ABSTRACT

John Critchley Prince was born in Wigan, 'cradled in poverty' and employed as a weaver's reed-maker from the age of nine. After a rudimentary education, his reading was made rare, covert and intense by an alcoholic father who tried to beat the love of books out of his son. Prince began his writing career in 1827 by publishing in periodicals like the Phœnix, and joined a local writers’ group called ‘The Literary Twelve’ in 1836. Following the success of Hours with the Muses, he founded a ‘Literary Association’ that met across the street from his home at the Sun Inn, Manchester. He aimed low and hit the mark, content to give user the clear music that was floating around him in the actual world. Much of Prince’s work wears the deferential camouflage of the labouring-class poet who simply cannot afford to throw a pot of ink in the public’s face.