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- Frederick Martin
- The Life of John Clare
Chapters
37 totalPREFACE.
HELPSTON. - JOHN CLARE LEARNS THRESHING, AND MAKES AN ATTEMPT TO BECOME A LAWYER'S CLERK. - JOHN CLARE STUDIES ALGEBRA, AND FALLS IN LOVE. - TRAVELS IN SEARCH OF A BOOK. - VARIOUS ADVENTURES, INCLUDING THE PURCHASE OF 'LOWE'S CRITICAL SPELLING-BOOK.' - FRESH ATTEMPTS TO RISE IN THE WORLD: A SHORT MILITARY CAREER. - TRIAL OF GYPSY LIFE. - LIME BURNING AND LOVE MAKING. - ATTEMPTS TO GET UP A PROSPECTUS. - THE TURN OF FORTUNE. - JOHN CLARE'S FIRST PATRON. - PREPARING FOR PUBLICATION. - SUCCESS. - 'OPINIONS OF THE PRESS' AND CONSEQUENCES. - NEW SIGHTS AND NEW FRIENDS. - FIRST TROUBLES OF FAME. - PATRONAGE UNDER VARIOUS ASPECTS. - PUBLICATION OF THE 'VILLAGE MINSTREL.' - GLIMPSES OF JOHN CLARE AT HOME. - JOURNEY TO LONDON. - DARKENING CLOUDS. - PHYSIC AND PHYSICIANS. - NEW STRUGGLES. - PUBLICATION OF 'THE SHEPHERD'S CALENDAR.' - VISITS TO NEW AND OLD FRIENDS. - THE POET AS PEDLAR. - CLOUDS AND SUNSHINE. - FRIENDS IN NEED. - NORTHBOROUGH. - ALONE. - THE LAST STRUGGLE. - BURST OF INSANITY. - COUNTY PATRONAGE. - DR. ALLEN'S ASYLUM. - ESCAPE FROM THE ASYLUM. - FINIS.
JOHN CLARE LEARNS THRESHING, AND MAKES AN ATTEMPT TO BECOME A LAWYER'S CLERK.
JOHN CLARE CONTINUES TO STUDY ALGEBRA, AND FALLS IN LOVE.
TRAVELS IN SEARCH OF A BOOK.
VARIOUS ADVENTURES, INCLUDING THE PURCHASE OF 'LOWE'S CRITICAL SPELLING-BOOK.'
FRESH ATTEMPTS TO RISE IN THE WORLD, INCLUDING A SHORT MILITARY CAREER.
TROUBLES OF LOVE, AND A TRIAL OF GYPSY LIFE.
LIME BURNING AND LOVE MAKING.
ATTEMPTS TO GET UP A PROSPECTUS.
Description
Born amid the windswept fens of Lincolnshire, the poet who would become known as the “Northamptonshire Peasant” grew up in a world of mud hovels and endless fields, his eyes sharp enough to turn the ordinary landscape into vivid verse. Early attempts at schooling, a brief stint as a lawyer’s clerk, and a love of algebra hint at a restless curiosity that never ceased, even as he toiled with the rhythms of threshing and the hardships of farm life. When his poems first appeared, critics hailed him as the English Burns, and composers set his lines to music, thrusting a humble farmhand into the glare of a literary spotlight.
The biography draws on a treasure trove of letters, memoirs, and personal documents, allowing listeners to hear Clare’s own voice amid the bustling praise and the creeping poverty that followed. It follows his fierce drive to publish, the fleeting comforts of patronage, and the slow unraveling of his health and spirit as fame faded. Ultimately, the story invites reflection on how a brilliant mind can both flourish and falter under the weight of societal neglect, offering a moving portrait of a poet who remains strikingly human today.
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Language
en
Duration
~10 hours (592K characters)
Publisher of text edition
Project Gutenberg
Release date
Jul 1, 2005
Rights
Public domain in the USA.
Subjects
About the author
Frederick Martin
1830–1883
Best remembered for launching and editing The Statesman’s Year-Book, this Swiss-born British writer brought politics, economics, and biography together in clear, practical prose. He also worked closely with Thomas Carlyle and wrote across an unusually wide range of subjects, from John Clare to marine insurance.
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