Page:Dictionary of National Biography volume 32.djvu/176

 Lathom Introduction of Christianity to the period of the Reformation,' London, 1839, 12mo.  'Guy Fawkes, or a complete History of the Gunpowder Treason … and some Notices of the Revolution of 1688,' London, 1839, 8vo; 2nd edit., enlarged, London, 1840, 8vo.  'The Spanish Armada, A.D. 1588, or the Attempt of Philip II and Pope Sixtus V to re-establish Popery in England,' London, 1840, 8vo.  'A History of the Convocation of the Church of England, being an Account of the Proceedings of Anglican Ecclesiastical Councils from the earliest Period,' London, 1842, 8vo; 2nd edit., with considerable additions, London, 1853, 8vo.  'The Authority of the Services, (1) for the Fifth of November, (2) on Thirtieth of January, (3) the Twenty-ninth of May, (4) for the Accession of the Sovereign, considered,' London, 1843, 8vo, reprinted from the 'Church of England Quarterly Review.'  'Memorials of Ernest the Pious, first Duke of Saxe-Gotha, and the lineal Ancestor of His Royal Highness Prince Albert,' London, 1843, 8vo.  'A History of the Nonjurors, their Controversies and Writings, with Remarks on some of the Rubrics in the Book of Common Prayer,' London, 1845, 8vo.  'List of Printed Services belonging to T. Lathbury' [London, 1845?], 8vo.  An edition of Jeremy Collier's 'Ecclesiastical History of Great Britain,' with a life of the author, the controversial tracts connected with the 'History,' and an index, 9 vols. London, 1852, 8vo.  ’A History of the Book of Common Prayer and other Books of Authority; with … an Account of the State of Religion and of Religious Parties in England from 1640 to 1660,' London, 1858, and again 1859, 8vo.  'The Proposed Revision of the Book of Common Prayer,' London, 1860, 8vo.  'Facts and Fictions of the Bicentenary: a Sketch from 1640 to 1662,' London [1862], 8vo. Printed for the Bristol Church Defence Association.  'Oliver Cromwell, or the Old and New Dissenters, with Strictures on the Lectures of N. Haycroft and H. Quick,' London [1862], 8vo. Printed for the Bristol Church Defence Association.</ol>

<section end="Lathbury, Thomas" /> <section begin="Lathom, Francis" />LATHOM, FRANCIS (1777–1832), novelist and dramatist, born at Norwich in 1777, is said to have been the illegitimate son of an English peer. In early life he wrote for the Norwich Theatre, and probably acted there, but after 1801 he retired to Inverurie, where he lodged with a baillie, and subsequently removed to Bogdavie, a farmhouse in Fyvie, Aberdeenshire, belonging to one Alexander Rennie. He was liberally provided with money and developed many eccentricities. He dressed, it is said, 'like a play-actor,' read regularly London newspapers, drank whiskey freely, interested himself in theatrical gossip, wrote novels, and sang songs of his own composition. He was known in Fyvie as 'Mr. Francis' or 'Boggie's Lord,' from the name of Rennie's farmhouse, and his reputed wealth exposed him to frequent risk of being kidnapped by those who were anxious to secure so profitable a lodger. In his last years he lived with Rennie at Milnfield farm in the parish of Monquhitter, and died there suddenly on 19 May 1832. He was buried in the Rennies' burial plot in the churchyard of Fyvie.

His writings, which met with some success, are: 'All in a Bustle; a comedy,' 8vo, Norwich, 1795; 2nd edit. 1800, never acted. 'The Midnight Bell; a German story,' 3 vols. 12mo, London, 1798?; another edit. 1800?; 2nd edit. 1825 (translated into French, 3 vols. 16mo, Paris, 1799). 'The Castle of Ollada,' 2 vols. 12mo, London, 1799? 'Men and Manners; a novel,' 4 vols. 12mo, London, 1799; another edit. 1800. 'The Dash of the Day; a comedy,' 2nd and 3rd edits. 8vo, Norwich, 1800, acted at Norwich. 'Mystery; a novel,' 2 vols. 12mo, London, 1800 (translated into French and German). 'Holiday Time, or the School Boy's Frolic; a farce,' acted at Norwich, 8vo, Norwich, 1800. 'Orlando and Seraphina, or the Funeral Pile; an heroic drama,' 8vo, London [Norwich printed 1800]; another edit. 1803, acted at Norwich. 'Curiosity; a comedy,' adapted from the French of Madame de Genlis, acted at Norwich (8vo, 1801). Genest describes it as 'a good piece; considerably better than Madame Genlis's original; the moral is excellent' (Hist. Account, x. 222–3). 'The Wife of a Million; a comedy,' acted at Norwich, Lincoln, and Canterbury, 8vo, Norwich [1802]. 'Astonishment!!! a romance of a century ago,' 2 vols. 12mo, London, 1802. 'The Castle of the Thuilleries, or Narrative of all the Events which have taken place in the interior of that Palace. Translated from the French,' 2 vols. 8vo, London, 1803. 'Very Strange but Very True; a novel,' 4 vols. 12mo, 1803. 'Ernestina; a tale from the French,' 2 vols. 12mo, London, 1803. 'The Impenetrable Secret, Find it Out,' 2 vols. 12mo,<section end="Lathom, Francis" />