The Sun.
London, England, 1841-08-27 00:00:00

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EVENING SUN.-

. THEODORE ri(JOK, ESQ.
We regret to have to :!„
wit ntid novelist, which, wt:
night of 'Tuesday last. Mr. Hooles futhil:

krit»vn asical jolnposer;- and mncii of his r,,,dy 1;:!, ,it
appears to hat':! boon 'inherite-1 hi. el,
in early youth, was remarkahle • rur* his focili;y ()Nu-
provising songs,' which he would furni.th also witti extem-
pore words, and sing at the piano Ivitl4 a skill and an
expression that made him a gLneral favourite in the
fashionable, circles. He first came before the public,
we believe, as a writer of meledrames and farces ; but
he was by no means excellent -as a draMatist, fur
his- Tekeli, though it attained a certain pOpularity,
is sad .stuff; aud his Killing lye .'larder owed
its' success almost entirely to the admirable
acting of Liston. Mr. Hook's next efforts were political.
Ile was one of the chief contributors to th^ Jo.l:n Bet?
at the period- of its first establishment, and much o. its
popularity
..was owing to his htuuourous
~, prose
and vers2, which he wrote with great siiirit
and ease, thong' there was at times u ramirons
personality about his writings, which cannot be
too severely 'reprobated. Tired of politic, which
he understood but .stiperficially. and never cordially en-
tered into, Mr. Hook next turned his attention to prose
fiction, fir which his social habits and q;;it-k• apprehension
Of peculiarities in character eminently qualifi 11 hint. Ile is ,
the author of upwards 'of a dozen tales. or more, all of
which evince great knoWledge of town life, great powerg
of caricature, great ease and spirit of style, and, it must
be added also, great negligence, both in the disposition of
incident, and the construction of plot. His "Jack Brag"
is perhaps his master- pieee ; at any rate, the chief cha-
racter is drawn with more breadth and vigour than its
author ever evinced before or since and will give the-z
reader a clearer insight into his peculiar turn of mind
than any of his other productions. We have sail that
Mr. Hoek was a discerning judge of chtwacter we wish
we could add that he was a kindly and profound one.'
Bat he soldom pierced below the 13 UrfVe ; it was, with
manners rather than with emotions that hedealt ; the human
heart was a mystery that (-se:tried his penctration,And which. •
apparently he did not much care to solve. The spirit
that pervades his tales—disguised though•it isibeneath tt
show of broad drolk ry—is one of ntler scepticism, as re-
spects the more elevated and gPiwrong.reehngs of harms,'
nits. -„,444,1t1 satirkt, siaitit:oo4rtsg(r-triff
-out the :alit, s and vices of ht(;,, to maitre, but
• believe in the existinice of its gued qu W
aliCl',. e Inv
add, by way of wind-up, that Air. Hook 'was a maa of
little or no reading, but ni considerable conversational ta-
lent ; 4:i'f aileixiote and arch, repartee ; and in habits
of familiar -int,rconrse with many- of the most distin-
'gnished men of his day. Those who have had the good'
I.ortune to ho in his company, will long remember the
vivacity of his mannor, and the arch twinkle of his cy.,
when relating a droll story, and the heartinesS with which:
he enjoyed the wit and humour of others.

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