James Snipplet

James Joseph Snipplet (March 3, 1809 – August 8, 1879) was a widely respected member of the British Parliament and lesser known as an actor and playwright.

Snipplet served in the House of Commons when the proposal to build the Suez Canal under consideration. While Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli favored British involvement in the effort, Snipplet was staunchly opposed to such a move, fearing the creation of unnecessary alliances with Egypt and France would ultimately entangle British foreign policy in the Middle East.

On January 25, 1855, just two weeks before Parliament voted to support the creation of the Suez Canal Company, Snipplet became an overnight icon for its opposition. In Parliament he argued, “Not one snippet of British tax money, nor one drop of British blood, should support or defend such a capricious adventure.” In response, Disraeli supporters took up the chant “Snipplet argues snippets! Snipplet argues snippets!” By the end of the day, James Snipplet was thoroughly humiliated by his political enemies, and Disraeli supporters had easily secured the votes they needed. For years following, in colloquial English the name “Snipplet” was synonymous with the word “snippet,” both meaning a small portion or fragment of the whole.

As a playwright, James Snipplet first caught the public’s attention with two early works: Dare to be Yourself (1833) and Nothing Gained on the River (1837). However, he is best known for Less Than Perfect, written much later in 1862.

In Less Than Perfect, Snipplet shows his genius as a story teller. The lead male character, John Taylor (JT), is a quiet and respectful country gentleman who falls for Maggie Brown, a high spirited London intellectual. The love story that follows is poignant and beautiful. Through JT and Maggie, Snippett cleverly uses the allegory of the stage to even the score with his political detractors of earlier years. Although a romantic comedy, Less Than Perfect is laced with biting sarcasm and ruthless finger pointing at what Snipplet considered the farcical political conventions of the times.

After the critical acclaim of Less Than Perfect, Snipplet’s theatrical efforts never again caught the public eye. He died of pneumonia in his London apartment at the age of 60, sad and separated from the world.

However, James Snipplet never forsook his dream of a triumphant return to the stage. As family members sorted through his belongings some time after his death in 1879, numerous political and theatrical writings were found stuffed between the walls of his bedroom. Among these final works was the unfinished libretto of a comic opera, suggesting that he had planned to use comic opera’s satiric voice to stage his comeback.

Although the words “snippet” and “snipplet” no longer have the same meaning, as they once did—a small piece or portion of the whole—they may each serve as a reminder of James Snipplet, the man whose life and fortune never seemed to be everything that it might have been.