Adam Sisman
A Mind Ablaze
The Notebooks of Samuel Taylor Coleridge
By Kathleen Coburn, Merton Christensen, Antony John Harding (edd)
Routledge & Kegan Paul 7812pp £995 order from our bookshop
Coleridge's Notebooks: A Selection
By Seamus Perry (ed)
Oxford University Press 288pp £12.99 order from our bookshop
As an infant, Samuel Taylor Coleridge was acknowledged to be a prodigy. He was a brilliant schoolboy, of whom great things were expected. Those who encountered him as a young man recognized his exceptional gifts. ‘STC’ was an omnivorous reader, and a mesmerising talker on an astonishing range of topics. Ambitious schemes for literary, critical and philosophical works poured out of pocket. Nothing seemed beyond his powers. Plenty of people helped him, in various ways; two wealthy brothers provided him with an annuity, so that his genius need not be wasted on the mundane business of earning a living.
Sign Up to our newsletter
Receive free articles, highlights from the archive, news, details of prizes, and much more.@Lit_Review
Follow Literary Review on Twitter
'Thirkell was a product of her time and her class. For her there are no sacred cows, barring those that win ribbons at the Barchester Agricultural.'
The novelist Angela Thirkell is due a revival, says Patricia T O'Conner (£).
https://literaryreview.co.uk/good-gad
'Only in Britain, perhaps, could spy chiefs – conventionally viewed as masters of subterfuge – be so highly regarded as ethical guides.'
https://literaryreview.co.uk/the-spy-who-taught-me
In this month's Bookends, @AdamCSDouglas looks at the curious life of Henry Labouchere: a friend of Bram Stoker, 'loose cannon', and architect of the law that outlawed homosexual activity in Britain.
https://literaryreview.co.uk/a-gross-indecency