The poetry of William Heath

The literature of the Victorian fin de siècle continues to engage scholars; one focus of contemporary research is the genre of working-class writers. This thesis presents a documentary edition of poetry constructed from a 116-year-old autographic manuscript by unknown author William Heath, including the manuscript’s provenance, authorial biography, textual criticism, and a broad literary criticism. This thesis illustrates that much remains to be discovered within the voice of the unpublished ‘everyman’. Heath’s introspective language on faith and morality provide a singular glimpse into his interpretation of Victorian Leeds. By repositioning the manuscript from decaying textual artefact, through its preservation, transmission, and construction into this documentary edition, Heath’s poetry is entered into the genre of nineteenth-century working-class poetry.