George Pettie
George Pettie was an English writer born around 1548 in Oxfordshire, known primarily for his literary contributions during the late 16th century. He was the fourth son of John Pettie and Mary Charnell, and he is noted as the uncle of Mary Pettie, linked to the antiquary Anthony Wood. Pettie attended Christ Church College, Oxford, where he earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in 1569. His most significant work, "A Petite Pallace of Pettie His Pleasure," published in 1576, is an anthology of love stories primarily aimed at a female audience, inspired by William Painter's earlier work, "Palace of Pleasure." The anthology consists of twelve stories, most drawn from classical sources. Additionally, Pettie translated the first three books of Francesco Guazzo's "The Civile Conversation," published in 1581. Although his literary impact is considered minor, his work demonstrates the broader influence of his time. George Pettie is believed to have died in July 1589, leaving behind a legacy that reflects the early evolution of English prose fiction.
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George Pettie
Writer
- Born: c.1548
- Birthplace: Tetsworth, Oxfordshire, England
- Died: July 1, 1589
Biography
George Pettie was born in 1548 or thereabouts, the fourth son of John Pettie (or Petty) of Tetsworth, Oxfordshire, and Mary, née Charnell. Pettie was the uncle of Mary Pettie, the mother of the famous seventeen century antiquary Anthony Wood, whose biographical dictionary of Oxford writers and clergymen and posthumously-issued memoirs are a key source of not-entirely- reliable biographical information about the Tudor and Stuart eras; their relationship did not prevent Wood from treating Pettie’s work with conspicuous disdain.
Pettie went to Christ Church College, Oxford, in 1564, and obtained his B.A. in 1569. Little is known about his life thereafter. His most famous literary work, A Petite Pallace of Pettie His Pleasure, first printed in 1576, was modeled on William Painter’s Palace of Pleasure, a more notable anthology of “pleasant histories and excellent novelles” translated from various European sources. Pettie’s collection adds twelve “pretie histories” of love affairs, recycled, with one exception, from classical sources. The book is interesting for being an early work primarily aimed at a female audience.
The dedication of the Petite Pallace, signed “R.B.,” became something of a minor literary mystery, although it is probably an improvisation of Pettie’s rather than an indication of someone else’s involvement in the publication. The same initials are employed as a signature on A New Tragicall Comedie of Apius and Virginia, published in 1575, which is sufficiently close in subject and style to pass as Pettie’s work. However, the only other work definitely attributable to Pettie is a translation of the first three books of Francesco Guazzo’s The Civile Conversation, made from a French version and published in 1581.
Some aspects of Pettie’s declamatory style anticipate the elaborate diction of John Lyly’s Euphues but there was probably no direct influence. Although his contribution to the evolution of English prose fiction is a distinctly minor one, it remains notable as evidence that the influence of Painter’s work was by no means confined to the playwrights who borrowed his plots. According to Wood, Pettie died in July, 1589.