John Clare (1793-1864), the Northamptonshire 'peasant poet', is coming to be seen as one of the great English poets. Although he was briefly famous in the 1820s, his later and better work was ignored. In 1840, pronounced 'mad', he entered Northampton Asylum, where he remained until his death. Much of Clare's best work was published for the first time in the twentieth century. His descriptions of birds and animals, the seasons and the daily life of an English village just before the Industrial Revolution are among the finest in literature. His 'mad' poems, several of which are included here, are moving expressions of fear, loneliness and alienation. This edition by Merryn and Raymond Williams presents a selection of the poetry and prose exactly as Clare wrote it.