Lalla Rookh

Lalla Rookh Cover

Originally published in London in 1817, Thomas Moore’s Lalla Rookh: An Oriental Romance, the writing of which was initially encouraged by Lord Byron, is one of the best-selling and most widely translated poems of the nineteenth century. Following the success of Moore’s early A Selection of Irish Melodies (1808), the London publishers Murray and Longman began a bidding war for the publication of Lalla Rookh. Ultimately, Longman purchased the rights to the collection for £3,000, an extraordinary sum, outbidding Murray by £1,000. A second edition of Lalla Rookh was published one month after its initial publication and a third edition was published the next month. Before the end of 1817, a quarto sixth edition was published, which featured engravings from designs by Richard Westall (1765-1836). Twenty-four years later, the work had reached its twentieth edition when it was published in Moore’s Collected Poetical Works. The exotic nature of Lalla Rookh inspired the publication of illustrations of the story in a number of artistic styles. Lalla Rookh consists of four long and interwoven narrative poems, which are ‘sung’ by the Cashmerian bard Feramorz as he attempts to court the Indian princess Lalla Rookh. This work combines sensual pleasures with allegories regarding colonialism, religion, and revolution; the two long poems, The Veiled Prophet of Khorassan and The Fire-worshippers, refer to the French Revolution and the 1798 Uprising of the United Irishmen. The latter poem – dedicated to Robert Emmet – refers, as Moore later admitted, to armed resistance against British rule; indeed, even the use of Iran creates homophonic parallel to Erin.

Lalla Rookh Sample

Lalla Rookh Sample

Gibson-Massie Moore Collection: 

Queen’s University Belfast Special Collections and Archives holds the Gibson-Massie Moore Collection, the world’s largest collection of Thomas Moore’s (1779-1852) published literary and musical works. The core of this particular collection was assembled by the Belfast collector, Andrew Gibson (fl. 1904-1927) during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Highlights of the collection include 71 editions of Lalla Rookh (ranging in date from 1817-1901, and published in the UK, the USA, Canada, France, Germany, The Netherlands and elsewhere) and over two hundred volumes of Irish Melodies in various editions.

Since its acquisition in 1960, Queen's has continued to supplement the collection with the addition of various titles relating to Moore, his life and his writing. Modern criticisms, commentaries, musical arrangements and biographies are well represented. The collection currently contains over a thousand volumes, including monographs, lyrics, sheet music and 1 CD recording.

Relates to:
Moore/ PR5054.L1 1851a
Lalla Rookh