
Transcribed by Steven Wood from the Keighley Herald (1893).
CHAPTER I.
CHAPTER II. - A ROMANTIC AND NOMADIC YOUTH
CHAPTER III - TO THE STAGE AGAIN
CHAPTER IV - PLAYING THE CLOWN AND EVADING THE IMPOSSIBLE
CHAPTER V - “T’OTHER LODGER!”
CHAPTER VI - MARIONETTES AT INGROW—AN AMUSING STORY
CHAPTER VII
CHAPTER VIII - A WOOING EXPEDITION AND ITS SEQUEL
CHAPTER IX - MY MILITARY CAREER
A lively, self‑portrait of a Yorkshire lad who spent his youth darting from one daring escapade to the next, this memoir blends cheeky humor with moments of quiet reflection. Bill O’th Hoylus End—part trickster, part poet—narrates his own story with a voice that crackles like a local tavern fire, offering listeners a taste of the mischievous spirit that defined his early years.
Set against the backdrop of a modest cottage in the hamlet of Hermit Hole, the narrative weaves in family history, the rhythm of a father’s singing, and the bustling life of a 19th‑century mill town. As Bill recounts his childhood pranks, youthful bravado, and the first stirrings of his poetic leanings, the listener is invited into a world where pleasure and folly dance together, hinting at the deeper self‑inquiry that will shape his later life.
Language
en
Duration
~5 hours (330K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
2009-06-09
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
1836–1897
A lively Yorkshire dialect poet with a taste for adventure, he turned a life of odd jobs and hard experience into warm, humorous verse and memoir. His writing captures local voices, working people, and the restless energy of 19th-century Keighley.
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by Bill o'th' Hoylus End

by Bill o'th' Hoylus End