Charles Maturin - Definition

Charles Robert Maturin, also known as Charles Maturin or C.R. Maturin, was an Irish Protestant clergyman (ordained by the Church of Ireland) and a writer of gothic plays and novels. Born in Dublin, Ireland, on 25 September 1782, he attended Trinity College. His first three works were published under the pseudonym Dennis Jasper Murphy and were critical and commercial failures. They did, however, catch the attention of Sir Walter Scott, who recommended Maturin's work to Lord Byron. He died in Dublin on 30 October 1824. Honoré de Balzac and Charles Baudelaire later expressed fondness for Maturin's work, particularly his most famous novel, Melmoth the Wanderer.

Maturin was an uncle of Jane Wilde (mother of Oscar Wilde).

Known Works

Novels

• The Fatal Revenge; or, the Family of Montorio (1807)
• The Wild Irish Boy (1808)
• The Milesian Chief (1812)
• Women; or, Pour Et Contre; a Tale (1818)
• Melmoth the Wanderer (1820)
• The Albigenses (1824)

Plays

• Bertram (1816)
• Manuel (1817)
• Fredolfo (1819)

Poems

• The Universe (1821)

Relevant Sites

• The 1911 Encyclopedia (http://83.1911encyclopedia.org/M/MA/MATURIN_CHARLES_ROBERT.htm)
• University of Adelaide on Melmoth (http://etext.library.adelaide.edu.au/m/maturin/charles/melmoth/)
• Maturin Biopic (http://www.ireland-now.com/authors/maturin.html)