Editing Samuel Foote (section)

==Early life==
Born into a well-to-do family,<ref name="Hartnoll, p. 290">Hartnoll, p. 290.</ref> Foote was [[Baptism|baptised]] in [[Truro]], Cornwall, on 27 January 1720.<ref name="Britannica">Britannica.</ref> His father, Samuel Foote, held several public positions, including [[mayor]] of Truro, [[British House of Commons|Member of Parliament]] representing [[Tiverton, Devon|Tiverton]] and a commissioner in the [[Prize Office]].<ref>Foote, p. 1.</ref> His mother, née Eleanor Goodere, was the daughter of [[Sir Edward Goodere, 1st Baronet|Sir Edward Goodere]] [[Baronet]] of [[Hereford]].<ref name="Murphy, p. 1104">Murphy, p. 1104.</ref> Foote may have inherited his wit and sharp humour from her and her family which was described as "eccentric ... whose peculiarities ranged from the harmless to the malevolent."<ref name="Howard, p. 131">Howard, p. 131.</ref> About the time Foote came of age, he inherited his first fortune when one of his uncles, [[Sir John Dineley Goodere, 2nd Baronet]], was murdered by another uncle, Captain [[Samuel Goodere]].<ref name="Britannica"/> This murder was the subject of his first [[pamphlet]], which he published around 1741.<ref>Howard, pp. 127–8.</ref>

Foote was educated at [[Truro Cathedral School|Truro Grammar School]],<ref name=carlisle>Nicholas Carlisle, ''A concise description of the endowed grammar schools in England'', vol. 1 (1818), [https://books.google.com/books?id=GwsJRFnvUIAC&pg=PA151 p. 151]</ref> the collegiate school at [[Worcester, England|Worcester]], and at [[Worcester College, Oxford]], distinguishing himself in these places by mimicry and audacious pleasantries of all kinds.<ref name="Britannica"/> An undisciplined student, he frequently was absent from his [[Greek language|Greek]] and [[Latin language|Latin]] classes and subsequently, Oxford [[Expulsion (education)|expelled]] him on 28 January 1740.<ref name="Murphy, p. 1104"/> Although he left Oxford without receiving his degree, he acquired a classical training which afterwards enabled him to easily turn a classical quotation or allusion, and helped to give to his [[prose]] style a certain fluency and elegance.<ref name="Britannica"/>

Foote was destined for the [[English law|law]], but certainly not by nature. In his chambers at the [[Inner Temple]], and in the [[Grecian Coffee House]] nearby, he came to know something of [[lawyer]]s if not of law, and was afterwards able to jest at the jargon and to mimic the mannerisms of the bar, and to satirise the [[Latitat]]s of the other branch of the profession with particular success.<ref name="Britannica"/> Though he never applied himself to his studies at the Inner Temple, he well applied himself to spending money and living as a ''[[wiktionary:bon vivant|bon vivant]],'' which led to his quickly running out of funds.<ref name="Howard, p. 131"/>

After finding himself in [[debt]], Foote married a certain Mary Hickes (or Hicks) on 10 January 1741. With his wife also came a sizable [[dowry]]. Contemporaries note that Foote mistreated his wife, deserting her when his financial situation improved and Hickes may have died an early death.<ref name="Howard, p. 131"/> But a stronger attraction drew him to the [[Bedford Coffee-house]] in [[Covent Garden]], and to the theatrical world of which it was the social centre.<ref name="Britannica"/> His extravagant living soon forced him into [[debtor's prison]] in 1742,<ref name="Holland, p. 382">Holland, p. 382.</ref> and friends encouraged Foote's going onto the stage to make a living.<ref name="Hartnoll, p. 290">Hartnoll, p. 290.</ref>