A detailed chronological account of the life of Samuel Taylor Coleridge built up from contemporary documents including the letters and journals of the writer and of his family and friends. Maps, a family tree and an extensive index augment the text and there are over fifty biographical sketches of the Coleridge circle. The progress of the writer's education, reading, friendships and intellectual interests is carefully adumbrated and the book provides a rich background to the genesis of the literary work.