All the Romanticism you need, 02 Oct 2008
This is a book aimed, I would imagine, mostly at university students. And if you're studying the Romantics at uni then this is mostly all you'll need. It's got a good variety of poets, some excellent notes (on the pages, not at the back of the book, thankfully) and it even has some very nice paintings of the poets included.
My only criticism is - and this mostly relates to the William Blake section - it would have been great to see the plates that originally accompanied the poems. Especially in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell, these pictures are quite integral and pop up every so often (it does tell you where they originally went but it doesn't show the plates). I'm sure printing would've costed more but I think it would have been worth it. It's very difficult to find these pictures so having them in the anthology would have been nice.
Anyway overall as an essential for Romanticism students and enthusiasts alike, this is a very good anthology.

All the Romanticism you need, 02 Oct 2008
This is a book aimed, I would imagine, mostly at university students. And if you're studying the Romantics at uni then this is mostly all you'll need. It's got a good variety of poets, some excellent notes (on the pages, not at the back of the book, thankfully) and it even has some very nice paintings of the poets included.
My only criticism is - and this mostly relates to the William Blake section - it would have been great to see the plates that originally accompanied the poems. Especially in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell, these pictures are quite integral and pop up every so often (it does tell you where they originally went but it doesn't show the plates). I'm sure printing would've costed more but I think it would have been worth it. It's very difficult to find these pictures so having them in the anthology would have been nice.
Anyway overall as an essential for Romanticism students and enthusiasts alike, this is a very good anthology.

Major problem with book, 29 Dec 2008
Don't buy this book, excellent though it might be, unless you have incredible eyesight - the print is eye-achingly tiny. I had to return it.

The First Rock Star! , 12 Jun 2008
In a nutshell...

This is a totally engrossing biography, written in such detail as to really give the reader an indepth and thorough insight into the turgid, wanton, sensational, exciting, sad and amazing life of the good Lord!

If I could criticise anything about Ms MacCarthy's glorious efforts, it might be that the book is indeed a little too comprehensive in parts; so much so, that certain less notable events or incidents are covered in a little too much detail! But hey, a little editing aside, I would suggest you clear the 'reading decks' for a week and immerse yourself in a truly superb piece of writing - about a man who in my humble opinion was the first true enigmatic international celebrity of his generation or those prior to it!

LS

The real truth about Byron, 23 Jan 2004
This marvellous, wonderfully researched book tells the truth about Byron - the good, the bad, the notorious. I was particularly fascinated by the detailed account of his final months in Greece, and his posthumous influence on European thought. As a native of Nottingham Byron and Newstead are very close to my heart and it was wonderful to learn so much more about him than I ever knew (although suspected much) before. I've always loved Byron's poetry and letters and it was a joy to come across so many favourite extracts and quotations. If only Murrays would issue a new edition of the complete letters - or reprint the Marchand volumes. And what about a really good Complete Works? Finishing Fiona MacCarthy's biography was like bidding farewell to an old friend - I just wish I'd bought the hardback, not the paperback, in which I found the print rather small.

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know, 07 Dec 2003
Byron brought alive...warts and all. What a terrific read and worthy account of a most enigmatic poet reviled at home but revered still in Greece.

The Legend made real, 20 Aug 2003
Fiona MacCarthy's biography of Byron is a masterpiece of detail, insight and scholarship of the highest order. It has already been acclaimed by the best critics as more than equal to her other fine biographies of Eric Gill and William Morris, and is a worthy successor to Lesley Marchand's definitive three-volume study, also published by John Murray. MacCarthy not only had the advantage of access to new material from the Murray archive, but her 're-assessment' of Byron's personal life benefited from being able to write without the severe restrictions and discretion placed upon earlier biographers, Marchand included. As a result, the inner conflicts and turmoil of Byron's life and loves emerge with a clarity and poignancy denied to earlier interpretations.

The life unfolds chronologically, the chapter headings specifying the countries and places representing the periods of Byron's life associated with them: Cambridge 1805-7, London and Brighton 1808-9, Greece and Constantinople 1809-10, and so on. The author's intellectual grasp and unstinting devotion to verifiable fact, all this no doubt enhanced by her five-year 'pilgrimage' through the countries of Europe visited by Byron, lends authority and an authentic flavour to the style and language. The many references to correspondence, together with quotations from the poetry, are made with due regard to their relevance to particular places, people and events, the writer's occasional interpretative comment being well justified by her soundly-based acquaintance, and indeed intimacy, with the scope of her subject.

Such considered commentary, always unobtrusive, is necessary as much to the craftmanship and thematic working of the book as a whole, as it is to achieving a natural coherence and fluency in the language. For example, Byron tasted the 'excitements' of gambling, encouraged by Scrope Davies, his Cambridge friend: "For Byron excitement was a state of bliss, in all respects preferable to inertia. Each turn of the card and each cast of the dice created life-enhancing tension. A gambler always lived in hope." Here there is a hint of symbolism, an insight into the risks and rewards of an adventurous life. Similarly, the description of a memorable episode involving the shooting dead of the Military Commander of Ravenna, Captain Luigi dal Pinto, in the street close to Byron's residence, later followed by an assassination attempt on Byron himself, concludes with the observation: "But what interested Byron most about the murder was not the local politics but the underlying strangeness, what it said about the human condition. What was the dividing line between a life and a death, he wondered as he sat beside the oddly tranquil body of the physically courageous but unpopular Dal Pinto....?" The comprehensive and meticulous 'Sources and Reference Notes' provide the searching reader with page by page elucidation of the text, this further amplified by an excellent Index highlighting persons, locations, works and attributes.

This book will delight not only the literary scholar but also the critical general reader who is prepared to expend a certain mental effort in tackling what after all is a solid testament to a literary genius, a figure no less heroic than the Napoleon he emulated. The author eschews emotionalism and allows the drama of a life to speak from within itself: herein lies the writer's art. The characters themselves come to life in all their paradoxical humanity, whether it be - to name but a few - the absurdly capricious (and vindictive) Lady Caroline Lamb, fellow-poet and 'brother outcast' Shelley, the loyal and protective Hobhouse, or Countess Teresa Guiccioli, Byron's most 'enduring' mistress, with whom he conducted an affair 'in an atmosphere of stealth and potential skulduggery'.

'Byron Life and Legend' is beautifully produced and superbly illustrated. It is now an indispensable part of Byronic lore, and a 'sine qua non' for literary collections and libraries.

All the Romanticism you need, 02 Oct 2008
This is a book aimed, I would imagine, mostly at university students. And if you're studying the Romantics at uni then this is mostly all you'll need. It's got a good variety of poets, some excellent notes (on the pages, not at the back of the book, thankfully) and it even has some very nice paintings of the poets included.
My only criticism is - and this mostly relates to the William Blake section - it would have been great to see the plates that originally accompanied the poems. Especially in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell, these pictures are quite integral and pop up every so often (it does tell you where they originally went but it doesn't show the plates). I'm sure printing would've costed more but I think it would have been worth it. It's very difficult to find these pictures so having them in the anthology would have been nice.
Anyway overall as an essential for Romanticism students and enthusiasts alike, this is a very good anthology.

Major problem with book, 29 Dec 2008
Don't buy this book, excellent though it might be, unless you have incredible eyesight - the print is eye-achingly tiny. I had to return it.

The First Rock Star! , 12 Jun 2008
In a nutshell...

This is a totally engrossing biography, written in such detail as to really give the reader an indepth and thorough insight into the turgid, wanton, sensational, exciting, sad and amazing life of the good Lord!

If I could criticise anything about Ms MacCarthy's glorious efforts, it might be that the book is indeed a little too comprehensive in parts; so much so, that certain less notable events or incidents are covered in a little too much detail! But hey, a little editing aside, I would suggest you clear the 'reading decks' for a week and immerse yourself in a truly superb piece of writing - about a man who in my humble opinion was the first true enigmatic international celebrity of his generation or those prior to it!

