Author: Wilson, Thomas
Biography:
WILSON, Thomas (fl 1811)
Romance: a Poetical Capriccio, published anonymously, had several contemporary reviews that ranged from grudging to glowing but none of them offers clues as to the identity of the author and the reviewer for the Poetical Register for 1810-1811 makes a point of the withholding of the name, saying that if the author were already known this work would do his reputation no harm but that if he should be a newcomer it is a very promising start. BL attributes the work to T. Wilson, the name expanded to “Thomas Wilson, poetical writer” in the catalogue—but gives no authority for the attribution and holds no other title attributed to him. He was not the working-class poet Thomas Wilson (1773-1858) of “The Pitman’s Pay.” Two writers of that name in Watkins do not look like good matches: one wrote historical dramas and the other was a dancing-master. He remains unidentified. (CR 23:1 [May 1811], 109; Poetical Register for 1810-1811 [1814], 629; British Critic 37-8 [1811], 412-13) HJ
Other Names:
- T. Wilson