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 published in 1830 and never since out of print. This was a politicised…

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Citation: Thompson, Noel. "William Cobbett". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 17 January 2008 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=931, accessed 19 March 2024.]

931 William Cobbett 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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