George Borrow: Times Literary Supplement, 10th July 1903

In Short

This biographical study examines the tumultuous life and enduring autobiographical works of George Borrow, a nineteenth-century English traveler, linguist, and Bible colporteur. Tracing his nomadic upbringing, his early literary struggles in London, his adventurous missions distributing Spanish scriptures, and his eventual creation of masterpieces like Lavengro and The Romany Rye, the work highlights Borrow's unique blend of unadorned truth and picaresque charm. Despite facing critical hostility and personal melancholy, Borrow secured a lasting reputation by transmitting his singular personality through uncompromising, open-air chronicles.

The Story

Born in Norfolk in 1803, George Borrow experiences a nomadic early life moving between military stations before settling in Norwich. There, he falls under diverse intellectual influences, dabbling in languages and law while cultivating acquaintances with gipsies, bruisers, and shady characters. Mistakenly believing in a lucrative market for exotic verse translations after the pattern of Sir John Bowring, he abandons an attorney's office for a destitute garret in London. He endures suicidal despair under a radical publisher until a small financial windfall allows him to escape to the open highway, the dingle, and his beloved Romany companions.

The central chapter of his career unfolds in a Staffordshire dingle, where he encounters Jasper Petulengro, the flaming Tinman, and the peerless Isopel Berners. His strange courtship of Isopel—mired in eccentric attempts to teach her Armenian verbs—ends in disaster when she flees to America after concluding he lacks plain English intentions. Returning to unstable wanderings and failed literary pursuits, Borrow eventually finds stable employment through an evangelical clergyman who connects with the Bible Society. This leads to a remarkably fruitful period of editing Manchu New Testaments and undertaking daring, unconventional journeys to distribute Spanish translations of the Bible.

His exploits in Spain wake him up to sudden fame, leading to high-society dinners and widespread acclaim upon the publication of The Bible in Spain. Financially secured by his marriage to Mary Clarke, an older widow with an excellent head for business, Borrow settles near Oulton Broad to focus on his masterwork. He spends six agonizing years crafting Lavengro, pouring his life's blood into an uncompromising autobiography designed to capture his unique wanderlust and encounters with the unadorned truth.

When Lavengro finally appears, however, it meets with harsh derision and critical hostility. Victorian England is intoxicated by industrial progress, commercial expansion, and Whig optimism—all of which Borrow violently detests. His reactionary politics, stubborn refusal to pander to poetic sentiment, and dry, unadorned style alienate contemporary reviewers who expected conventional romance or travel writing. Unbowed by this bitter defeat, Borrow promptly publishes The Romany Rye to continue his narrative, though it too meets with a cold reception.

The final phase of his life is marked by deep-seated melancholy, recurrent bouts of religious gloom, and a series of frustrating failures to secure official consular or administrative posts abroad. Despite producing Wild Wales and retaining a fierce passion for old word-music and wandering folk, he retreats into moody isolation at Oulton. He spends his remaining years bickering with neighbors and wrestling with the horrors of loneliness, eventually dying alone in 1881. Through it all, his life and work remain inextricably fused, leaving behind a peerless transmission of a singular, craggy personality.

How It Unfolds

The nomadic beginning Born into a military family in Norfolk, young Borrow absorbs a restless spirit while moving across diverse army postings and cultivating unconventional friendships with gipsies and bruisers in Norwich. He mistakenly pursues a literary path translating obscure foreign ballads under false economic hopes, leading him directly into severe poverty in a London garret where he faces suicidal despair.

The highway and the dingle A small monetary windfall liberates him to the open road, where he encamps in a Staffordshire glen alongside local gipsy clans. Here, his unforgettable interactions with Jasper Petulengro, the flaming Tinman, and the noble Isopel Berners form the most brilliant, authentic, and enduring core of his autobiographical writing.

The Spanish mission Securing employment with the Bible Society, Borrow embarks on daring, unconventional journeys to distribute prohibited vernacular translations of the scriptures across Spain and Portugal. These turbulent exploits captivate the public imagination and culminate in sudden literary fame upon the publication of his gripping epistolary account.

