Sample about the author biography john taylor

John Taylor was born in the parish of St. Ewen's, near South Gate, Gloucester on 24 August His parentage is unknown, as the parish registers did not survive the Civil War. He did, however, attend elementary school and grammar school there. His grammar school education may have taken place at the Crypt School in Gloucester, however Taylor never finished his formal education due to difficulties with his Latin studies.

In the early s, after his attempt at grammar school he moved from his home to south London, probably Southwark , to begin an apprenticeship as a waterman.

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Watermen were known to be drunkards, and often gossips and liars, who attempted to cheat patrons into a higher wage for their service. This occupation would be crafted into an image for Taylor later in his career. He spent much of his life as a Thames waterman , a member of the guild of boatmen that ferried passengers across the River Thames in London , in the days when the London Bridge was the only passage between the banks.

His occupation was his gateway into the literary society of London, as he ferried patrons, actors, and playwrights across the Thames to the Bankside theatres.

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In , Taylor claimed almost 20, men lived by this trade, including dependents and servants, and in , he believed there were over 40, in the company itself. He details the uprisings in the pamphlets John Taylors Manifestation Taylor discusses the watermen's disputes with the theatre companies who moved the theatres from the south bank to the north in , depriving the ferries of traffic in The True Cause of the Watermen's Suit Concerning Players written in or The move of theatres from the south bank to the north took a huge toll on Taylor's income, and despite at that time being in the company of the King's Watermen, he could not sway the king to prevent the move.

He also addresses the coachmen, in his tract An Arrant Thief ; recent development of horse-drawn carriages with spring suspension, and use of them for hire on land, had taken much trade away from the watermen. An Arrant Thief says:.