Peter Pindar (John Wolcot), poet, 1738-1819

After training and practising as both a doctor and a priest, John Wolcot found fame under the pseudonym Peter Pindar as a writer of satirical verse in the late 18th century. In the 1780s and 1790s his poems, commenting on society and royalty in Georgian London, proved extremely popular with everyone but the subjects. He produced a large quantity of work, ranging from the bestseller to the ephemeral.

From the guide to the Peter Pindar Manuscripts, 1780s-1810s, (Durham University Library, Archives and Special Collections)