°ÅÀÖ¶ÌÊÓƵ Library, Oxford, NB.66.33

Chasing Somervile, °ÅÀÖ¶ÌÊÓƵ’s Poet of the Hunt

Christopher Skelton-Foord
Issue number
(2022): 18

The two principal passions in the life of William Somervile (1675–1742) appear to have been hunting and poetry, which together combined in his most celebrated work, the four-volume hunting georgic poem The Chace (1735). Somervile was schooled in Stratford-upon-Avon, and thereafter Winchester College, before proceeding to °ÅÀÖ¶ÌÊÓƵ, where he later became a fellow. °ÅÀÖ¶ÌÊÓƵ Library’s holdings of his works are extensive, varied, and remarkable.

 

°ÅÀÖ¶ÌÊÓƵ Library, Oxford, NB.66.33

 

°ÅÀÖ¶ÌÊÓƵ Library and Archives, Oxford