LS

The real truth about Byron, 23 Jan 2004
This marvellous, wonderfully researched book tells the truth about Byron - the good, the bad, the notorious. I was particularly fascinated by the detailed account of his final months in Greece, and his posthumous influence on European thought. As a native of Nottingham Byron and Newstead are very close to my heart and it was wonderful to learn so much more about him than I ever knew (although suspected much) before. I've always loved Byron's poetry and letters and it was a joy to come across so many favourite extracts and quotations. If only Murrays would issue a new edition of the complete letters - or reprint the Marchand volumes. And what about a really good Complete Works? Finishing Fiona MacCarthy's biography was like bidding farewell to an old friend - I just wish I'd bought the hardback, not the paperback, in which I found the print rather small.

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know, 07 Dec 2003
Byron brought alive...warts and all. What a terrific read and worthy account of a most enigmatic poet reviled at home but revered still in Greece.

The Legend made real, 20 Aug 2003
Fiona MacCarthy's biography of Byron is a masterpiece of detail, insight and scholarship of the highest order. It has already been acclaimed by the best critics as more than equal to her other fine biographies of Eric Gill and William Morris, and is a worthy successor to Lesley Marchand's definitive three-volume study, also published by John Murray. MacCarthy not only had the advantage of access to new material from the Murray archive, but her 're-assessment' of Byron's personal life benefited from being able to write without the severe restrictions and discretion placed upon earlier biographers, Marchand included. As a result, the inner conflicts and turmoil of Byron's life and loves emerge with a clarity and poignancy denied to earlier interpretations.

The life unfolds chronologically, the chapter headings specifying the countries and places representing the periods of Byron's life associated with them: Cambridge 1805-7, London and Brighton 1808-9, Greece and Constantinople 1809-10, and so on. The author's intellectual grasp and unstinting devotion to verifiable fact, all this no doubt enhanced by her five-year 'pilgrimage' through the countries of Europe visited by Byron, lends authority and an authentic flavour to the style and language. The many references to correspondence, together with quotations from the poetry, are made with due regard to their relevance to particular places, people and events, the writer's occasional interpretative comment being well justified by her soundly-based acquaintance, and indeed intimacy, with the scope of her subject.

Such considered commentary, always unobtrusive, is necessary as much to the craftmanship and thematic working of the book as a whole, as it is to achieving a natural coherence and fluency in the language. For example, Byron tasted the 'excitements' of gambling, encouraged by Scrope Davies, his Cambridge friend: "For Byron excitement was a state of bliss, in all respects preferable to inertia. Each turn of the card and each cast of the dice created life-enhancing tension. A gambler always lived in hope." Here there is a hint of symbolism, an insight into the risks and rewards of an adventurous life. Similarly, the description of a memorable episode involving the shooting dead of the Military Commander of Ravenna, Captain Luigi dal Pinto, in the street close to Byron's residence, later followed by an assassination attempt on Byron himself, concludes with the observation: "But what interested Byron most about the murder was not the local politics but the underlying strangeness, what it said about the human condition. What was the dividing line between a life and a death, he wondered as he sat beside the oddly tranquil body of the physically courageous but unpopular Dal Pinto....?" The comprehensive and meticulous 'Sources and Reference Notes' provide the searching reader with page by page elucidation of the text, this further amplified by an excellent Index highlighting persons, locations, works and attributes.

This book will delight not only the literary scholar but also the critical general reader who is prepared to expend a certain mental effort in tackling what after all is a solid testament to a literary genius, a figure no less heroic than the Napoleon he emulated. The author eschews emotionalism and allows the drama of a life to speak from within itself: herein lies the writer's art. The characters themselves come to life in all their paradoxical humanity, whether it be - to name but a few - the absurdly capricious (and vindictive) Lady Caroline Lamb, fellow-poet and 'brother outcast' Shelley, the loyal and protective Hobhouse, or Countess Teresa Guiccioli, Byron's most 'enduring' mistress, with whom he conducted an affair 'in an atmosphere of stealth and potential skulduggery'.

'Byron Life and Legend' is beautifully produced and superbly illustrated. It is now an indispensable part of Byronic lore, and a 'sine qua non' for literary collections and libraries.

A level-beware, 09 Apr 2008
Overall this is a very useful and detailed collection, however if you are buying as a A level text be careful as it is a newer edition so many poems are different than other texts and some are completely missing. For the collection on the syllabus i had to find poems on the internet or copy from another book!!!

All the Romanticism you need, 02 Oct 2008
This is a book aimed, I would imagine, mostly at university students. And if you're studying the Romantics at uni then this is mostly all you'll need. It's got a good variety of poets, some excellent notes (on the pages, not at the back of the book, thankfully) and it even has some very nice paintings of the poets included.
My only criticism is - and this mostly relates to the William Blake section - it would have been great to see the plates that originally accompanied the poems. Especially in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell, these pictures are quite integral and pop up every so often (it does tell you where they originally went but it doesn't show the plates). I'm sure printing would've costed more but I think it would have been worth it. It's very difficult to find these pictures so having them in the anthology would have been nice.
Anyway overall as an essential for Romanticism students and enthusiasts alike, this is a very good anthology.

Major problem with book, 29 Dec 2008
Don't buy this book, excellent though it might be, unless you have incredible eyesight - the print is eye-achingly tiny. I had to return it.

The First Rock Star! , 12 Jun 2008
In a nutshell...

This is a totally engrossing biography, written in such detail as to really give the reader an indepth and thorough insight into the turgid, wanton, sensational, exciting, sad and amazing life of the good Lord!

If I could criticise anything about Ms MacCarthy's glorious efforts, it might be that the book is indeed a little too comprehensive in parts; so much so, that certain less notable events or incidents are covered in a little too much detail! But hey, a little editing aside, I would suggest you clear the 'reading decks' for a week and immerse yourself in a truly superb piece of writing - about a man who in my humble opinion was the first true enigmatic international celebrity of his generation or those prior to it!

LS

The real truth about Byron, 23 Jan 2004
This marvellous, wonderfully researched book tells the truth about Byron - the good, the bad, the notorious. I was particularly fascinated by the detailed account of his final months in Greece, and his posthumous influence on European thought. As a native of Nottingham Byron and Newstead are very close to my heart and it was wonderful to learn so much more about him than I ever knew (although suspected much) before. I've always loved Byron's poetry and letters and it was a joy to come across so many favourite extracts and quotations. If only Murrays would issue a new edition of the complete letters - or reprint the Marchand volumes. And what about a really good Complete Works? Finishing Fiona MacCarthy's biography was like bidding farewell to an old friend - I just wish I'd bought the hardback, not the paperback, in which I found the print rather small.

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know, 07 Dec 2003
Byron brought alive...warts and all. What a terrific read and worthy account of a most enigmatic poet reviled at home but revered still in Greece.

The Legend made real, 20 Aug 2003
Fiona MacCarthy's biography of Byron is a masterpiece of detail, insight and scholarship of the highest order. It has already been acclaimed by the best critics as more than equal to her other fine biographies of Eric Gill and William Morris, and is a worthy successor to Lesley Marchand's definitive three-volume study, also published by John Murray. MacCarthy not only had the advantage of access to new material from the Murray archive, but her 're-assessment' of Byron's personal life benefited from being able to write without the severe restrictions and discretion placed upon earlier biographers, Marchand included. As a result, the inner conflicts and turmoil of Byron's life and loves emerge with a clarity and poignancy denied to earlier interpretations.

