A great lie is like a great fish on dry land; it may fret and fling and make a frightful bother, but it cannot hurt you. You have only to keep still, and it will die of itself.

He moved to London in April 1780 where he had little success and by the end of May he had been forced to pawn some of his possessions including his surgical instruments. He was ordained to the curacy of his native town on 21 December 1781 through Burke's recommendation. He had been absent for nearly 13 years of which four had been spent at Parham five at Great Glemham and four at Rendham.

Burke introduced Crabbe to the literary and artistic society of London including Sir Joshua Reynolds and Samuel Johnson who read The Village before its publication and made some minor changes. Modern critic Frank Whitehead has said that "Crabbe in his verse tales in particular is an important–indeed a major–poet whose work has been and still is seriously undervalued. Burke secured Crabbe the important position of Chaplain to the Duke of Rutland.