Thomas Carlyle mentioned. His books were massively influential among the greatest of his generation (Dickens, Disraeli, Tennyson, Mill etc.). But more importantly his biggest audiences were among the working classes: masons, clerks, weavers, etc. If you find Carlyle difficult remember that British working men and women with a mere few years of schooling read and enjoyed writing at this level of literacy. Compare with any modern writing and you will see the utter destruction of the once so rich English language. The difference is not merely that of something like a foreign language.
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