The life unfolds chronologically, the chapter headings specifying the countries and places representing the periods of Byron's life associated with them: Cambridge 1805-7, London and Brighton 1808-9, Greece and Constantinople 1809-10, and so on. The author's intellectual grasp and unstinting devotion to verifiable fact, all this no doubt enhanced by her five-year 'pilgrimage' through the countries of Europe visited by Byron, lends authority and an authentic flavour to the style and language. The many references to correspondence, together with quotations from the poetry, are made with due regard to their relevance to particular places, people and events, the writer's occasional interpretative comment being well justified by her soundly-based acquaintance, and indeed intimacy, with the scope of her subject.

Such considered commentary, always unobtrusive, is necessary as much to the craftmanship and thematic working of the book as a whole, as it is to achieving a natural coherence and fluency in the language. For example, Byron tasted the 'excitements' of gambling, encouraged by Scrope Davies, his Cambridge friend: "For Byron excitement was a state of bliss, in all respects preferable to inertia. Each turn of the card and each cast of the dice created life-enhancing tension. A gambler always lived in hope." Here there is a hint of symbolism, an insight into the risks and rewards of an adventurous life. Similarly, the description of a memorable episode involving the shooting dead of the Military Commander of Ravenna, Captain Luigi dal Pinto, in the street close to Byron's residence, later followed by an assassination attempt on Byron himself, concludes with the observation: "But what interested Byron most about the murder was not the local politics but the underlying strangeness, what it said about the human condition. What was the dividing line between a life and a death, he wondered as he sat beside the oddly tranquil body of the physically courageous but unpopular Dal Pinto....?" The comprehensive and meticulous 'Sources and Reference Notes' provide the searching reader with page by page elucidation of the text, this further amplified by an excellent Index highlighting persons, locations, works and attributes.

This book will delight not only the literary scholar but also the critical general reader who is prepared to expend a certain mental effort in tackling what after all is a solid testament to a literary genius, a figure no less heroic than the Napoleon he emulated. The author eschews emotionalism and allows the drama of a life to speak from within itself: herein lies the writer's art. The characters themselves come to life in all their paradoxical humanity, whether it be - to name but a few - the absurdly capricious (and vindictive) Lady Caroline Lamb, fellow-poet and 'brother outcast' Shelley, the loyal and protective Hobhouse, or Countess Teresa Guiccioli, Byron's most 'enduring' mistress, with whom he conducted an affair 'in an atmosphere of stealth and potential skulduggery'.

'Byron Life and Legend' is beautifully produced and superbly illustrated. It is now an indispensable part of Byronic lore, and a 'sine qua non' for literary collections and libraries.

A level-beware, 09 Apr 2008
Overall this is a very useful and detailed collection, however if you are buying as a A level text be careful as it is a newer edition so many poems are different than other texts and some are completely missing. For the collection on the syllabus i had to find poems on the internet or copy from another book!!!

Excellent as companion for OU course A210, 31 May 2006
This book was invaluable when studying A210 with the Open University. Good coverage of the various approaches and styles, and very clearly written. Very helpful for essays.

A Very Good Book, 24 Apr 2004
This book provides informative information on the great Romantic poems andpoets. It shows you how you can read a poem and study it through stagesopening up new ideas you had never thought of, with plenty of examples. There is a new chapter on women poets in the Romantic era which I foundextremely helpful. At the end of the book there are tips on how to writethat essay. If you are studying Romantic poetry or are just interested init, this book is easy to read and understand.

All the Romanticism you need, 02 Oct 2008
This is a book aimed, I would imagine, mostly at university students. And if you're studying the Romantics at uni then this is mostly all you'll need. It's got a good variety of poets, some excellent notes (on the pages, not at the back of the book, thankfully) and it even has some very nice paintings of the poets included.
My only criticism is - and this mostly relates to the William Blake section - it would have been great to see the plates that originally accompanied the poems. Especially in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell, these pictures are quite integral and pop up every so often (it does tell you where they originally went but it doesn't show the plates). I'm sure printing would've costed more but I think it would have been worth it. It's very difficult to find these pictures so having them in the anthology would have been nice.
Anyway overall as an essential for Romanticism students and enthusiasts alike, this is a very good anthology.

Major problem with book, 29 Dec 2008
Don't buy this book, excellent though it might be, unless you have incredible eyesight - the print is eye-achingly tiny. I had to return it.

The First Rock Star! , 12 Jun 2008
In a nutshell...

This is a totally engrossing biography, written in such detail as to really give the reader an indepth and thorough insight into the turgid, wanton, sensational, exciting, sad and amazing life of the good Lord!

If I could criticise anything about Ms MacCarthy's glorious efforts, it might be that the book is indeed a little too comprehensive in parts; so much so, that certain less notable events or incidents are covered in a little too much detail! But hey, a little editing aside, I would suggest you clear the 'reading decks' for a week and immerse yourself in a truly superb piece of writing - about a man who in my humble opinion was the first true enigmatic international celebrity of his generation or those prior to it!

LS

The real truth about Byron, 23 Jan 2004
This marvellous, wonderfully researched book tells the truth about Byron - the good, the bad, the notorious. I was particularly fascinated by the detailed account of his final months in Greece, and his posthumous influence on European thought. As a native of Nottingham Byron and Newstead are very close to my heart and it was wonderful to learn so much more about him than I ever knew (although suspected much) before. I've always loved Byron's poetry and letters and it was a joy to come across so many favourite extracts and quotations. If only Murrays would issue a new edition of the complete letters - or reprint the Marchand volumes. And what about a really good Complete Works? Finishing Fiona MacCarthy's biography was like bidding farewell to an old friend - I just wish I'd bought the hardback, not the paperback, in which I found the print rather small.

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know, 07 Dec 2003
Byron brought alive...warts and all. What a terrific read and worthy account of a most enigmatic poet reviled at home but revered still in Greece.

The Legend made real, 20 Aug 2003
Fiona MacCarthy's biography of Byron is a masterpiece of detail, insight and scholarship of the highest order. It has already been acclaimed by the best critics as more than equal to her other fine biographies of Eric Gill and William Morris, and is a worthy successor to Lesley Marchand's definitive three-volume study, also published by John Murray. MacCarthy not only had the advantage of access to new material from the Murray archive, but her 're-assessment' of Byron's personal life benefited from being able to write without the severe restrictions and discretion placed upon earlier biographers, Marchand included. As a result, the inner conflicts and turmoil of Byron's life and loves emerge with a clarity and poignancy denied to earlier interpretations.

The life unfolds chronologically, the chapter headings specifying the countries and places representing the periods of Byron's life associated with them: Cambridge 1805-7, London and Brighton 1808-9, Greece and Constantinople 1809-10, and so on. The author's intellectual grasp and unstinting devotion to verifiable fact, all this no doubt enhanced by her five-year 'pilgrimage' through the countries of Europe visited by Byron, lends authority and an authentic flavour to the style and language. The many references to correspondence, together with quotations from the poetry, are made with due regard to their relevance to particular places, people and events, the writer's occasional interpretative comment being well justified by her soundly-based acquaintance, and indeed intimacy, with the scope of her subject.

Such considered commentary, always unobtrusive, is necessary as much to the craftmanship and thematic working of the book as a whole, as it is to achieving a natural coherence and fluency in the language. For example, Byron tasted the 'excitements' of gambling, encouraged by Scrope Davies, his Cambridge friend: "For Byron excitement was a state of bliss, in all respects preferable to inertia. Each turn of the card and each cast of the dice created life-enhancing tension. A gambler always lived in hope." Here there is a hint of symbolism, an insight into the risks and rewards of an adventurous life. Similarly, the description of a memorable episode involving the shooting dead of the Military Commander of Ravenna, Captain Luigi dal Pinto, in the street close to Byron's residence, later followed by an assassination attempt on Byron himself, concludes with the observation: "But what interested Byron most about the murder was not the local politics but the underlying strangeness, what it said about the human condition. What was the dividing line between a life and a death, he wondered as he sat beside the oddly tranquil body of the physically courageous but unpopular Dal Pinto....?" The comprehensive and meticulous 'Sources and Reference Notes' provide the searching reader with page by page elucidation of the text, this further amplified by an excellent Index highlighting persons, locations, works and attributes.

