Sir,--Can you, or any of your readers, give me any information relating
to Caraccioli's _Life of Lord Clive_? It is a book in four bulky octavo
volumes, without date published, I believe, at different periods, about
the year 1780--perhaps some years later. It enjoys the distinction of
being about the worst book that was ever published. It bears, on its
title-page, the name of "Charles Caraccioli, Gent." A writer in the
_Calcutta Review_, incidentally alluding to the book, says that "it is
said to have been written by a member of one of the councils over which
Clive presided; but the writer, being obviously better acquainted with
his lordship's personal doings in Europe than in Asia, the work savours
strongly of home-manufacture, and has all the appearance of being the
joint composition of a discarded valet and a bookseller's hack." The
last hypothesis appears very probable. Internal evidence is greatly in
its favour. Can any of your readers tell me who was "Charles Caraccioli,
Gent.,"--when the atrocity which bears his name was published,--or any
thing about the man or his book? Probably some notice of it may be found
in the _Monthly Review_, the _Gentleman's Magazine_, or some other
periodical of the last century. The writer, indeed, speaks of his first
volume having been reviewed with "unprecedented" severity. Perhaps you
can help me to the dates of some notices of this book. The work I
believe to be scarce. The copy in my possession is the only complete one
I have seen; but I once stumbled upon an odd volume at a book-stall. It
is such a book as Lord Clive's family would have done well in buying up;
and it is not improbable that an attempt was made to suppress it. The
success of your journal is greatly dependent upon the brevity of your
correspondents; so no more, even in commendation of its design, from
yours obediently,