Thomas Hood (1789-1845 / London / England)

The poem actually has several more verses, showing what the month was like in fog-filled London in the early Victorian period when he wrote it. It's most quoted version is as above; probably from a 1980s pop band using it on an album, though I'm not sure of that. As a child I always resented it because I was a November baby and it was always quoted at me on my birthday. I like it better if I see it as a description of a specific time and place in that month rather than an insult to the month (though I do have to admit it is sometimes true of November!) .

No-one who has experienced the English winter can read this poem without a shiver of amusement!