George Sewell (physician)

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George Sewell (died 1726) was an English doctor and poet who became known for sharp political writing and scandalous controversy. He was born in Windsor as the eldest son of John Sewell, who worked for the Windsor church. He went to Eton, where his poem The Favorite reflects his school days. He studied at Peterhouse, Cambridge, earned a BA, and then trained in medicine in Leiden with Hermann Boerhaave. He received his MD from Edinburgh in 1725.

Sewell began practicing in London with little success and later moved to Hampstead, where competition among doctors was strong. Under financial pressure, he turned to writing for hire, producing many poems, translations, and political pamphlets. He died of consumption in poverty in Hampstead on 8 February 1726 and had a pauper’s funeral on 12 February.

Politically, Sewell was a Tory and a fierce critic of Gilbert Burnet, attacking him in several pamphlets (1713–1715) and even attacking Burnet’s son anonymously. He published works defending Tory positions and opposing the government’s arguments, and later aligned with Sir Robert Walpole, publishing The Resigners vindicated in 1718. His best-known work was the tragedy The Tragedy of Sir Walter Raleigh, first staged in 1719; it played in London and was revived later. The play tapped into anti-Spanish sentiment and helped Sewell gain connections with prominent writers of his time.

Sewell associated with many leading literary figures. He contributed verses to collections, defended Addison’s Cato in pamphlets, and wrote the preface for Addison’s Miscellanies in Verse and Prose (1725). He contributed to The Tatler and The Spectator, wrote a Life and Character of John Philips, and added a seventh volume to Pope’s Shakespeare (1725). He worked on translations and other editions, including Ovid and Surrey, and his posthumous writings appeared in later collections. His letters and poems were circulated in contemporary correspondence and literary anthologies.