This book will delight not only the literary scholar but also the critical general reader who is prepared to expend a certain mental effort in tackling what after all is a solid testament to a literary genius, a figure no less heroic than the Napoleon he emulated. The author eschews emotionalism and allows the drama of a life to speak from within itself: herein lies the writer's art. The characters themselves come to life in all their paradoxical humanity, whether it be - to name but a few - the absurdly capricious (and vindictive) Lady Caroline Lamb, fellow-poet and 'brother outcast' Shelley, the loyal and protective Hobhouse, or Countess Teresa Guiccioli, Byron's most 'enduring' mistress, with whom he conducted an affair 'in an atmosphere of stealth and potential skulduggery'.

'Byron Life and Legend' is beautifully produced and superbly illustrated. It is now an indispensable part of Byronic lore, and a 'sine qua non' for literary collections and libraries.

A level-beware, 09 Apr 2008
Overall this is a very useful and detailed collection, however if you are buying as a A level text be careful as it is a newer edition so many poems are different than other texts and some are completely missing. For the collection on the syllabus i had to find poems on the internet or copy from another book!!!

Excellent as companion for OU course A210, 31 May 2006
This book was invaluable when studying A210 with the Open University. Good coverage of the various approaches and styles, and very clearly written. Very helpful for essays.

A Very Good Book, 24 Apr 2004
This book provides informative information on the great Romantic poems andpoets. It shows you how you can read a poem and study it through stagesopening up new ideas you had never thought of, with plenty of examples. There is a new chapter on women poets in the Romantic era which I foundextremely helpful. At the end of the book there are tips on how to writethat essay. If you are studying Romantic poetry or are just interested init, this book is easy to read and understand.

Be warned, 19 Jul 2008
Be warned about this book- it is virtually a picture book with a small amount of text on each page. Every page has a very illustration and about a paragraph or two of text. I was very annoyed at this, as I was led to believe that this book would be useful for my University course, but it was not. I have given the book two stars however, because the text that was in there, did contain some useful information.

Excelllent - A thoroughly enjoyable mine of culture!, 09 Oct 2000
I hadn't realised there were so many strands within Romanticism. Over fifty years of the greatest music, art, philosophy, literature and even science, that the Western world has produced can be found within these pages. So adept is the author at distilling the important information that not once did the book seem to sell its subjects short. I was absolutely absorbed. This was my first Introducing book but if the high standard set by this book is met by the others, I'll certainly be buying many more.

All the Romanticism you need, 02 Oct 2008
This is a book aimed, I would imagine, mostly at university students. And if you're studying the Romantics at uni then this is mostly all you'll need. It's got a good variety of poets, some excellent notes (on the pages, not at the back of the book, thankfully) and it even has some very nice paintings of the poets included.
My only criticism is - and this mostly relates to the William Blake section - it would have been great to see the plates that originally accompanied the poems. Especially in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell, these pictures are quite integral and pop up every so often (it does tell you where they originally went but it doesn't show the plates). I'm sure printing would've costed more but I think it would have been worth it. It's very difficult to find these pictures so having them in the anthology would have been nice.
Anyway overall as an essential for Romanticism students and enthusiasts alike, this is a very good anthology.

Major problem with book, 29 Dec 2008
Don't buy this book, excellent though it might be, unless you have incredible eyesight - the print is eye-achingly tiny. I had to return it.

The First Rock Star! , 12 Jun 2008
In a nutshell...

This is a totally engrossing biography, written in such detail as to really give the reader an indepth and thorough insight into the turgid, wanton, sensational, exciting, sad and amazing life of the good Lord!

If I could criticise anything about Ms MacCarthy's glorious efforts, it might be that the book is indeed a little too comprehensive in parts; so much so, that certain less notable events or incidents are covered in a little too much detail! But hey, a little editing aside, I would suggest you clear the 'reading decks' for a week and immerse yourself in a truly superb piece of writing - about a man who in my humble opinion was the first true enigmatic international celebrity of his generation or those prior to it!

LS

The real truth about Byron, 23 Jan 2004
This marvellous, wonderfully researched book tells the truth about Byron - the good, the bad, the notorious. I was particularly fascinated by the detailed account of his final months in Greece, and his posthumous influence on European thought. As a native of Nottingham Byron and Newstead are very close to my heart and it was wonderful to learn so much more about him than I ever knew (although suspected much) before. I've always loved Byron's poetry and letters and it was a joy to come across so many favourite extracts and quotations. If only Murrays would issue a new edition of the complete letters - or reprint the Marchand volumes. And what about a really good Complete Works? Finishing Fiona MacCarthy's biography was like bidding farewell to an old friend - I just wish I'd bought the hardback, not the paperback, in which I found the print rather small.

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know, 07 Dec 2003
Byron brought alive...warts and all. What a terrific read and worthy account of a most enigmatic poet reviled at home but revered still in Greece.

The Legend made real, 20 Aug 2003
Fiona MacCarthy's biography of Byron is a masterpiece of detail, insight and scholarship of the highest order. It has already been acclaimed by the best critics as more than equal to her other fine biographies of Eric Gill and William Morris, and is a worthy successor to Lesley Marchand's definitive three-volume study, also published by John Murray. MacCarthy not only had the advantage of access to new material from the Murray archive, but her 're-assessment' of Byron's personal life benefited from being able to write without the severe restrictions and discretion placed upon earlier biographers, Marchand included. As a result, the inner conflicts and turmoil of Byron's life and loves emerge with a clarity and poignancy denied to earlier interpretations.

The life unfolds chronologically, the chapter headings specifying the countries and places representing the periods of Byron's life associated with them: Cambridge 1805-7, London and Brighton 1808-9, Greece and Constantinople 1809-10, and so on. The author's intellectual grasp and unstinting devotion to verifiable fact, all this no doubt enhanced by her five-year 'pilgrimage' through the countries of Europe visited by Byron, lends authority and an authentic flavour to the style and language. The many references to correspondence, together with quotations from the poetry, are made with due regard to their relevance to particular places, people and events, the writer's occasional interpretative comment being well justified by her soundly-based acquaintance, and indeed intimacy, with the scope of her subject.

Such considered commentary, always unobtrusive, is necessary as much to the craftmanship and thematic working of the book as a whole, as it is to achieving a natural coherence and fluency in the language. For example, Byron tasted the 'excitements' of gambling, encouraged by Scrope Davies, his Cambridge friend: "For Byron excitement was a state of bliss, in all respects preferable to inertia. Each turn of the card and each cast of the dice created life-enhancing tension. A gambler always lived in hope." Here there is a hint of symbolism, an insight into the risks and rewards of an adventurous life. Similarly, the description of a memorable episode involving the shooting dead of the Military Commander of Ravenna, Captain Luigi dal Pinto, in the street close to Byron's residence, later followed by an assassination attempt on Byron himself, concludes with the observation: "But what interested Byron most about the murder was not the local politics but the underlying strangeness, what it said about the human condition. What was the dividing line between a life and a death, he wondered as he sat beside the oddly tranquil body of the physically courageous but unpopular Dal Pinto....?" The comprehensive and meticulous 'Sources and Reference Notes' provide the searching reader with page by page elucidation of the text, this further amplified by an excellent Index highlighting persons, locations, works and attributes.

This book will delight not only the literary scholar but also the critical general reader who is prepared to expend a certain mental effort in tackling what after all is a solid testament to a literary genius, a figure no less heroic than the Napoleon he emulated. The author eschews emotionalism and allows the drama of a life to speak from within itself: herein lies the writer's art. The characters themselves come to life in all their paradoxical humanity, whether it be - to name but a few - the absurdly capricious (and vindictive) Lady Caroline Lamb, fellow-poet and 'brother outcast' Shelley, the loyal and protective Hobhouse, or Countess Teresa Guiccioli, Byron's most 'enduring' mistress, with whom he conducted an affair 'in an atmosphere of stealth and potential skulduggery'.

