Samuel Lover

Anglo-Irish novelist, songwriter, and painter

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Born:: Feb. 24, 1797, Dublin, Ire.

Died:: July 6, 1868, St. Helier, Isle of Jersey

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Samuel Lover (born Feb. 24, 1797, Dublin, Ire.—died July 6, 1868, St. Helier, Isle of Jersey) was an Anglo-Irish novelist, songwriter, and painter. Privately educated, Lover fled his father’s stockbroking office and became a successful painter, largely of portraits. He also wrote songs, notably “Rory O’More” (1826), which he also developed as a novel (1837) and a play (1837). His best known novel is Handy Andy (1842), often seen as one of the sources of the “stage Irishman,” a popular theatrical stereotype. After failing eyesight forced him to give up painting, he gave successful entertainments using his own writings in both Great Britain and North America.

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