The Life of Nelson is one of Robert Southey’s most influential and bestselling works. This new edition will contain a comprehensive critical apparatus that will make sense of the major issues posed by the text and how it contributes to studies of both Southey and Romanticism. The edition will feature a critical and contextual introduction, which will set out the origins and composition of the text together with its publication history, as well as offer a carefully considered view of the interplay between the Life and other biographies of Nelson, bringing into view the wide array of sources and influences Southey drew from.

First published in 1975. Southey first made his reputation, when he was a very young man, as a poet. Although he is now remembered primary for his poetry, this title reveals how he excelled in many other genres as well. Examination of Southey’s life reveals an attractive and humane personality, at ease among his books, his family and a wide and impressive range of friends, including Wordsworth, Coleridge, Lamb, Landor and Scott. This title will be of interest to students of literature.