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Author: Bloomfield, Robert

Biography:

BLOOMFIELD, Robert (1766-1823: ODNB)

Born in Honington, Suffolk, son of George Bloomfield, a tailor, and Elizabeth Manby, a schoolmistress. George Bloomfield died of smallpox in 1767, leaving his wife with six children; she remarried five years later, but the family continued to struggle financially. Robert was sent to work on an uncle's farm for three years, then moved to London to practise as a shoemaker with two brothers. The Farmer's Boy (1800), written originally for his mother, was slow to find a publisher, but Robert's brother George found a champion in Capel Lofft (q.v.), who wrote an introduction emphasizing Bloomfield's working-class background and arranged for a high-quality, illustrated edition. It was an immediate success: St. Clair describes it as "the poem which sold the most copies and circulated most widely" in the Romantic period. But Bloomfield's later poems, mostly moral tales, sold less well and he died in poverty. (ODNB 14 Dec. 2017; William St. Clair, The Reading Nation in the Romantic Period [2004], 219)

 

Books written (73):

2nd edn. London/ Bury/ Norwich/ Edinburgh/ Dublin: Vernor and Hood, and T. C. Rickman/ Ingram/ Booth/ Hill/ Archer and Dugdale, 1800
3rd edn. London/ Bury/ Norwich/ Edinburgh/ Dublin: Vernor and Hood, and T. C. Rickman/ Ingram and Dingle/ Booth/ Hill/ Archer and Dugdale, 1800
London: Vernor and Hood, 1800
4th edn. London/ Bury/ Norwich/ Edinburgh/ Dublin: Vernor and Hood, and T. C. Rickman/ Ingram, Dingle, and Rackham/ Booth/ Hill/ Archer and Dugdale, 1801
5th edn. London/ Bury/ Norwich/ Edinburgh/ Dublin: Vernor and Hood, and T. C. Rickham/ Ingram, Dingle, and Rackham/ Booth/ Hill/ Archer and Dugdale, 1801
1st American edn. New York: George F. Hopkins, 1801
from the 3rd London edn. Philadelphia: printed by James Humphreys, 1801
4th American edn. New York: Evert Duyckinck, 1801
4th American edn. New York/ Philadelphia/ Baltimore/ George-town [DC]/ Richmond [VA]/ Albany [NY]/ Troy [NY]: G. and R. Waite, and N. Bell/ H. and P. Rice/ J. Rice/ J. March/ S. Pleasants/ C. R. and G. Webster/ D. Buel, 1801
2nd edn. London: Vernor and Hood; Longman and Rees, 1802
6th edn. London: Vernor and Hood, and Longman and Rees, 1802
London: Vernor and Hood; Longman and Rees, 1802
London: Vernor and Hood; Longman and Rees, 1802
Boston: Joseph Nancrede, 1802
New York: Brown and Stansbury, 1802
4th American edn. Baltimore: Thomas, Andrews, and Butler, 1803
7th edn. London: Vernor and Hood, and Longman and Rees, 1803
New York: G. F. Hopkins, 1803
5th American edn. from the 6th London edn. New York: G. F. Hopkins, 1803
3rd edn. London: Vernor and Hood, Longman and Rees, 1803
London: Vernor and Hood, and Longman and Rees, 1804
Paris: Parsons and Galignani, 1804
8th edn. London: Vernor and Hood; Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1805
Philadelphia: Hugh Maxwell, 1805
4th edn. London: Vernor and Hood, and Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1805
9th edn. London: Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe; Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1806
5th edn. London: Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe; Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1806
London: Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, and Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1806
Philadelphia/ Richmond [VA]: Jacob Johnson/Jacob Johnson, 1806
10th edn. London: Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, and Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1808
Stereotype edn. London: for the author by Vernor, Hood and Sharpe, and Longman, Hurst, Rees and Orme, 1809
6th edn. London: Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, and Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1809
London: Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe; Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1809
11th edn. London: Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, and Longman, Hurst, Rees, and Orme, 1810
London: for the author by Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1811
12th edn. London: Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Browne [Brown], 1811
7th edn. London: Vernor, Hood, and Sharpe, and Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown [sic], 1811
Philadelphia/ New York: Bradford and Inskeep/ Inskeep and Bradford, 1812
London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, B. and R. Crosby and Co., J. Walker, Darton, Harvey, and Co., 1812
2nd edn. London: B. and R. Crosby and Co., Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme and Brown, John Walker, Darton and Harvey, and the author, 1813
5th American edn. Albany [NY]: Pratt and Doubleday, 1814
Stereotype edn. London: for the author by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Co., B. and R. Crosby and Co., Darton, Harvey and Darton, Walker, Edwards, and Reynolds, and G. Cowie and Co., 1814
13th edn. London/ Weybridge: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Darton, Harvey, and Co., and Walker and Edwards/ printed by S. Hamilton, 1815
8th edn. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Harvey and Co., and Walker and Edwards, 1815
London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Darton, Harvey, and Co., and Walker and Edwards, 1816
Stereotype edn. London: for the author by Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Darton, Harvey, and Darton, Walker and Edwards, and G. Cowie and Co., 1817
New edn. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Darton, Harvey, and Darton, J. Booker, G. Cowie and Co., Edwards and Knibb, 1819
14th edn. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Darton, Harvey, and Co., G. Cowie and Co., and Edwards and Knibb, 1820
9th edn. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Darton, Harvey, and Darton, J. Booker, G. Cowie and Son, and Edwards and Knibe, 1820
Stereotype Edition London: The Author; Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown; Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy; Harvey and Darton; G. Cowie and Co.; J. Booker; Edwards and Knibb, 1821
London: the author, and Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1822
2nd edn. London: the author and, for the author, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1822
3rd edn. London: Longman Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Co., Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Harvey and Darton, J. Booker, G. Cowie and Co., and T. Hamilton, 1823
London: printed by Richard Edwards, 1824
London: for the author by Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1824
10th edn. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, and Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, and Harvey and Darton, J. Booker, Cowie and Lowe, and Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1826
New edn. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Harvey and Darton, J. Booker, Cowie and Lowe, and Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1826
15th edn. London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Harvey and Darton, J. Booker, G. Cowie and Co., and Hamilton and Adams, 1827
London: Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, and Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, Harvey and Darton, J. Booker, G. Cowie and Co., and Hamilton and Adams, 1827
Glasgow: printed by Malcolm and Griffin, 1828
London: Longman. Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, Baldwin and Cradock, Harvey and Darton, J. Booker, G. Cowie and Co., and Hamilton, Adams, and Co., 1831
London: printedy by [G. Cowie], 1835
London: E. Spettigue, [1835?]