Hannah More and Ann Yearsley experienced a long-standing relationship that lasted far beyond their short-lived roles as patron and prot_g_e. More had originally come to prominence as a playwright under the patronage of celebrated actor/manager David Garrick. When an established writer herself, she was able to assist Yearsley, bringing the young poet's rustic voice to the attention of an eighteenth-century society hungry for the fashionable phenomenon of the 'rural genius'.This study offers a timely and necessary reassessment of the careers of both Yearsley and More. Making use of newly-discovered letters and poems, Andrews provides a full analysis of the breakdown of the two writers' affiliation and compares it to other labouring-class relationships based on patronage. Their writings on Abolition are examined together in the context of their association with the port of Bristol and Yearsley and More's reputations at the time of their deaths - 1806 and 1833, respectively - are considered.