Arthur Blackamore
Arthur Blackamore was an English writer and academic born in London in 1679, who graduated from Christ Church College, Oxford, at the young age of sixteen. In 1707, he moved to the royal colony of Virginia to teach and was appointed professor at the College of William and Mary. However, his career was marred by personal issues, including struggles with alcohol and emotional distress following a romantic rejection, which led to his dismissal in 1709. Before returning to England in 1719, he authored "Expeditio ultramontana," a Latin poem celebrating a significant expedition across the Blue Ridge Mountains.
Upon his return, Blackamore sought to become a Presbyterian minister but ultimately left a legacy primarily through his novels, notably "The Perfidious Brethren," which reflects a didactic style influenced by his faith. Although his works have not achieved the prominence of contemporaries like Aphra Behn, they explore themes of virtue, morality, and social dynamics that foreshadow later eighteenth-century literature. Blackamore's narratives, while modest in literary acclaim, provide insight into the evolution of the British novel and contribute to our understanding of early American and British societal values.
On this Page
Subject Terms
Arthur Blackamore
Author
- Born: 1679
- Birthplace: London, England
- Died: After 1725
Biography
Arthur Blackamore was born in London in 1679. In 1695, at the age of sixteen, he graduated from Christ Church College, Oxford. After receiving an award of {pounds}20, he left England to teach in the royal colony of Virginia in 1707. Shortly after his arrival, Blackamore was appointed to the post of professor at the College of William and Mary, and Blackamore seemed destined for a brilliant career. However, his penchant for drinking soon forced him into disgrace. In 1709, Governor William Byrd noted in his diary that colony leaders were forced to dismiss Blackamore, attributing Blackamore’s problems to the psychological distress he suffered after he was rejected by a woman. Before his forced return to England in 1719, Blackamore penned his highly successful Latin verse poem, “Expeditio ultramontana” (”Expedition Beyond the Mountains”), in praise of Lieutenant Governor Alexander Spotswood’s expedition across the Blue Ridge Mountains to the Shenandoah River. Upon his return to England, Blackamore attempted to be ordained a Presbyterian minister in hopes of returning to Virginia.
Many of Blackamore’s novels are bracketed by events in his life. His first overtly didactic novel, The Perfidious Brethren; or, The Religious Triumvirate, Displayed in Three Ecclesiastical Novels (1720), is dedicated to Spotswood and contains characters based on Virginia politicians and government officials. Unfortunately, the didacticism, influenced by his Presbyterian leanings, overshadows the plot and character development of the three ecclesiastical novels. The first story, “Heathen Priestcraft: Or, The Female Bigot,” deals with the seduction of a virtuous wife; “Presbyterian Piety: Or, The Way to get a Fortune” focuses on a preacher’s greed; and the Anabaptist preacher in “The Cloven-Foot: Or, The Anabaptist Teacher Detected,” seduces one of his followers.
Unlike his contemporaries, novelists Aphra Behn and Eliza Hayward, the works of Blackamore have faded into obscurity. None can be categorized as a major literary achievement. However, he maintains a solid place in the history of the British novel because his work examines many of the themes that would be explored in later eighteenth century novels: parental tyranny, virtue, the poor girl’s social rise to the station of gentlewoman, and public and private morality. Blackamore’s novels anticipate the works of famous eighteenth century novelists Daniel Defoe, Henry Fielding and Samuel Richardson.