, Holborn.
Forty seven days later, he is found dead in his garret.
All goes quiet, regarding the manuscript of ‘The Revenge’, until 1794, when a man known as ‘Honest Tom King’ bought the Ms. from Luffman Atterbury for £5 5s. He then handed the manuscript to John Eggerton to oversee printing. Unfortunately, on January 17th, 1795, Eggerton promptly upped and died. According to Tom King, the manuscript went missing, or is lost at the printing house.
According to Warren (Chatteron’s bibliographer), it was thanks to the untimely death of Eggerton that the few copies of ‘The Revenge’ that were already printed, were not published. This, along with doubts about authenticity (because the Ms. was missing or lost), accounts for the extreme rarity of the printed edition.
(My own copy will be made available for viewing at any of the meetings of the Chatterton Society - surely I am entitled to show off occasionally).
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In 1824 William Upcott saves what remains of Chatterton's handwritten manuscript from destruction, when he discovers it in a pile of scrap paper on the counter of a cheesemonger.
In 1839. the manuscript is part of the British Museum collection, but is now missing two or more pages and four of the six songs.​​​​
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One of the six songs, ‘The Happy Pair,’ is about two lovers, ‘Strephon & Lucy.’
Two of the verses were of the song were set to music by G.A.F. Percivall. I was lucky enough to buy the music sheets from a seller in Australia. The pages are watermarked 1813, with a wonderfully ornate cover, Strephon & Lucy, duet for two voices, The Poetry by Chatterton, Composed By G.A.F.Percivall. Published by Clementi & Co., 26 Cheapside, London (image above).
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Control Panel for The Revenge
​​​​​​Original Chatterton Manuscript : ​​Bristol Reference Library, B20932 : View
The Revenge, a burletta : Lines 25 - 52 only.
No Songs with this Ms.
(All line numbers are as Taylor p.607. He has lines 25-38, forgetting to add the lines from p.232).
​​​​​​​​​​Original Chatterton Manuscript : ​​British Library, Add. 12050 : View in readiness
The Revenge, A Burletta : Lines 1-24; 53-443; 497-576 only.
The two songs included with this Ms.:
A Bacchanalian sung by Mr Reinhold.
The Invitation to be sung by Mrs Barthelemon and Master Cheney.
​​​​ First printed edition, 1795 : View
The Revenge, A Burletta; Acted at Marybone Gardens, MDCCLXX with Additional Songs.
The six additional songs are :
A Bacchanalian sung by Mr Reinhold.
The Invitation to be sung by Mrs Barthelemon and Master Cheney.
A Bacchanalian.
The Virgin’s Choice.
The Happy Pair.
Betsy of the Hill.​
​​​​​ Additional Links :
1784 : A supplement to the Miscellanies of Thomas Chatterton : View
One song only : - The editor has Fanny, with Betsy directly below in the same line.
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1803, vol 1 :
Uses the text of The Revenge from 1795, along with five of the songs : View
The 6th song, Betsy of the Hill, is shown separately with Betsy replaced by Fanny : View
The £5 5s. paid to Chatterton is approximately equivalent to £766 in 2023. It is likely that Chatterton was giving Mr Luffman Atterbury a good deal with the expectation of ongoing work, but it is also clear that young Chatterton was a novice dealing with a hard-nosed and experienced businessman.
Control Panel for the Six Additional Songs
1. A Bacchanalian sung by Mr Reinhold :
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Original Chatterton Manuscript : ​​British Library, Add. 12050 : View in readiness
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First Printing (unpublished) : In The Revenge, 1795 : View
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Second Printing : 1803, p.273 : View online​​
2. The Invitation to be sung by Mrs Barthelemon and Master Cheney :
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Original Chatterton Manuscript : ​​British Library, Add. 12050 : View in readiness
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First Printing (unpublished) : In The Revenge, 1795 : View
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Second Printing : 1803, p.274 : View online
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Set to Music : May /Sung by Master Cheney at Marybone Gardens, 1770?, M p.537 : No View
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Voice part only in in Vocal Music 1772 : No View
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Away to the Woodlands away / Sung with Universal Applause at Vauxhall Gardens, 1791? : No View
3. A Bacchanalian :
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​Original Ms. : None
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First Printing (unpublished) : In The Revenge, 1795 : View​
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Second Printing : 1803, p.276 : View online​​
4. The Virgin’s Choice :
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​Original Ms. : None
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First Printing (unpublished) : In The Revenge, 1795 : View
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Second Printing : 1803, p.277 : View online​​
5. The Happy Pair.
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​Original Ms. : None
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First Printing (unpublished) : In The Revenge, 1795 : View
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Second Printing : 1803, p.279 : View online
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Music Sheet, 1813 : Strephon and Lucy, two verses, music composed by Percivall : View​
6. Betsy of the Hill.​
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​Original Ms. : None
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First Published : Supplement to the Miscellanies, 1784 : View
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Second : In The Revenge, 1795 : View
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Third : 1803, p.279 : View online