Thomas Jefferson Hogg (24 May 1792 – 27 August 1862) was a British barrister and writer best known for his friendship with the Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley.

During their time at Oxford they collaborated on several literary projects, culminating in their joint expulsion following the publication of an essay titled "The Necessity of Atheism".

They remained good friends, but their relationship was sometimes strained because of Hogg's attraction to the women who were romantically involved with Shelley.

Hogg became a barrister and met Jane Williams, who had become a close friend of Percy Shelley's shortly before the poet's death.

He studied Greek literature for much of his life and published several articles on the subject, including two entries in the Encyclopædia Britannica.

Although the book was well researched and painted a clear picture of Shelley as a young man, it was criticised for portraying him negatively.

[5] As a young man, Hogg read many books, including Paradise Lost, Tristram Shandy and the Life of Johnson.

Every summer the family rented a house in Seaton Carew, where Hogg often hunted, fished and went horse riding.

Hogg eventually told Harriet of his feelings towards her, but she politely rebuffed him, and began to read novels with moral themes aloud in his presence.

After a stay of six weeks, Hogg had to return to the conveyancer's office in York, and the Shelleys decided to accompany him back to his home in that city.

Troubled by the distress felt by his housemates, Percy Shelley suddenly decided to leave York with Harriet and her sister.

He published it anonymously, with the claim that it had been translated from Latin by a man named John Brown at Prince Haimatoff's request.

He tried to conceal his political views from his classmates and spent long hours studying law and reading Greek literature.

In April 1814, Hogg went to Ireland in an attempt to cheer up Percy Shelley, who had complained of poor spirits in a letter.

[37][38] Hogg became very attracted to Mary Shelley, and when Percy learned of his feelings towards her he encouraged both of them to have an affair, as an expression of free love.

[37][44] John and Prudentia Hogg were glad to hear that the Shelleys had left England, hoping that their son would become more conservative in Percy's absence.

They were disappointed with his continued rejection of their Tory political views, but he did attend church with them during his visits and was no longer a vegetarian.

Through Hunt, Hogg became acquainted with several members of London's literary circles, including Thomas Love Peacock, Charles Lamb and Walter Coulson.

The situation was eased by the death of Hogg's father's in late 1823; the inheritance he received assured his financial security.

He frequently attacked the Catholic Church and customs officials in his journals, but he often made positive observations about the lifestyles of many of the ordinary people that he met.

Word of their union spread throughout Durham, and Hogg stopped practising law there for some time because of the damage to his reputation.

This was not an immediate option because the Whig party was in opposition,[67] but in the summer of 1827 Henry Brougham promised Hogg a future position as a professor of civil law at the newly created University College London.

[68][69] Hogg had also hoped that his friend Thomas Love Peacock, who worked for the East India Company, would recommend him for a position there.

[73] Hogg became a fierce critic of the resulting Municipal Corporations Act 1835; he preferred a more deliberate and less ideological approach than most of his fellow commission members, and was considered by many to be an unusually conservative Whig.

After receiving his appointment, Hogg finally visited Norton House after a seven-year absence, but his family had not altered their opinion of his relationship with Jane.

[78][79] In 1841 Hogg wrote Some Recollections of Childhood, a historical novel set in London at the time of the Norman Conquest.

The book was not well received by critics, who complained of its discursive nature and poor character development; William Makepeace Thackeray published a particularly scathing review.

[80] Hogg had gained a reputation as a Greek scholar however, and contributed to the Encyclopædia Britannica; he was the author of the "Alphabet" and "Antiquities" entries in the seventh edition.

As a condition of his father's will, upon the death of his mother, Thomas Jefferson Hogg could purchase his brother's share of Norton House.

[90] In 1857, Sir Percy Shelley, 3rd Baronet, the poet's only surviving child, invited Hogg to produce a biography of his father, who had died more than 30 years earlier.