View source for Albert Richard Smith

{{Short description|English writer and mountaineer (1816– 1860)}}
{{Use British English|date=June 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2022}}

{{more footnotes needed|date=March 2013}}
{{Infobox person
| honorific_prefix          = 
| name                      = Albert Richard Smith
| honorific_suffix          = 
| image                     = Albert Smith Engraving.jpg
| alt                       = 
| caption                   = Albert Smith engraving from 1858
| birth_name                = Albert Richard Smith
| birth_date                = {{Birth date|1816|05|24|df=y}}
| birth_place               = [[Chertsey]], Surrey, England
| death_date                = {{Death date and age|1860|05|23|1816|05|24|df=y}}
| death_place               = [[Fulham]], London, England
| death_cause               = 
| resting_place             = [[Brompton Cemetery]]
| resting_place_coordinates = {{Coord|51|29|0|N|0|11|21|W|type:landmark|display=inline}}
| monuments                 = 
| nationality               = English
| education                 = 
| alma_mater                = 
| occupation                = Author, entertainer, mountaineer
| years_active              = 
| employer                  = 
| organization              = 
| known_for                 = 
| notable_works             = 
| style                     = 
| title                     = 
| term                      = 
| spouse                    = Mary Lucy Keeley (c. 1830–70)
| children                  = 
| parents                   = 
| awards                    = 
| signature                 = 
| signature_alt             = 
| signature_size            = 
}}
'''Albert Richard Smith''' (24 May 1816{{snd}}23 May 1860) was an English physician, author, entertainer, and mountaineer.

==Biography==

===Literary career===
Smith was born at [[Chertsey]], Surrey.{{sfn|Hansen|2004}} The son of a surgeon, he studied medicine in London and in Paris, and his first literary effort was an account of his life in Paris, which appeared in the ''Mirror''.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|page=259}} He gradually abandoned his medical work in favour of writing. Though a journalist rather than a literary figure, he was one of the most popular writers of his time, and a favourite humorist. He was one of the early contributors to ''[[Punch magazine|Punch]]'' 1842,<ref>The Concise Dictionary of National Biography, part 1, from the beginnings to 1900, being an Epitome of the main work and its supplement (1906) by George Smith page 1211</ref> and was also a regular contributor to [[Richard Bentley]]'s ''Miscellany'', in whose pages his first and best book, the novel ''The Adventures of Mr Ledbury'', appeared in 1842. His other novels were ''The Fortunes of the Scattergood Family'' (1845), ''The [[Madame de Brinvilliers|Marchioness of Brinvilliers]]: The Poisoner of the Seventeenth Century'' (1846), ''The Struggles and Adventures of Christopher Tadpole'' (1848), and ''The Pottleton Legacy: A Story of Town and Country'' (1849). He also published a novella, ''The Adventures of Jack Holiday, with Something about His Sister'' (1844).

[[File:Image_taken_from_page_165_of_'(The_Marchioness_of_Brinvilliers,_the_poisoner_of_the_seventeenth_century._A_romance_of_old_Paris.)'_(11191080295).jpg|thumb|upright|''The Marchioness of Brinvilliers: The Poisoner of the Seventeenth Century'', 1846 novel (1887 edition)]]
In 1842 Smith's first play, ''[[Blanche Heriot]], or The Chertsey Curfew'', was produced at the [[Surrey Theatre]]. In 1843 he published ''The Wassail-Bowl: A Comic Christmas Sketchbook'', which included a short story on the same subject as his play of the year before, "[[Blanche Heriot]]: A Legend of Old Chertsey Church". He also wrote a series of so-called natural histories: ''The Gent'' (1847), ''The Ballet Girl'' (1847), '''Stuck-Up' People'' (1847), ''The Idler upon Town'' (1848) and ''The Flirt'' (1848). Smith wrote several extravaganzas for the [[Lyceum Theatre (London)|Lyceum Theatre]], including ''Aladdin'' (1844), ''[[Valentine and Orson]]'' (1844) and ''Whittington and His Cat'' (1845), and adapted for the same theatre [[Charles Dickens]]'s ''[[The Cricket on the Hearth]]'' (1845) and ''[[The Battle of Life]]'' (1846). With [[Angus Bethune Reach]] he founded and edited a monthly magazine called ''The Man in the Moon'', which ran from January 1847 to June 1849.

===Travels and mountaineering===
[[File:Albert Richard Smith.jpg|thumb|right|200px|Albert Richard Smith in the 1850s.]]
In 1849 Smith went on a tour to Constantinople and the Near East. On his return he published ''A Month at Constantinople'', and shortly afterwards he appeared at Willis's Rooms in a public entertainment about his travels called "The Overland Mail", which proved a hit. He mentioned of the city "I had never been so strongly moved before but once - when I looked down upon London, by night, from a balloon".<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Boyar |first1=Ebru |title=[[A Social History Of Ottoman Istanbul]]|last2=Fleet |first2=Kate |year=2010 |pages=210 |language=en}} - [http://archive.org/details/a-social-hisotry-of-ottoman-istanbul-ebru-boyar-and-kate-fleet Read online]</ref> In August 1851 he ascended [[Mont Blanc]]. The year after he published a book about his adventures, ''The Story of Mont Blanc'', and produced at the [[Egyptian Hall]] an entertainment called "Mont Blanc", describing the ascent of the mountain and the Englishman abroad,{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|page=259}} which became the most popular exhibition of the kind ever known. In May 1854 he gave his performance before [[Queen Victoria]] and [[Albert, Prince Consort|Prince Albert]] at [[Osborne House]]. Smith's "Mont Blanc" show ran for 2000 performances over six years and helped to popularize mountain climbing in mid-Victorian Britain. He was one of the founder members of the [[Alpine Club]] in 1857.  In July 1858 Smith traveled to Hong Kong. On his return he published ''To China and Back'' (1859), and in December 1858 he commenced at the Egyptian Hall a third entertainment, called "Mont Blanc to China", which was also very popular.

