Charles Lamb was a immature baby of John Lamb, an attorney's clerk. He was natural in the Inner Temple and spent his youth there, later running away to school at Christ's Hospital. There he formed the friendly relationship by using Samuel Taylor Coleridge which would last for several years. Fallowing allowing school inside 1789, he went to work for the South Sea House, whose subsequent downfall in the pyramid scheme after Lamb left would be contrasted to the company's prosperity in the 1st Elia essay. Inside 1792 he went to work for British East India Company, the demise of his father's employer with ruined a personal's fortunes. Charles & his sister Mary each suffered periods of mental infection, & Charles spent vi weeks within an psychiatric hospital during 1795. He was, nevertheless, already making his title as a poet.

Around 1799, John Lamb died and Charles became shielder to Mary, whose mental instability prevented her from either searching fallowing herself. Lamb continued to act as a clerk for the East India Company & doubled as a writer around various genres, his tragedy, John Woodvil, being published inside 1802. His farce, Mr H, was performed at Drury Lane in 1807. In the equivalent month, Tales from either Shakespeare (Charles handled the tragedies & Mary a comedies) was promulgated, & became a right-best seller for William Godwin's "Children's Library".

Charles, world health organization got never married because of his personal commitments, fell gaga sustaining an actress, Tail Kelly, of Covent Garden, but she refused him & he remained until his dying the bachelor. His gathered essays, under a title, Essays of Elia, were published inside 1823 ("Elia" being a pen-title Lamb utilized as a contributor to The London Magazine). The farther collection was promulgated x years non therefore late, shortly prior to Lamb's demise. He died of an contagion, erysipelas, contracted from the cut in his face. His sister, world health organization was 10 years his senior, survived him.