Memoirs of Eighty Years

Hake (1809-95) was an English physician and poet. Having determined on a medical career he studied at the universities of Edinburgh and Glasgow and after graduating from the latter travelled in Italy before settling in Brighton where he spent five years as physician to the dispensary, then studied for a further year in Paris. In 1839 he published Piromides, a tragedy on the mysteries of Isis, followed by Vates, or the Philosophy of Madness (1840) which was later republished in Ainsworth's Magazine as Yaldarno, or the Ordeal of Art-Worship. This work caught the attention of the Pre-Raphaelite artist and poet Dante Gabriel Rossetti, ultimately leading to a friendship between the two. Hake continued to contribute to numerous papers and after further travel took a post at the West London Hospital whilst also acting as physician to the Countess of Ripley who was related to his mother's family. The beauty of Lady Ripon's grounds inspired further poems which were privately printed and led to the first meeting between Hake and Rossetti in 1869. Hake took on Rossetti's medical care when his health declined through his use of laudanum and consented to his own son George acting as Rossetti's companion and secretary. After 1872 Hake spent a long period in Italy and Germany and on his return published further poetical works. This autobiography was published in 1892 and provides an invaluable insight into both medical and literary circles in the 19th century.