Johnson, R. Brimley (Reginald Brimley), 1867-1932

R. (Reginald) Brimley Johnson was a biographer, critic, and editor specializing in nineteenth century English literature and literary figures.

Johnson edited Shelley-Leigh Hunt: how friendship made history and extended the bounds of human freedom and thought which was published in 1928. Johnson, in connection with his work editing Shelley-Leigh Hunt, collected correspondence related to the period after Shelley’s death. The epilogue of his book is devoted to letters written by Shelley’s circle of intimate friends during this time.

The romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley and Leigh Hunt met in London in 1816, and grew to be close friends.

From 1816 to 1820, Leigh Hunt edited the Examiner, The Literary Pocket Book, and The Indicator . By the end of 1821, Lord Byron and Shelley convinced Hunt to join them in Italy to write and edit The Liberal . Within a few days of Hunt’s arrival, Shelley drowned in a boating accident leaving Hunt devastated. Shelley’s wife, Mary, Lord Byron, and Hunt published a few issues of The Liberal, but it quickly folded.

Cheney, David R. "Leigh Hunt" in Dictionary of Literary Biography. Vol. 96. British Romantic Poets, 1789 – 1832. Second Series. (ed.) John R. Greenfield. Detroit: Gale Research, Inc., 1990. pp. 157–173. Johnson, R. Brimley (ed.) Shelley-Leigh Hunt: how friendship made history and extended the bounds of human freedom and thought. London: Ingpen & Grant, 1928.

From the guide to the R. Brimley papers relating to, Shelley- Leigh Hunt, 1928–1929, (University of Delaware Library - Special Collections)