The Borough

George Crabbe was an English naturalist and poet. His first major work, a poem entitled "Inebriety", was self-published in 1775. He completed medical training and then moved with his wife to London. Crabbe had a strong religious belief and was ordained chaplain to the Duke of Rutland at Belvoir Castle at Leicestershire. His two best known poems were The Village (1783) and The Borough (1810), both lengthy poems dealing with the way of life he had experienced. The Borough is arranged as a series of letters, covering borough life and the stories of the villager's lives.