Like Hogarth, Rowlandson contributed to the dynamic and controversial world of English satire, but without Hogarth's slight humor, sense of irony, or wealth of detail. Unlike Hogarth, Rowlandson lived a lewd and unruly life like those caricatured in some of Hogarth's prints. Visually, his prints are distinguished by curving, etched lines and broad, generalized treatments of the surroundings, making his prints less literary than those of Hogarth. Instead, Rowlandson's prints have instant satirical impact. His technique usually entailed deep line etching with aquatint tones laid by artisans, and watercolor added later, in accord with a painted proof that he provided as a guide. 

Rowlandson became a friend of James Gillray, the leading caricaturist in London. During the 1780s, Rowlandson painted fewer portraits and tended to concentrate on drawing. Rowlandson had his work published in such journals such as The English Review and The Poetical Magazine. He also illustrated books, including the radical writings of Tobias George Smollett.. Some of Rowlandson's political cartoons were also considered offensive and hence, he was accused of being "coarse and indelicate" by his critics. Lacking success as a traditional style painter, Rowlandson gravitated to caricature and social satire where his career took off. When his aunt died he inherited her fortune, but squandered it away due to his compulsive gambling habits. In 1797, Rowlandson began to rebuild his career with a looser, broader style that became much in demand for periodicals and prints; after 1800, he produced several profitable projects for the publisher Rudolph Ackerman, who was a lithographer. Rowlandson began working with Ackerman as the publisher was starting to publish a series of color-plate books that included The Microcosm of London, a book published in three volumes between 1808 and 1811. It was Rowlandson's task to paint the figures in the pictures.

In 1806, Rowlandson created Miseries of the Country, which was published by Ackerman. The etching depicts a group tromping through the countryside while getting stuck in mud and being accompanied by farm animals. The inscription on the print reads:

While you are out with a walking party, after heavy rains - one shoe suddenly sucked off by the boggy clay and then in making a long and desperate stretch which fails with the hope of recovering it the other left in the same predicament: the second stage of ruin is that of standing, or rather tottering in blank despair, with both bare feet planted ankle deep in the quagmire.

Later in life, Rowlandson joined with the poet William Combe to produce the three volume Tours of Syntax in 1809. It was a wildly successful parody of the Reverend William Gilpin that helped Rowlandson conclude his life debt free. He was notorious for serving up the shortcomings of his time with skill, cheerful humor, steady insight, and occasional cruelty. It has been said that Rowlandson "never dirties his pen with moral indignation: humans can be forgiven for their sins because they give the gods so much laughter." Rowlandson's travels also figured into his satires, but he largely avoided political controversies. However, in 1819, the Peterloo Massacre occurred when the authorities violently attacked people who were attending the meeting to hear Henry Hunt speak on parliamentary reform at St. Peter's Field. After this event, the angered Rowlandson drew one of his most overtly political drawings. 

Morgan Edwards (2001)

References:
Paulson, 1972, p. 7-18
Hults, 1996, p. 388-391 
Falk, 1992, p. 10