William Cobbett

author

William Cobbett

1763–1835

A fierce, plainspoken champion of rural England, this journalist and reformer wrote with unusual energy about politics, poverty, and everyday life. He is best remembered for Rural Rides, a vivid record of the countryside in a time of rapid change.

3 Audiobooks

Advice to Young Men And (Incidentally) to Young Women in the Middle and Higher Ranks of Life. In a Series of Letters, Addressed to a Youth, a Bachelor, a Lover, a Husband, a Father, a Citizen, or a Subject.

Advice to Young Men And (Incidentally) to Young Women in the Middle and Higher Ranks of Life. In a Series of Letters, Addressed to a Youth, a Bachelor, a Lover, a Husband, a Father, a Citizen, or a Subject.

by William Cobbett

Cottage Economy, to Which is Added The Poor Man's Friend

Cottage Economy, to Which is Added The Poor Man's Friend

by William Cobbett

Rural Rides

Rural Rides

by William Cobbett

About the author

Born in Farnham, Surrey, in 1763, William Cobbett came from a farming family and built his reputation through sheer force of character and writing. He served in the army as a young man, spent time in North America, and went on to become one of the most widely read political journalists of his age.

Cobbett founded the Political Register, a paper that made him famous for his direct style and fearless attacks on corruption and political injustice. He argued for parliamentary reform and wrote again and again about the hardships faced by laborers and small farmers, becoming known as a powerful voice for ordinary people.

Today, he is especially associated with Rural Rides, based on journeys he made through the English countryside in the 1820s. In those pages, he mixed sharp social criticism with lively observation, leaving behind one of the most memorable portraits of rural England in the early nineteenth century.