author
William Roscoe
1753–1831
A self-taught writer from Liverpool who became one of Britain’s early abolitionists, he is remembered for linking literature, public life, and reform. He also wrote history, poetry, and children’s verse, including The Butterfly’s Ball, and the Grasshopper’s Feast.
3 Audiobooks
The Peacock 'At Home' AND The Butterfly's Ball AND The Fancy Fair
by Catherine Ann Turner Dorset, William Roscoe
The Butterfly's Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast
by William Roscoe
The Butterfly's Ball and the Grasshopper's Feast
by R. M. (Robert Michael) Ballantyne, William Roscoe
About the author
Born in Liverpool on March 8, 1753, William Roscoe rose from modest beginnings to become a lawyer, banker, historian, poet, and politician. Reliable sources agree that he became one of England’s first prominent abolitionists, speaking out against the slave trade at a time when it was deeply tied to Liverpool’s prosperity.
Roscoe was also a major cultural figure in his city. He wrote historical works on Lorenzo de' Medici and Pope Leo X, helped encourage learning and the arts in Liverpool, and was known as a collector and supporter of botany and literature. His range of interests makes him unusual even among public figures of his era.
He died on June 30, 1831. Today he is remembered not only for his writing, but for the moral courage of his anti-slavery work and for the part he played in shaping Liverpool’s intellectual life.