Robert Southey
Entire Man of Letters
W. A. Speck
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Price: $34.00
July 10, 2006
336 pages, 234 x 156
12 b/w illus.
ISBN: 9780300197679
Paper
The book engages with Southey's voluminous publications, weaving discussion of them into the narrative of his life. Speck also explores Southey's entire correspondence, not only that which appeared in the editions edited by his descendants, and finds a man of considerably greater emotional complexity than previously assumed. The first fully rounded chronicle of Southey's life in sixty years, Speck's account sets Southey in historical context and restores him to the map of English literature.
“Clearly the best biography of Southey ever written.”—Lynda Pratt, University of Nottingham
“The first full-length biography of Southey in 60 years. Its virtues are numerous. Both readable and reliable, it supersedes all previous accounts and should certainly appeal to anyone interested in Romantic and Victorian studies. The volume includes copious notes, an analytical index, and 23 attractive illustrations. Highly recommended.”—Choice
“In clearly the best biography of Southey ever written—highly respected historian W. A. Speck offers an important new portrait of Southey. . . . Speck—in biographical writing at its best that is thoroughly entertaining and painstakingly researched—organizes his presentation around three periods of Southey’s life: ‘A morning of ardour and hope’; ‘A day of clouds and storms’; and ‘An evening of gloom closed in by premature darkness’. . . . To see how the radical liberal became the thoughtful conservative—a nineteenth century exemplar who is most instructive for observers of the twenty-first century—spend a few evenings with W. A. Speck’s marvelous new biography.”—Tim Davis, The American Spectator