'Byron Life and Legend' is beautifully produced and superbly illustrated. It is now an indispensable part of Byronic lore, and a 'sine qua non' for literary collections and libraries.

A level-beware, 09 Apr 2008
Overall this is a very useful and detailed collection, however if you are buying as a A level text be careful as it is a newer edition so many poems are different than other texts and some are completely missing. For the collection on the syllabus i had to find poems on the internet or copy from another book!!!

Excellent as companion for OU course A210, 31 May 2006
This book was invaluable when studying A210 with the Open University. Good coverage of the various approaches and styles, and very clearly written. Very helpful for essays.

A Very Good Book, 24 Apr 2004
This book provides informative information on the great Romantic poems andpoets. It shows you how you can read a poem and study it through stagesopening up new ideas you had never thought of, with plenty of examples. There is a new chapter on women poets in the Romantic era which I foundextremely helpful. At the end of the book there are tips on how to writethat essay. If you are studying Romantic poetry or are just interested init, this book is easy to read and understand.

Be warned, 19 Jul 2008
Be warned about this book- it is virtually a picture book with a small amount of text on each page. Every page has a very illustration and about a paragraph or two of text. I was very annoyed at this, as I was led to believe that this book would be useful for my University course, but it was not. I have given the book two stars however, because the text that was in there, did contain some useful information.

Excelllent - A thoroughly enjoyable mine of culture!, 09 Oct 2000
I hadn't realised there were so many strands within Romanticism. Over fifty years of the greatest music, art, philosophy, literature and even science, that the Western world has produced can be found within these pages. So adept is the author at distilling the important information that not once did the book seem to sell its subjects short. I was absolutely absorbed. This was my first Introducing book but if the high standard set by this book is met by the others, I'll certainly be buying many more.

Excellent overview of the movement, 04 Jun 2005
Has really useful articles on the major works of the period, as well as some you might not have heard of but are gaining more attention from critics (and rightly so). Romanticism beyond Wordsworth et al! There's also some good sections giving context to the movement in terms of historical background, emerging genres, important issues such as slavery and current critical debates. This book gave me a good grounding for the Romanticism paper of my degree course.

A must have for any one who takes English seriously, 10 Nov 2000
This companion is exactly what it says it is - A must have piece of definitive background reading which every English student should have with them. The Companion covers wide ranging topics, which is useful for most subjects within the English Literature spectrum from understanding novels, authors, genres and poetry to including major issues and debates. This can be used as a help to understanding, as well as a spring board of ideas for the beginning of essays. This companion is not the only research you would need to do for any work or understanding but it goes a long way to cover the important parts of English Literature

All the Romanticism you need, 02 Oct 2008
This is a book aimed, I would imagine, mostly at university students. And if you're studying the Romantics at uni then this is mostly all you'll need. It's got a good variety of poets, some excellent notes (on the pages, not at the back of the book, thankfully) and it even has some very nice paintings of the poets included.
My only criticism is - and this mostly relates to the William Blake section - it would have been great to see the plates that originally accompanied the poems. Especially in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell, these pictures are quite integral and pop up every so often (it does tell you where they originally went but it doesn't show the plates). I'm sure printing would've costed more but I think it would have been worth it. It's very difficult to find these pictures so having them in the anthology would have been nice.
Anyway overall as an essential for Romanticism students and enthusiasts alike, this is a very good anthology.

Major problem with book, 29 Dec 2008
Don't buy this book, excellent though it might be, unless you have incredible eyesight - the print is eye-achingly tiny. I had to return it.

The First Rock Star! , 12 Jun 2008
In a nutshell...

This is a totally engrossing biography, written in such detail as to really give the reader an indepth and thorough insight into the turgid, wanton, sensational, exciting, sad and amazing life of the good Lord!

If I could criticise anything about Ms MacCarthy's glorious efforts, it might be that the book is indeed a little too comprehensive in parts; so much so, that certain less notable events or incidents are covered in a little too much detail! But hey, a little editing aside, I would suggest you clear the 'reading decks' for a week and immerse yourself in a truly superb piece of writing - about a man who in my humble opinion was the first true enigmatic international celebrity of his generation or those prior to it!

LS

The real truth about Byron, 23 Jan 2004
This marvellous, wonderfully researched book tells the truth about Byron - the good, the bad, the notorious. I was particularly fascinated by the detailed account of his final months in Greece, and his posthumous influence on European thought. As a native of Nottingham Byron and Newstead are very close to my heart and it was wonderful to learn so much more about him than I ever knew (although suspected much) before. I've always loved Byron's poetry and letters and it was a joy to come across so many favourite extracts and quotations. If only Murrays would issue a new edition of the complete letters - or reprint the Marchand volumes. And what about a really good Complete Works? Finishing Fiona MacCarthy's biography was like bidding farewell to an old friend - I just wish I'd bought the hardback, not the paperback, in which I found the print rather small.

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know, 07 Dec 2003
Byron brought alive...warts and all. What a terrific read and worthy account of a most enigmatic poet reviled at home but revered still in Greece.

The Legend made real, 20 Aug 2003
Fiona MacCarthy's biography of Byron is a masterpiece of detail, insight and scholarship of the highest order. It has already been acclaimed by the best critics as more than equal to her other fine biographies of Eric Gill and William Morris, and is a worthy successor to Lesley Marchand's definitive three-volume study, also published by John Murray. MacCarthy not only had the advantage of access to new material from the Murray archive, but her 're-assessment' of Byron's personal life benefited from being able to write without the severe restrictions and discretion placed upon earlier biographers, Marchand included. As a result, the inner conflicts and turmoil of Byron's life and loves emerge with a clarity and poignancy denied to earlier interpretations.

The life unfolds chronologically, the chapter headings specifying the countries and places representing the periods of Byron's life associated with them: Cambridge 1805-7, London and Brighton 1808-9, Greece and Constantinople 1809-10, and so on. The author's intellectual grasp and unstinting devotion to verifiable fact, all this no doubt enhanced by her five-year 'pilgrimage' through the countries of Europe visited by Byron, lends authority and an authentic flavour to the style and language. The many references to correspondence, together with quotations from the poetry, are made with due regard to their relevance to particular places, people and events, the writer's occasional interpretative comment being well justified by her soundly-based acquaintance, and indeed intimacy, with the scope of her subject.

Such considered commentary, always unobtrusive, is necessary as much to the craftmanship and thematic working of the book as a whole, as it is to achieving a natural coherence and fluency in the language. For example, Byron tasted the 'excitements' of gambling, encouraged by Scrope Davies, his Cambridge friend: "For Byron excitement was a state of bliss, in all respects preferable to inertia. Each turn of the card and each cast of the dice created life-enhancing tension. A gambler always lived in hope." Here there is a hint of symbolism, an insight into the risks and rewards of an adventurous life. Similarly, the description of a memorable episode involving the shooting dead of the Military Commander of Ravenna, Captain Luigi dal Pinto, in the street close to Byron's residence, later followed by an assassination attempt on Byron himself, concludes with the observation: "But what interested Byron most about the murder was not the local politics but the underlying strangeness, what it said about the human condition. What was the dividing line between a life and a death, he wondered as he sat beside the oddly tranquil body of the physically courageous but unpopular Dal Pinto....?" The comprehensive and meticulous 'Sources and Reference Notes' provide the searching reader with page by page elucidation of the text, this further amplified by an excellent Index highlighting persons, locations, works and attributes.

