William Cobbett was one of the most important figures in early-nineteenth century British political radicalism. He was by turns soldier, clerk, teacher, journalist and political agitator. He began his literary life in the United States as a conservative anti-Jacobin pamphleteer, but underwent a political conversion on his return to England in 1803 and is best known for his contribution to radical journalism and pamphleteering, most notably through his Political Register which ran from 1802-35 and comprised some 42,000 pages by its demise. In the period 1816-20, in its cheap edition as “Cobbett’s Twopenny Trash”, it was the highest circulation newspaper of the period. In addition there was his Rural Rides, first p…
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Citation: Thompson, Noel. "William Cobbett". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 January 2008 [https://staging.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=931, accessed 23 November 2024.]
