George Darley

George Darley (1795–1846) was an Irish poet, novelist, literary critic, and author of mathematical texts. Friends with such literary luminaries as Charles Lamb, Thomas Carlyle, and John Clare, he was considered by some to be on a level with Tennyson in “poetic possibilities” in the 1840s, but in the words of famous literary critic George Saintsbury “he had the marks of a talent that never did what was in it to do.”

George Darley was born in Dublin, to Arthur Darley and his wife Mary. The Darleys were an important Dublin family of their time, and related to the Guinnesses by marriage, Arthur's sister Mary having married Richard Guinness, whose uncle Arthur Guinness founded the Guinness brewing company. The Darleys also had a country house called Springfield in south County Dublin, near Enniskerry in County Wicklow, where George spent his early years.

George was awarded a BA in mathematics and classics from Trinity College Dublin in 1820. Having decided to follow a literary career, in 1821 he moved to London. He wrote poetry and plays in an attempt to break into literary circles, but had more luck getting published as a critic. During this period he supported himself by writing several mathematical texts for a series published by John Taylor called Darley's Scientific Library. In later life, he fell into depression and died on 23 November 1846 in London.