JESSE

jesse, john heneage (1815-1874), english historian, son of edward jesse, was educated at eton, and afterwards became a clerk in the secretary's department of the admiralty. he died in london on the 7th of july 1874. his poem on mary queen of scots was published about 1831, and was followed by a collection of poems entitled _tales of the dead_. he also wrote a drama, _richard iii._, and a fragmentary poem entitled _london_. none of these ventures achieved any success, but his numerous historical works are written with vivacity and interest, and, in their own style, are an important contribution to the history of england. they include _memoirs of the court of england during the reign of the stuarts_ (1840), _memoirs of the court of england from the revolution of 1688 to the death of george ii._ (1843), _george selwyn and his contemporaries_ (1843, new ed. 1882), _memoirs of the pretenders and their adherents_ (1845), _memoirs of richard the third and his contemporaries_ (1861), and _memoirs of the life and reign of king george the third_ (1867). the titles of these works are sufficiently indicative of their character. they are sketches of the principal personages and of the social details of various periods in the history of england rather than complete and comprehensive historical narratives. in addition to these works jesse wrote _literary and historical memorials of london_ (1847), _london and its celebrities_ (1850), and a new edition of this work as _london: its celebrated characters and remarkable places_ (1871). his _memoirs of celebrated etonians_ appeared in 1875. a collected edition containing most of his works in thirty volumes was published in london in 1901.