SOURCE: “Holcroft: A Radical Novelist” in Politics in Literature in the Nineteenth Century, Editions Universitaires, 1974, pp. 11-30.

In the essay below, Teissedou notes evidence of Holcroft's revolutionary activities and views in his life and works.

The mere mention of English radicalism immediately brings to one's mind the memory of such great men and women as William Godwin, Thomas Paine and Mary Wollstonecraft. They are supposed to be, and undoubtedly were, the leaders of that great movement, which started at the end of the 18th century and developed throughout the 19th century. Yet, it would be most unfair to remember those names only, since other militants not only existed, but also proved to be quite influential in the making of English radicalism, though they are now, at best, considered as minor figures, or even worse, entirely forgotten. Among those thus unjustly neglected stands Thomas Holcroft, the playwright and novelist...