Thomas HolcroftThe English author Thomas Holcroft was born on December 10, 1745, and died on March 23, 1809. He wrote plays, poetry, and translations. He agreed with the ideas behind the French Revolution at the time, and he helped Thomas Paine get the first part o The Rights of Man published. He was born in London in Orange Court, Leicester Fields. His dad used to run a shoemaker's shop and rent out horses for rides, but he got into money problems and had to work as a pedlar. The son went on vacation with his folks. He got a job as a stable boy in Newmarket at the stables of Hon. Richard Vernon. In the nights, he mostly read random things and studied music. He slowly learned how to speak French, German, and Italian. Holcroft went back to help his father, who had gone back to work as a shoemaker in London, when his job at the stables ended. He started working as a teacher in a small school in Liverpool around 1765. But his plan to open a private school didn't work out, so he became a prompter in a Dublin theater. He then worked with a number of strolling groups until 1778, when he put on the play The Crisis; or, Love and Famine at Drury Lane. In 1781, dishonesty came next. Read More Read Less