This book will delight not only the literary scholar but also the critical general reader who is prepared to expend a certain mental effort in tackling what after all is a solid testament to a literary genius, a figure no less heroic than the Napoleon he emulated. The author eschews emotionalism and allows the drama of a life to speak from within itself: herein lies the writer's art. The characters themselves come to life in all their paradoxical humanity, whether it be - to name but a few - the absurdly capricious (and vindictive) Lady Caroline Lamb, fellow-poet and 'brother outcast' Shelley, the loyal and protective Hobhouse, or Countess Teresa Guiccioli, Byron's most 'enduring' mistress, with whom he conducted an affair 'in an atmosphere of stealth and potential skulduggery'.

'Byron Life and Legend' is beautifully produced and superbly illustrated. It is now an indispensable part of Byronic lore, and a 'sine qua non' for literary collections and libraries.

A level-beware, 09 Apr 2008
Overall this is a very useful and detailed collection, however if you are buying as a A level text be careful as it is a newer edition so many poems are different than other texts and some are completely missing. For the collection on the syllabus i had to find poems on the internet or copy from another book!!!

Excellent as companion for OU course A210, 31 May 2006
This book was invaluable when studying A210 with the Open University. Good coverage of the various approaches and styles, and very clearly written. Very helpful for essays.

A Very Good Book, 24 Apr 2004
This book provides informative information on the great Romantic poems andpoets. It shows you how you can read a poem and study it through stagesopening up new ideas you had never thought of, with plenty of examples. There is a new chapter on women poets in the Romantic era which I foundextremely helpful. At the end of the book there are tips on how to writethat essay. If you are studying Romantic poetry or are just interested init, this book is easy to read and understand.

Be warned, 19 Jul 2008
Be warned about this book- it is virtually a picture book with a small amount of text on each page. Every page has a very illustration and about a paragraph or two of text. I was very annoyed at this, as I was led to believe that this book would be useful for my University course, but it was not. I have given the book two stars however, because the text that was in there, did contain some useful information.

Excelllent - A thoroughly enjoyable mine of culture!, 09 Oct 2000
I hadn't realised there were so many strands within Romanticism. Over fifty years of the greatest music, art, philosophy, literature and even science, that the Western world has produced can be found within these pages. So adept is the author at distilling the important information that not once did the book seem to sell its subjects short. I was absolutely absorbed. This was my first Introducing book but if the high standard set by this book is met by the others, I'll certainly be buying many more.

Excellent overview of the movement, 04 Jun 2005
Has really useful articles on the major works of the period, as well as some you might not have heard of but are gaining more attention from critics (and rightly so). Romanticism beyond Wordsworth et al! There's also some good sections giving context to the movement in terms of historical background, emerging genres, important issues such as slavery and current critical debates. This book gave me a good grounding for the Romanticism paper of my degree course.

A must have for any one who takes English seriously, 10 Nov 2000
This companion is exactly what it says it is - A must have piece of definitive background reading which every English student should have with them. The Companion covers wide ranging topics, which is useful for most subjects within the English Literature spectrum from understanding novels, authors, genres and poetry to including major issues and debates. This can be used as a help to understanding, as well as a spring board of ideas for the beginning of essays. This companion is not the only research you would need to do for any work or understanding but it goes a long way to cover the important parts of English Literature

A little bit disappointing, 26 Jan 2005
After the other rave review from the undergraduate above, I did think this book would be somewhat better than it seems. Unfortunately, it does not go into any depth with the poetry or explain the fundamentals of the romantic era.

Stunningly comprehensive survey of Romanticism for any level, 24 Jun 2004
I'm an English undergraduate and although this book says its aimed at A-Level it is perfect for Uni students too. It gives a comprehensive survey of the Romantic period - religious, political, historical and social contexts, and it warns the reader to be wary about the broadness of the term Romanticism, its limitations, and how it ought to be applied. It includes key extracts from Romantic litearture and approaches these with the view to assisting the interpretation of other texts. It deals with all angles - language, criticism and femininsm, and also has a good section on Blake and is modern enough to include female writers e.g. Mary Wollstonecraft, which earlier books on Romanticism ignore. The best thing about it is it's really readable, the language is easy to understand and has a practical and varied layout, including bullet points and suggested exercises too. It also deals with loads of other critics views on Romanticism which gives some useful directions for further reading, whilst giving an idea of their main points (with quotes) if you haven't got time for that. This is a must for any student studying any aspect or author in the Romantic era, particularly as context is particularly vital to an understanding of the texts in this age.

All the Romanticism you need, 02 Oct 2008
This is a book aimed, I would imagine, mostly at university students. And if you're studying the Romantics at uni then this is mostly all you'll need. It's got a good variety of poets, some excellent notes (on the pages, not at the back of the book, thankfully) and it even has some very nice paintings of the poets included.
My only criticism is - and this mostly relates to the William Blake section - it would have been great to see the plates that originally accompanied the poems. Especially in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell, these pictures are quite integral and pop up every so often (it does tell you where they originally went but it doesn't show the plates). I'm sure printing would've costed more but I think it would have been worth it. It's very difficult to find these pictures so having them in the anthology would have been nice.
Anyway overall as an essential for Romanticism students and enthusiasts alike, this is a very good anthology.

Major problem with book, 29 Dec 2008
Don't buy this book, excellent though it might be, unless you have incredible eyesight - the print is eye-achingly tiny. I had to return it.

The First Rock Star! , 12 Jun 2008
In a nutshell...

This is a totally engrossing biography, written in such detail as to really give the reader an indepth and thorough insight into the turgid, wanton, sensational, exciting, sad and amazing life of the good Lord!

If I could criticise anything about Ms MacCarthy's glorious efforts, it might be that the book is indeed a little too comprehensive in parts; so much so, that certain less notable events or incidents are covered in a little too much detail! But hey, a little editing aside, I would suggest you clear the 'reading decks' for a week and immerse yourself in a truly superb piece of writing - about a man who in my humble opinion was the first true enigmatic international celebrity of his generation or those prior to it!

LS

The real truth about Byron, 23 Jan 2004
This marvellous, wonderfully researched book tells the truth about Byron - the good, the bad, the notorious. I was particularly fascinated by the detailed account of his final months in Greece, and his posthumous influence on European thought. As a native of Nottingham Byron and Newstead are very close to my heart and it was wonderful to learn so much more about him than I ever knew (although suspected much) before. I've always loved Byron's poetry and letters and it was a joy to come across so many favourite extracts and quotations. If only Murrays would issue a new edition of the complete letters - or reprint the Marchand volumes. And what about a really good Complete Works? Finishing Fiona MacCarthy's biography was like bidding farewell to an old friend - I just wish I'd bought the hardback, not the paperback, in which I found the print rather small.

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know, 07 Dec 2003
Byron brought alive...warts and all. What a terrific read and worthy account of a most enigmatic poet reviled at home but revered still in Greece.

The Legend made real, 20 Aug 2003
Fiona MacCarthy's biography of Byron is a masterpiece of detail, insight and scholarship of the highest order. It has already been acclaimed by the best critics as more than equal to her other fine biographies of Eric Gill and William Morris, and is a worthy successor to Lesley Marchand's definitive three-volume study, also published by John Murray. MacCarthy not only had the advantage of access to new material from the Murray archive, but her 're-assessment' of Byron's personal life benefited from being able to write without the severe restrictions and discretion placed upon earlier biographers, Marchand included. As a result, the inner conflicts and turmoil of Byron's life and loves emerge with a clarity and poignancy denied to earlier interpretations.

The life unfolds chronologically, the chapter headings specifying the countries and places representing the periods of Byron's life associated with them: Cambridge 1805-7, London and Brighton 1808-9, Greece and Constantinople 1809-10, and so on. The author's intellectual grasp and unstinting devotion to verifiable fact, all this no doubt enhanced by her five-year 'pilgrimage' through the countries of Europe visited by Byron, lends authority and an authentic flavour to the style and language. The many references to correspondence, together with quotations from the poetry, are made with due regard to their relevance to particular places, people and events, the writer's occasional interpretative comment being well justified by her soundly-based acquaintance, and indeed intimacy, with the scope of her subject.

