First published in 1892, this is Emma Marshall's fictional account of
Thomas Chatterton's troubled life, misdirected genius, and tragic death.
Chatterton, as an 11-year-old boy, began publishing mature works of
poetry in 1763. Before long, he was fooling the literary world by
passing his work off as that of a non-existent 15th-century poet named
Thomas Rowley. Brought up in poverty and without a father, he studied
furiously and went on to try and earn a living from his writing. After
impressing the likes of the Lord Mayor, William Beckford and John
Wilkes, he eagerly looked for an outlet in London for his political
works, but was unable to make a decent living and, despairing, poisoned
himself at the age of seventeen. Thomas Chatterton had a significant
impact on many writers and poets including Coleridge, Wordsworth,
Shelley, and Keats; with a wealth of literature and poetry having been
dedicated to him since his untimely death. Contents of this story
include: "Longing For Flight", "The Squire", "An Elegy", "The Letter
Delivered", "The Orchard Gate", "The Sympathy Of Poverty",
"Consultation", "The Songs Of Rowley The Priest", "The Poet's Friends",
etc. Emma Marshall (1830-1899) was a prolific English children's author
of over 200 novels. Other notable works by this author include: "Heights
And Valleys" (1871), "A Lily Among Thorns" (1874), and "The Cathedral
Cities Of England, English Cathedrals" (1879). Read & Co. is
republishing this classic work in a new edition complete with "Sonnet to
Chatterton" (1848) by John Keats for the enjoyment of a new generation
of readers
