Leigh Hunt

Sheldon Goldfarb (University of British Columbia)

The Literary Encyclopedia. Volume 1.2.1.06: English Writing and Culture of the Romantic Period, 1789-1837.
Vol. editors: Robert Clark (The Literary Encyclopedia), Daniel Cook (University of Dundee), Daniel Robinson (Widener University), Emily Rohrbach (University of Durham)

Dates

Born 19 Oct 1784
Died 28 Aug 1859
Activity 1804-1859

Places

Born in England
Active in England

Activities

Primary

Journalist
Poet

Resources

Sketch by Daniel Maclise, c.1830s. Courtesy The Walter Scott Digital Archive, Edinburgh University Library.

Leigh Hunt is perhaps best known today for two short poems, “Jenny Kissed Me” and “Abou Ben Adhem”. In his time, he was known as a leading figure in the Romantic movement, a friend and mentor of Keats and Shelley, a groundbreaking drama critic, the editor of the leading liberal journal of the day (the Examiner), and a political writer whose criticisms of the Prince Regent led to his imprisonment for libel. He also became known in his later years as the subject of a hostile caricature in Charles Dickens’ novel Bleak House.

James Henry Leigh Hunt was born in Southgate...

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2134 words

Citation: Goldfarb, Sheldon. "Leigh Hunt". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 04 March 2011 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=2264, accessed 06 April 2026.]

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