Such considered commentary, always unobtrusive, is necessary as much to the craftmanship and thematic working of the book as a whole, as it is to achieving a natural coherence and fluency in the language. For example, Byron tasted the 'excitements' of gambling, encouraged by Scrope Davies, his Cambridge friend: "For Byron excitement was a state of bliss, in all respects preferable to inertia. Each turn of the card and each cast of the dice created life-enhancing tension. A gambler always lived in hope." Here there is a hint of symbolism, an insight into the risks and rewards of an adventurous life. Similarly, the description of a memorable episode involving the shooting dead of the Military Commander of Ravenna, Captain Luigi dal Pinto, in the street close to Byron's residence, later followed by an assassination attempt on Byron himself, concludes with the observation: "But what interested Byron most about the murder was not the local politics but the underlying strangeness, what it said about the human condition. What was the dividing line between a life and a death, he wondered as he sat beside the oddly tranquil body of the physically courageous but unpopular Dal Pinto....?" The comprehensive and meticulous 'Sources and Reference Notes' provide the searching reader with page by page elucidation of the text, this further amplified by an excellent Index highlighting persons, locations, works and attributes.

This book will delight not only the literary scholar but also the critical general reader who is prepared to expend a certain mental effort in tackling what after all is a solid testament to a literary genius, a figure no less heroic than the Napoleon he emulated. The author eschews emotionalism and allows the drama of a life to speak from within itself: herein lies the writer's art. The characters themselves come to life in all their paradoxical humanity, whether it be - to name but a few - the absurdly capricious (and vindictive) Lady Caroline Lamb, fellow-poet and 'brother outcast' Shelley, the loyal and protective Hobhouse, or Countess Teresa Guiccioli, Byron's most 'enduring' mistress, with whom he conducted an affair 'in an atmosphere of stealth and potential skulduggery'.

'Byron Life and Legend' is beautifully produced and superbly illustrated. It is now an indispensable part of Byronic lore, and a 'sine qua non' for literary collections and libraries.

A level-beware, 09 Apr 2008
Overall this is a very useful and detailed collection, however if you are buying as a A level text be careful as it is a newer edition so many poems are different than other texts and some are completely missing. For the collection on the syllabus i had to find poems on the internet or copy from another book!!!

Excellent as companion for OU course A210, 31 May 2006
This book was invaluable when studying A210 with the Open University. Good coverage of the various approaches and styles, and very clearly written. Very helpful for essays.

A Very Good Book, 24 Apr 2004
This book provides informative information on the great Romantic poems andpoets. It shows you how you can read a poem and study it through stagesopening up new ideas you had never thought of, with plenty of examples. There is a new chapter on women poets in the Romantic era which I foundextremely helpful. At the end of the book there are tips on how to writethat essay. If you are studying Romantic poetry or are just interested init, this book is easy to read and understand.

Be warned, 19 Jul 2008
Be warned about this book- it is virtually a picture book with a small amount of text on each page. Every page has a very illustration and about a paragraph or two of text. I was very annoyed at this, as I was led to believe that this book would be useful for my University course, but it was not. I have given the book two stars however, because the text that was in there, did contain some useful information.

Excelllent - A thoroughly enjoyable mine of culture!, 09 Oct 2000
I hadn't realised there were so many strands within Romanticism. Over fifty years of the greatest music, art, philosophy, literature and even science, that the Western world has produced can be found within these pages. So adept is the author at distilling the important information that not once did the book seem to sell its subjects short. I was absolutely absorbed. This was my first Introducing book but if the high standard set by this book is met by the others, I'll certainly be buying many more.

Excellent overview of the movement, 04 Jun 2005
Has really useful articles on the major works of the period, as well as some you might not have heard of but are gaining more attention from critics (and rightly so). Romanticism beyond Wordsworth et al! There's also some good sections giving context to the movement in terms of historical background, emerging genres, important issues such as slavery and current critical debates. This book gave me a good grounding for the Romanticism paper of my degree course.

A must have for any one who takes English seriously, 10 Nov 2000
This companion is exactly what it says it is - A must have piece of definitive background reading which every English student should have with them. The Companion covers wide ranging topics, which is useful for most subjects within the English Literature spectrum from understanding novels, authors, genres and poetry to including major issues and debates. This can be used as a help to understanding, as well as a spring board of ideas for the beginning of essays. This companion is not the only research you would need to do for any work or understanding but it goes a long way to cover the important parts of English Literature

A little bit disappointing, 26 Jan 2005
After the other rave review from the undergraduate above, I did think this book would be somewhat better than it seems. Unfortunately, it does not go into any depth with the poetry or explain the fundamentals of the romantic era.

Stunningly comprehensive survey of Romanticism for any level, 24 Jun 2004
I'm an English undergraduate and although this book says its aimed at A-Level it is perfect for Uni students too. It gives a comprehensive survey of the Romantic period - religious, political, historical and social contexts, and it warns the reader to be wary about the broadness of the term Romanticism, its limitations, and how it ought to be applied. It includes key extracts from Romantic litearture and approaches these with the view to assisting the interpretation of other texts. It deals with all angles - language, criticism and femininsm, and also has a good section on Blake and is modern enough to include female writers e.g. Mary Wollstonecraft, which earlier books on Romanticism ignore. The best thing about it is it's really readable, the language is easy to understand and has a practical and varied layout, including bullet points and suggested exercises too. It also deals with loads of other critics views on Romanticism which gives some useful directions for further reading, whilst giving an idea of their main points (with quotes) if you haven't got time for that. This is a must for any student studying any aspect or author in the Romantic era, particularly as context is particularly vital to an understanding of the texts in this age.

Pandemonium ensues!, 29 Mar 2007
Thomas Love Peacock invented the novel of ideas, which sees the coming together in one place of a number of "opinionated faddists" with diametrically opposite views for the purpose of a "good dinner" and good light-hearted satire.

Here are two of his best attempts, Nightmare Abbey and Crotchet Castle, where the assembled faddists between them disseminate and discredit the intricacies of contemporary artistic and political culture. Nightmare Abbey sees Scythrop (gloomy-face) Glowry play host to an assortment of morbid and eccentric caricatures including those of Mr. Flosky (Coleridge) and Cypress (Byron) all chasing, or being chased by, ghosts, mermaids, drunken French valets and good dinners served up on a plate of classical allusion, metaphysical obscurity and a wilful lack of common-sense. Crotchet Castle, the later work, provides more of the stock Peacock scene with characters this time focused on dismantling any serious conceptions of industry and political economy.
Peacock's characters are all joyously tangled up in their own obsessions, ranging from Kantian Transcendentalism to Ichthyology, and which invariably send them into either verbal collisions around the dinner-table or a more crudely pantomime type, colliding and banging down stairs "like two billiard-balls in one pocket". He has a great sense for the absurd and has me laughing out loud over an otherwise assumedly unpromising collection of comedy characters.

Peacock was labelled `the laughing philosopher' in his time, and prided himself on his wide knowledge of classical literature and an Epicurean sensibility, but don't let this put you off. His novels are pure nonsense; they're a veritable rag-bag of farce, romantic idealism, philosophical absurdity all coloured with contemporary allusions and harmless rib-jabbing at what he saw as the unnecessary ideologico-scientifico- improbabo-historico-distractions from the simple and natural virtues of "a very good dinner."

Two hilarious satires., 31 Dec 2000
Peacock's satirical novels mock various aspects of nineteenth century life; Nightmare Abbey (1818) examines the romantic movement of the early nineteenth century and Crotchet Castle (1831) pokes fun at the political economists and scientific philosophers of the same era.

