Part of a series which follows the outline of writers' working lives, aiming to trace the professional, publishing and social contexts which shaped their writing. This is a sympathetic portrait of the poet who overcame the obscurity of his origins to become the uncrowned Laureate of his age.

Inhalt
Preface - Chronological Table - Introduction - Early Life and Juvenilia - Out in the World - Making it New - Rewards of Fame and its Hazards - Reforming the Mind - Virtue and her Friends - The Progress of Dulness - Conclusion - Appendix - Footnotes - Further Reading - Index