Promotional Information

Winner of the 1989 Whitbread Prize for Book of the Year, this is the first volume of Holmes's seminal two-part examination of Samuel Taylor Coleridge, one of Britain's greatest poets. / Perennial reissue as part of a major reinvention of Holmes's classic backlist. This is simply one of the best loved biographies of all time. / Holmes's first book, Shelley: The Pursuit, won the Somerset Maugham Prize; this book won the Whitbread Book of the Year Prize; and Dr Johnson & Mr Savage won the James Tait Black Prize.

About the Author

Richard Holmes is one of Britain's leading biographers. Footsteps, which he published in 1985, was hailed as a 'modern masterpiece'. He is a regular feature writer and reviewer and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Literature. He was awarded an OBE in 1992. He lives in London and Norwich with the novelist Rose Tremain.

Reviews

'Dazzling! Holmes has not merely reinterpreted Coleridge; he has re-created him, and his biography has the aura of fiction, the shimmer of an authentic portrait! a biography like few I have ever read' James Wood, Guardian 'A deeply moving life of a troubled genius. From a great mountain of research, Holmes has fashioned a compelling narrative which inspires considerable affection and respect for Coleridge. This stimulating book is one of the most enjoyable biographies I have read' Michael Shelden, Daily Telegraph 'Coleridge lives, and talks and loves! in these pages as never before' Michael Foot, Independent

'Dazzling! Holmes has not merely reinterpreted Coleridge; he has re-created him, and his biography has the aura of fiction, the shimmer of an authentic portrait! a biography like few I have ever read' James Wood, Guardian 'A deeply moving life of a troubled genius. From a great mountain of research, Holmes has fashioned a compelling narrative which inspires considerable affection and respect for Coleridge. This stimulating book is one of the most enjoyable biographies I have read' Michael Shelden, Daily Telegraph 'Coleridge lives, and talks and loves! in these pages as never before' Michael Foot, Independent

This 1989 winner of England's Whitbread Prize, the first of two volumes, discusses with admiration the Romantic man of letters's impulsive personality, his exotic poetry and critical essays,pk and his relationships with and influences on prominent writers of the period. PW called this ``a work of narrative skill, outstanding scholarship and original interpretation.'' Illustrated. (May)