Thomas Chatterton

Born in Bristol in 1752, Thomas Chatterton showed unusual literary talent from an early age. He is best known for the so-called Rowley poems, works he presented as writings by a medieval monk named Thomas Rowley. The poems dazzled readers with their rich language and atmosphere, even as later generations debated their authenticity.

Chatterton moved to London while still in his teens and wrote energetically for magazines and political publications. He died there in 1770 at just seventeen, a fact that helped turn him into a lasting symbol of misunderstood genius.

After his death, his reputation grew steadily. Writers of the Romantic period admired his imagination and intensity, and he has remained an important figure in English literature not only for the poems themselves but also for the strange, brilliant story of how he created them.