James Leigh Hunt was born on 19th October, 1784 in Southgate, Middlesex.
His father, a clergyman, got into financial difficulties and ended
up in a debtor's prison. As a young man, Hunt developed an interest
in politics and poetry. Leigh Hunt became friends with other young
writers who favoured political reform including Percy
Bysshe Shelley, William Hazlitt, Henry
Brougham, Lord Byron,Thomas
Barnes and Charles Lamb.
As well as writing poetry and articles on politics, Leigh Hunt worked
as a drama critic for the News. In 1808 Leigh Hunt helped his
brother, John Hunt, to start a political journal called the Examiner.
The journal gave support to radicals in Parliament such as Henry
Brougham and Sir Francis Burdett and
the political ideas of people like Robert Owen
and Jeremy Bentham.
Leigh Hunt upset the authorities by pointing out on the front page
of every edition of the Examiner
that half the cost of the price was the result of the government's
"tax on knowledge". In 1812 Leigh and John Hunt were arrested
and charged with libel after publishing an article criticizing the
Prince Regent. The brothers were found
guilty and sentenced to two years' imprisonment and a £500 fine.
In prison Leigh Hunt continued to edit the Examiner.
After his release from prison, Leigh Hunt continued to edit the Examiner
until 1821. The following year Leigh Hunt traveled to Italy with Lord
Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. The
three men published a radical political journal called The
Liberal. By publishing the journal in Italy they remained
free from the fear of being prosecuted by the British authorities.
The first edition was mainly written by Leigh Hunt but also included
work by William Hazlitt, Mary
Shelley and Lord Byron's Vision of Judgement
and sold 4,000 copies. The venture was abandoned after four editions
and in 1823 Leigh Hunt returned to Britain.
In later life Leigh Hunt's books included Lord
Byron and Some of his Contemporaries (1828), Christianism
(1832), Poetical Works (1844),
Autobiography (1850) and Table
Talk (1851). James Leigh Hunt died in 1859. His son, Thornton
Leigh Hunt (1810-1873), also became a successful journalist.
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