Thomas Bowdler () (11 July 1754 – 24 February 1825) was an English
physician who published an
expurgated edition of
William Shakespeare's work that he considered to be more appropriate for women and children than the original. He similarly edited
Edward Gibbon's
Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. His expurgation was the subject of some criticism and ridicule and, through the
eponym bowdlerise (or
bowdlerize), his name is now associated with
censorship of literature, motion pictures and television programmes.
Biography
Bowdler was born near
Bath, the son of a gentleman of independent means. He studied medicine at
St. Andrews and at
Edinburgh, where he took his degree in 1776, but did not practice, devoting himself instead to the cause of
prison reform.
He was a strong
chess player for his day, and played eight recorded games against the best chess player of the time,
François-André Danican Philidor, who was confident enough of his superiority to Bowdler that he played with
handicaps. Bowdler won twice, lost three times, and
drew three times; Philidor was usually blindfolded and playing multiple opponents simultaneously, and sometimes started without one pawn. The first recorded game to feature a double
rook sacrifice was played between Bowdler (white) and
H. Conway at London in 1788.
In 1818, after retiring to the
Isle of Wight, he published his
Family Shakespeare, which had considerable success. He subsequently attempted to do the same with the works of historian
Edward Gibbon, a project which was not as successful. Bowdler's edition of Gibbon's work was published posthumously in 1826.
He later settled in south Wales, where he died, and is buried at
Oystermouth in
Swansea. His large
library, consisting of (
unexpurgated) volumes collected by his ancestors Thomas Bowdler (1638–1700) and Thomas Bowdler (1661–1738), was donated to the
University of Wales, Lampeter.
The Family Shakespeare
In Bowdler's childhood, his father had entertained his family with dramatic readings of extracts from Shakespeare. Later, Bowdler realised his father had been extemporaneously omitting or altering passages he felt unsuitable for the ears of his wife and children. Bowdler felt it would be worthwhile to present an edition which might be used in a family whose father was not a sufficiently "circumspect and judicious reader" to accomplish this expurgation himself.
In 1807, the first edition of the
Family Shakespeare was published, in four
duodecimo volumes, containing 24 of the plays. In 1818 was published
The Family Shakespeare, in Ten Volumes; in which nothing is added to the original text; but those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family. Each play is preceded by an introduction where Bowdler summarises and justifies his changes to the text. By 1850, eleven editions had been printed.
Bowdler was not the first to undertake such a project, and despite being considered a negative example, his efforts made it more societally acceptable to teach Shakespeare to new audiences. The poet
Algernon Swinburne said,
More nauseous and foolish cant was never chattered than that which would deride the memory or depreciate the merits of Bowdler. No man ever did better service to Shakespeare than the man who made it possible to put him into the hands of intelligent and imaginative children.
Bowdler's commitment not to augment Shakespeare's text was in contrast to many earlier editors and performers.
Nahum Tate as
Poet Laureate had rewritten the
tragedy of
King Lear with a
happy ending. In 1807,
Charles Lamb and his sister
Mary published
Tales from Shakespeare specifically for children, with synopses of 20 of the plays, but seldom quoting the original text directly.
Changes to Shakespeare
Some examples of alterations made by Bowdler:
- In Hamlet, the death of Ophelia was referred to as an accidental drowning, omitting the suggestions that she may have intended suicide.
- In Macbeth, Lady Macbeth's famous cry "Out, damned spot!" was changed to "Out, crimson spot!"
- "God!" as an exclamation is replaced with "Heavens!"
Popular culture
- In the Moral Orel television program, Moralton's town library is named the Thomas Bowdler Library; most of the library's books are censored (Episode 2, "God's Greatest Gift")
- In the Thursday Next novels by Jasper Fforde, the Jurisfiction police who monitor the textual integrity of all books written and unwritten are constantly battling the Bowdlerisers, who attempt to erase material that they find offensive.
Books
- The Family Shakespeare, Volume One, The Comedies, ISBN 0923891951
- The Family Shakespeare, Volume Two, The Tragedies, ISBN 0923891986
- The Family Shakespeare, Volume Three, The Histories, ISBN 0923891994
- The Family Shakspeare, in which nothing is added to the original text; but those words and expressions are omitted which cannot with propriety be read aloud in a family by Thomas Bowdler in 10 volumes, Facsimile reprint of 2nd edition, revised, in 1820, Eureka Press, 2009. ISBN 9784902454161
See also