In 2019, the QC Terme wellness centre opened a sauna named after Albert Smith<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.skiweekend.com/blog/new-sauna-for-qc-terme-in-chamonix|title=New Sauna for QC Terme in Chamonix|website=skiweekend.com|access-date=2019-11-12}}</ref> as a tribute to his work in inspiring people to visit Chamonix.

===Family===
In 1859 Smith married Mary Lucy Keeley (circa 1830–1870), who had been an actress and was the elder daughter of the comedian [[Robert Keeley (comedian)|Robert Keeley]] and the distinguished actress [[Mary Anne Keeley]]. In 1860 he died from [[bronchitis]] in [[Fulham]], London, and was buried in [[Brompton Cemetery]]. Smith received great help from his brother, Arthur W.W. Smith (1825–1861), who had also been educated in medicine and who managed the entertainments at the [[Egyptian Hall]] from 1852 to 1860. Arthur also planned [[Charles Dickens]]'s readings in 1858, and made arrangements for a second series, but died before they were completed.{{sfn|Chisholm|1911|page=259}}

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite ODNB |first=Peter H. |last=Hansen |title=Smith, Albert Richard (1816–1860) |id=25768 |year=2004}} {{DNBfirst|wstitle=Smith, Albert Richard}}

;Attribution
* {{EB1911|wstitle=Smith, Albert Richard |volume=25 |page=259}}

==Further reading==
*{{cite book | first=Darren |last=Bevin |title=Cultural Climbs: John Ruskin, Albert Smith and the Alpine Aesthetic |year=2010}} {{full citation needed|date=January 2013}}
*{{Cite SBDEL|wstitle=Smith, Albert}}
*{{cite book |last=Goodman |first=Walter |author-link=Walter Goodman (artist) |title=The Keeleys on Stage and at Home |url=https://archive.org/details/keeleysonstageat00goodrich |location=London |publisher=Richard Bentley and Son |year=1895 |chapter=Chapter XVII: Albert Smith |pages=[https://archive.org/details/keeleysonstageat00goodrich/page/224 224]–234}}
*{{cite book | first=Fergus |last=Fleming |title=Killing Dragons:The Conquest of the Alps |chapter=Chapter XII |location=New York |publisher=Grove Press |year=2000}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Albert Richard Smith}}
*{{cite book  | last = Smith   | first = Albert  | title = The Fortunes of the Scattergood Family, Vol. 1  | publisher = Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street  | year = 1845  | location = London, UK  | url = https://archive.org/stream/fortunesofscatte01smit#page/n5/mode/2up
}}
*{{cite book  | last = Smith  | first = Albert  | title = The Natural History of the Gent  | publisher = D. Bogue, Fleet Street  | year = 1847  | location = London, UK   | url = https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/66323
}}

*{{cite book  | last = Smith  | first = Albert  | title = The Struggles and Adventures of Christopher Tadpole at Home and Abroad  | publisher = Richard Bentley, New Burlington Street  | year = 1848  | location = London, UK   | url = https://archive.org/stream/strugglesandadv00smitgoog#page/n10/mode/2up
}}
*{{cite book  | last = Smith  | first = Albert  | title = The Natural History of the Idler Upon Town  | publisher = D. Bogue, Fleet Street  | year = 1848  | location = London, UK   | url = https://archive.org/details/naturalhistoryi00smitgoog
}}
*{{cite book
  | last = Smith 
  | first = Albert
  | title = The Story of Mont Blanc
  | publisher = G. P. Putnam & Co.
  | year = 1853
  | location = New York, N.Y.
  | url = https://archive.org/stream/storymontblanc00smitgoog#page/n8/mode/2up
  }}
*{{cite book
  | last1 = Smith
  | first1 = Albert Richard
  | last2 = Smith
  | first2 = Arthur, ed
  | title = The London Medical Student
  | publisher = Routledge, Warne, and Routledge
  | year = 1861
  | location = London
  | url = https://archive.org/details/11305386.2800.emory.edu
}}
*{{cite web
  | last = Yates 
  | first = Edmund
  | title = Albert Smith in Memoriam
  | work = Mont Blanc by Albert Smith
  | publisher = London: Ward, Lock and Tyler
  | year = 1871
  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=bH0BAAAAQAAJ&pg=PR7}}
* {{Gutenberg author|id=49224}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith, Albert Richard}}
[[Category:1816 births]]
[[Category:1860 deaths]]
[[Category:Burials at Brompton Cemetery]]
[[Category:English mountain climbers]]
[[Category:People from Chertsey]]
[[Category:English male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:English male novelists]]
[[Category:English medical writers]]
[[Category:19th-century English novelists]]
[[Category:19th-century English dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:19th-century English male writers]]
[[Category:Victorian novelists]]
[[Category:Writers from Surrey]]
[[Category:Writers from London]]
[[Category:Victorian short story writers]]
[[Category:19th-century English short story writers]]
[[Category:English male short story writers]]
[[Category:English medical doctors]]
[[Category:English male entertainers]]
[[Category:Entertainers from Surrey]]
[[Category:Entertainers from London]]
[[Category:Deaths from bronchitis]]
[[Category:Punch (magazine) people]]
[[Category:English historical novelists]]
[[Category:Writers of historical fiction set in the early modern period]]
[[Category:19th-century English historians]]
[[Category:English magazine editors]]
[[Category:British magazine founders]]
[[Category:English publishers (people)]]
[[Category:English travel writers]]
[[Category:Alpine Club (UK)]]