George Heath

Patrick Regan (Independent Scholar - Europe)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.07: English Writing and Culture of the Victorian Period, 1837-1901.
Vol. editors: Gillian Fenwick (University of Toronto), Jessica Gossling (Goldsmiths College, University of London)

Dates

Born 9 Mar 1844
Died 5 May 1869
Activity 1865-1869

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Poet

Resources

Heath's Works

Save to Bookshelf

George Heath was born in the village of Gratton in the Staffordshire Moorlands on March 9th 1844. He was educated at the village school and then went to work on his father's farm. Later he was apprenticed to a local builder and while working on the renovation of the church in the neighbouring village of Horton he caught a chill which developed into consumption. Just prior to this, in 1863, he had decided to become a poet. What prompted the decision is unknown beyond an entry in his diary which states: “fancy indulged in wildly beautiful dreams to the curl of the shavings and rasp of the saw”. Ironically the illness which Heath contracted and which led to his early death, also served to concentrate his mind on the task of becoming a poet.

Now unable to work, he devoted himself to his

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862 words

Citation: Regan, Patrick. "George Heath". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 13 November 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=5203, accessed 26 November 2024.]