Introduced by John Goodridge
A ‘lace-runner’ whose sore eyes and tired fingers crafted intricately embroidered garments for ‘fine ladies’ as she raised her family of nine in conditions of poverty, Mary Bailey
published thirteen poems in a pamphlet in 1826, two years before she died, in an attempt to raise money for her family. Her verses reflect the struggle to survive and live in a decent
way in the face of hardship. This edition, part of a wider recovery of the rich literary past
of Nottingham, a UNESCO City of Literature, brings Mary Bailey’s poetry back into the public domain after 200 years.
Mary Bailey (1775?-1828) lived in Sneinton, in Nottingham, and worked as a lace-runner in the city's burgeoning lace industry. A poor woman, she broke up the male monopoly in Nottingham working-class poetry, and gave a vital insight into the world of female labour at that time.
John Goodridge is an expert on eighteenth- and nineteenth-century labouring-class poetry. He is an Emeritus Professor of English at Nottingham Trent University, and a Vice-President of the John Clare Society.