This work investigates how the intersection of class dynamics and patronage systems shaped the literary career and public reception of Stephen Duck, the eighteenth-century laboring-class poet. Jennifer Batt, a scholar of eighteenth-century literature, utilizes a combination of archival research, contemporary correspondence, and Duck's own published works to argue that his rise to prominence was not merely a result of his talent, but a complex negotiation between his identity as a 'threshing poet' and the expectations of his aristocratic benefactors. The book examines the socio-political environment of Hanoverian England to demonstrate how class barriers were both reinforced and challenged through the mechanism of literary patronage.

Scholars in the field of eighteenth-century studies frequently cite this work for its meticulous archival research and its nuanced understanding of the patronage system. Readers often note the academic density of the prose, which is intended for an audience familiar with the socio-literary history of the Hanoverian period.