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1581-1613
Courtier and poet, born at Compton Scorpion Manor, Warwickshire, which lies to the south of the village of Ilmington. He went to Queen's College, Oxford for three years until 1598 before studying at the Middle Temple. Friendship with Robert Carr, a royal favourite, led to Overbury being knighted in 1608. Following court intrigues, he was imprisoned in the Tower of London where he met his death through being slowly poisoned. He is credited with the original authorship of a poem, first published the year after his death, called A wife now the widow of Sir T. Overbury. It originally consisted of 21 portraits but later editions, of which there were many, were expanded to include more of these characters, probably written variously by John Webster, Thomas Dekker and John Donne. The style is derived from the Greek philosopher Theophrastus who skilfully developed brief sketches of human characters with particular faults.
Page created 9 February 2001 and last
updated 28 October 2002
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