Most of the principal characters in Nightmare Abbey are based on real life figures who were known to Peacock. He was a close friend of Shelley, who was caricatured as the hero of Nightmare Abbey. The book is very readable today both because of the alternative slant we see on people (Byron and Coleridge as well as Shelley) whose works many of us will have read and because Peacock's works are genuinely funny. This is one of the few books that makes me laugh aloud.

Crotchet Castle is, perhaps, less accessible to us, as few of us will be as interested in the characters mimiced in the novel. It is still extremely amusing though, and Peacock's portrayal of fly-by-night business men will surely be valid for centuries to come.

All the Romanticism you need, 02 Oct 2008
This is a book aimed, I would imagine, mostly at university students. And if you're studying the Romantics at uni then this is mostly all you'll need. It's got a good variety of poets, some excellent notes (on the pages, not at the back of the book, thankfully) and it even has some very nice paintings of the poets included.
My only criticism is - and this mostly relates to the William Blake section - it would have been great to see the plates that originally accompanied the poems. Especially in the Marriage of Heaven and Hell, these pictures are quite integral and pop up every so often (it does tell you where they originally went but it doesn't show the plates). I'm sure printing would've costed more but I think it would have been worth it. It's very difficult to find these pictures so having them in the anthology would have been nice.
Anyway overall as an essential for Romanticism students and enthusiasts alike, this is a very good anthology.

Major problem with book, 29 Dec 2008
Don't buy this book, excellent though it might be, unless you have incredible eyesight - the print is eye-achingly tiny. I had to return it.

The First Rock Star! , 12 Jun 2008
In a nutshell...

This is a totally engrossing biography, written in such detail as to really give the reader an indepth and thorough insight into the turgid, wanton, sensational, exciting, sad and amazing life of the good Lord!

If I could criticise anything about Ms MacCarthy's glorious efforts, it might be that the book is indeed a little too comprehensive in parts; so much so, that certain less notable events or incidents are covered in a little too much detail! But hey, a little editing aside, I would suggest you clear the 'reading decks' for a week and immerse yourself in a truly superb piece of writing - about a man who in my humble opinion was the first true enigmatic international celebrity of his generation or those prior to it!

LS

The real truth about Byron, 23 Jan 2004
This marvellous, wonderfully researched book tells the truth about Byron - the good, the bad, the notorious. I was particularly fascinated by the detailed account of his final months in Greece, and his posthumous influence on European thought. As a native of Nottingham Byron and Newstead are very close to my heart and it was wonderful to learn so much more about him than I ever knew (although suspected much) before. I've always loved Byron's poetry and letters and it was a joy to come across so many favourite extracts and quotations. If only Murrays would issue a new edition of the complete letters - or reprint the Marchand volumes. And what about a really good Complete Works? Finishing Fiona MacCarthy's biography was like bidding farewell to an old friend - I just wish I'd bought the hardback, not the paperback, in which I found the print rather small.

Mad, bad, and dangerous to know, 07 Dec 2003
Byron brought alive...warts and all. What a terrific read and worthy account of a most enigmatic poet reviled at home but revered still in Greece.

The Legend made real, 20 Aug 2003
Fiona MacCarthy's biography of Byron is a masterpiece of detail, insight and scholarship of the highest order. It has already been acclaimed by the best critics as more than equal to her other fine biographies of Eric Gill and William Morris, and is a worthy successor to Lesley Marchand's definitive three-volume study, also published by John Murray. MacCarthy not only had the advantage of access to new material from the Murray archive, but her 're-assessment' of Byron's personal life benefited from being able to write without the severe restrictions and discretion placed upon earlier biographers, Marchand included. As a result, the inner conflicts and turmoil of Byron's life and loves emerge with a clarity and poignancy denied to earlier interpretations.

The life unfolds chronologically, the chapter headings specifying the countries and places representing the periods of Byron's life associated with them: Cambridge 1805-7, London and Brighton 1808-9, Greece and Constantinople 1809-10, and so on. The author's intellectual grasp and unstinting devotion to verifiable fact, all this no doubt enhanced by her five-year 'pilgrimage' through the countries of Europe visited by Byron, lends authority and an authentic flavour to the style and language. The many references to correspondence, together with quotations from the poetry, are made with due regard to their relevance to particular places, people and events, the writer's occasional interpretative comment being well justified by her soundly-based acquaintance, and indeed intimacy, with the scope of her subject.

Such considered commentary, always unobtrusive, is necessary as much to the craftmanship and thematic working of the book as a whole, as it is to achieving a natural coherence and fluency in the language. For example, Byron tasted the 'excitements' of gambling, encouraged by Scrope Davies, his Cambridge friend: "For Byron excitement was a state of bliss, in all respects preferable to inertia. Each turn of the card and each cast of the dice created life-enhancing tension. A gambler always lived in hope." Here there is a hint of symbolism, an insight into the risks and rewards of an adventurous life. Similarly, the description of a memorable episode involving the shooting dead of the Military Commander of Ravenna, Captain Luigi dal Pinto, in the street close to Byron's residence, later followed by an assassination attempt on Byron himself, concludes with the observation: "But what interested Byron most about the murder was not the local politics but the underlying strangeness, what it said about the human condition. What was the dividing line between a life and a death, he wondered as he sat beside the oddly tranquil body of the physically courageous but unpopular Dal Pinto....?" The comprehensive and meticulous 'Sources and Reference Notes' provide the searching reader with page by page elucidation of the text, this further amplified by an excellent Index highlighting persons, locations, works and attributes.

This book will delight not only the literary scholar but also the critical general reader who is prepared to expend a certain mental effort in tackling what after all is a solid testament to a literary genius, a figure no less heroic than the Napoleon he emulated. The author eschews emotionalism and allows the drama of a life to speak from within itself: herein lies the writer's art. The characters themselves come to life in all their paradoxical humanity, whether it be - to name but a few - the absurdly capricious (and vindictive) Lady Caroline Lamb, fellow-poet and 'brother outcast' Shelley, the loyal and protective Hobhouse, or Countess Teresa Guiccioli, Byron's most 'enduring' mistress, with whom he conducted an affair 'in an atmosphere of stealth and potential skulduggery'.

'Byron Life and Legend' is beautifully produced and superbly illustrated. It is now an indispensable part of Byronic lore, and a 'sine qua non' for literary collections and libraries.

A level-beware, 09 Apr 2008
Overall this is a very useful and detailed collection, however if you are buying as a A level text be careful as it is a newer edition so many poems are different than other texts and some are completely missing. For the collection on the syllabus i had to find poems on the internet or copy from another book!!!

Excellent as companion for OU course A210, 31 May 2006
This book was invaluable when studying A210 with the Open University. Good coverage of the various approaches and styles, and very clearly written. Very helpful for essays.

A Very Good Book, 24 Apr 2004
This book provides informative information on the great Romantic poems andpoets. It shows you how you can read a poem and study it through stagesopening up new ideas you had never thought of, with plenty of examples. There is a new chapter on women poets in the Romantic era which I foundextremely helpful. At the end of the book there are tips on how to writethat essay. If you are studying Romantic poetry or are just interested init, this book is easy to read and understand.

Be warned, 19 Jul 2008
Be warned about this book- it is virtually a picture book with a small amount of text on each page. Every page has a very illustration and about a paragraph or two of text. I was very annoyed at this, as I was led to believe that this book would be useful for my University course, but it was not. I have given the book two stars however, because the text that was in there, did contain some useful information.

Excelllent - A thoroughly enjoyable mine of culture!, 09 Oct 2000
I hadn't realised there were so many strands within Romanticism. Over fifty years of the greatest music, art, philosophy, literature and even science, that the Western world has produced can be found within these pages. So adept is the author at distilling the important information that not once did the book seem to sell its subjects short. I was absolutely absorbed. This was my first Introducing book but if the high standar