The composition of Lavengro Settling down with his capable wife near Oulton Broad, Borrow spends six grueling years crafting his masterwork autobiography with immense personal agony. He struggles intensely to tell the unvarnished truth without succumbing to fashionable literary sentimentality, artificial polish, or second-hand ideas.

Critical hostility and isolation The publication of Lavengro is met with widespread derision by Victorian critics who despise his reactionary politics, hatred of novelty, and dry literary style. Embittered by this failure yet stubbornly unyielding, Borrow publishes The Romany Rye and retreats into a moody, isolated existence marked by recurrent melancholy until his death.

The People

George Borrow seeks grand literary fame, authentic experience, and an escape from conventional modern life, but his stubborn prejudices, cold temperament, and deep-seated melancholy constantly stand in his way. He ends up isolated, embittered by critical rejection, yet securely established as an immortal autobiographer who successfully transmitted his own unique personality.

Jasper Petulengro wants to preserve his free, nomadic gipsy lifestyle and values his loyal friendship with Borrow across the open road. Nothing truly defeats his resilient spirit, and he remains a steadfast anchor throughout Borrow's shifting fortunes, serving as an essential interlocutor in the greenwood dialogues.

Isopel Berners wants dignity, plain-dealing affection, and respect as an equal companion rather than a repository for folklore. Borrow's eccentric insistence on teaching her Armenian verbs while failing to declare his love clearly stands in her way, prompting her to flee to America, leaving him behind with lingering anguish.

Mary Clarke wants a stable, sensible partnership and brings a strong business sense and practical domestic skills to her marriage. By wedding Borrow, she provides him with financial security and a peaceful home near Oulton Broad, ending up as a devoted, steady ally who anchors his turbulent latter years.

In Its Own Voice

Describing the eclectic and chaotic charm of Borrow's best writing, the author captures his unique spirit:

In Pepys the malignity of the literary fairy is more than compensated by the worthy secretary's insatiable appetite for life; in Borrow by the wanderlust or extraordinary passion and faculty for adventure, which makes his best books such an ambrosial hash of sorcery, Jews, Gentiles, gipsies, prisons, cosas de Espana--what you will.

Highlighting the intense personal agony and meticulous dedication required to produce his masterwork, the text notes:

He wrote "Lavengro," as it were, with his life's blood.

Emphasizing the rugged, unpolished character of his prose that alienated Victorian readers, the author observes:

You will not find much sentiment in Borrow.

What It's Really About

This biographical study explores the intricate relationship between truth and art in autobiography, arguing that Borrow's absolute veracity stems less from innate virtue than from an accidental lack of invention and literary artifice. Beneath the picaresque plot of wanderings, prisons, and linguistic pursuits lies a deeper investigation into the preservation of a singular personality against the homogenized pressures of modern industrial society. The work questions how genuine experience survives the demands of popular taste, examining why an author who refuses to pander to sentimentality or contemporary progress must inevitably clash with his own era while securing a permanent place in literary history.

Why Read It Today

Readers who cherish authentic open-air adventures, eccentric characters, and unapologetic literary independence will find deep value in this biographical portrait. Reading it feels like sitting across from a craggy, uncompromising scholar who refuses to flatter his audience, offering a bracing antidote to modern sentimentality. What stays with you is the vivid evocation of the dingle, the striking presence of figures like Jasper Petulengro and Isopel Berners, and the astonishing spectacle of a man wholly dedicated to transmuting his raw life directly onto the page. However, honest readers must confront significant difficulties, including Borrow's virulent prejudices, his bitter reactionary hatred of modern innovations, and his periods of dense, dry linguistic digression. Yet these very flaws are inseparable from the rugged integrity of a man who could never bring himself to fake a poetic ecstasy. For those willing to navigate his idiosyncratic bigotry and period limitations, the reward is an encounter with a rare, undiluted spirit whose unique mastery of self-revelation remains as bracing and unforgettable today as it was a century ago.