Author: Mills, Thomas
Biography:
MILLS, Thomas (fl 1830)
Mills had his only known publication printed at Hoxton (now part of London) in 1830 and presumably lived and worked in the vicinity, but in the absence of other biographical information, his name and residence are both too commonplace to make firm identification possible. He put his name to the title-page with no further details—no “Esq.” or “M.A.” or “cobbler.” The title alludes to Gray’s “Elegy in a Country Churchyard” and Mills clearly saw himself as a natural, unschooled poet like Burns, Bloomfield, and Clare (qq.v.). No reviews have been found. In the preface he announces that “this production is the result of the observation of nature throughout the seasons, unembellished by art.” Several poems describe country walks in and around London; what is more surprising about the contents of the volume is the overwhelming attention to women and their lot in “Ode to Women,” “Woman’s Worth,” etc. The final item in the collection is a short piece written in 1820 for his son to recite on the occasion of the coronation of George IV—so he was a married man with at least one child. HJ