Jephson, Robert (1737–1803), dramatist, poet and satirist, was born in Ireland in 1737, the younger son of John Jephson, archdeacon of Cloyne (d. June 1742), and his wife, Elizabeth (née Crosse). A member of the Anglo-Irish family from Mallow, Co. Cork, he was educated at Dr Ford's school in Molesworth Street, Dublin, and later by his father's relative the Rev. William Reader, archdeacon of Cork. In 1751 he entered Trinity College, Dublin, where he appears to have made a name for himself as a gifted and lively but unindustrious student. He left without taking his degree and joined the army, becoming a captain in the 73rd regiment of foot. He served at Bellisle, then retired on half pay, returned to Ireland, and then settled in London about 1762.
There, as a friend of the eminent Dublin physician Sir Edward Barry (qv) and of the politician William Gerard Hamilton, he found himself mixing with an influential circle that included Samuel Johnson, Oliver Goldsmith (qv), Edmund Burke (qv), David Garrick and Sir Joshua Reynolds. Garrick was of particular help to him, providing him with a loan of £500. His ability to entertain and amuse made him a popular guest. James Boswell, who met him in the home of Thomas (qv) and Frances Sheridan (qv), remembered him as ‘a lively little fellow and the best mimic in the world’ (Jephson, 303).
These convivial talents similarly charmed Charles Townshend, brother of George Townshend (qv), lord lieutenant of Ireland (1767–72). Having been appointed master of the horse in Townshend's administration (a post he held until 1803 under twelve successive viceroys), Jephson returned to Ireland in 1767, and purchased a house in Blackrock, Co. Dublin, where he settled with his new wife, Jane, daughter of his friend Barry. As a loyal supporter of Townshend's troubled administration, he contributed numerous satirical pieces to the Dublin press in favour of the viceroy. These were subsequently published along with those of John Courtenay (1741–1816) in a collection entitled Essays from The Bachelor, in prose and verse (1773). Among his other publications from the period were An epistle to Gorges Edmond Howard, esq. (1771), a satirical poem ‘with Notes Explanatory, Critical, and Historical’, which parodied the style of the notoriously pedantic and self-important printer George Faulkner (qv).
His loyalty brought him a pension of £300 (subsequently doubled), and a seat for St Johnstown, Co. Longford (1773–6) in the Irish house of commons. His speech of 11 February 1774, later published, opposed a bill to encourage catholics to convert to protestantism. He lost his seat in 1776, but was brought in by the government for Old Leighlin, Co. Carlow (1777–82), which was controlled by the bishop of Ferns and Leighlin. He later represented Granard, Co. Longford (1783–90). While he was undoubtedly considered a witty parliamentarian (he was known in the house as Mortal Momus), his speeches lacked weight; contemporaries recalled that his ‘talents have been exerted to points where either government wish'd to take no part, or where an injury was received from his ability or rather ingenuity’ (Hunt, 29).
After 1776 Jephson was known as a reliable government supporter, but concentrated more on establishing himself as a writer than on his parliamentary career. His Journey to Celbridge, a parody of Johnson's tour of the Scottish islands, was circulated among his friends in 1776, including Louisa Conolly (qv), who found it ‘clever and well done’ (Fitzgerald, Correspondence of Emily, duchess of Leinster, iii, 220). A neighbour of the Fitzgeralds at Blackrock, he and his wife were part of Louisa Conolly's intimate social circle, and he is mentioned in her correspondence. On 8 July 1783 Louisa wrote fondly of him to William Ogilvie (qv): she found it impossible not to laugh at what he said, but ridicule was ‘just the thing one should never allow oneself about worthy people’ (ibid., 362). He frequently performed at private parties at the Conollys’ houses in both Ireland and London.
However, it was as a dramatist that his reputation soon grew. The first of his five tragedies, ‘Braganza’, which dealt with Portugal's struggle with Spain and included a prologue by Arthur Murphy (qv) and an epilogue by Horace Walpole, was produced in Drury Lane on 17 February 1775 and proved a popular success. He had first read it to Lady Louisa Conolly, who also attended its opening. The rapturous reception of ‘Braganza’ was described in Walpole's correspondence, and its success was followed by ‘The law of Lombardy’ (Drury Lane, February 1779) and ‘The count of Narbonne’, reworked from Walpole's Castle of Otranto and Mysterious mother. It was first staged at Covent Garden on 17 November 1781, welcomed by Walpole, and it ran until 1798. ‘Julia, or The Italian lover’ was staged at Drury Lane in April 1787; though it featured Kemble and Siddons as principals, it did not last. ‘Conspiracy’ (Drury Lane, November 1796) did not meet with success either. However, he also produced farces – ‘The hotel, or The servant with two masters’ was staged in Dublin's Smock Alley in May 1783, and then at Covent Garden in February 1791 under the title ‘Two strings to your bow’. His only comic opera, ‘The campaign, or Love in the East Indies’, was performed at Smock Alley in January 1784 and at Covent Garden the following year. Rewritten and shortened by John O'Keefe as a farce and retitled ‘Love and war’ (1787), it was very popular.
Jephson's theatrical interests also extended to performing in amateur productions in Dublin, notably in the private theatre of Luke Gardiner (qv) in the Phoenix Park, where both he and his wife acted in ‘Macbeth’ in January 1778. He took the title role. His friend Lady Louisa Conolly was enthusiastic about his acting abilities, writing on 8 January 1775: ‘Mr Jephson and Mrs Gardiner, I think, are equal to any actors (Garrick excepted) I ever saw’ (Fitzgerald, 112). Less successful were his efforts with George Colman to secure a theatrical monopoly for themselves in Dublin (1779). Their attempt to push the necessary bill through parliament met with heated opposition and came to nothing.
Jephson's literary output also included Roman portraits, a poem in heroick verse (1793), which made little impact, and his satire on the duke of Orleans, The confessions of Jacques Baptiste Couteau (1794). He was widowed in 1797. After several years of poor health, he died 31 May 1803 at his home in Blackrock. His estate was left to his nephew the Rev. John Jephson.