Robert Southey was born in Bristol on 12 August 1774 and died at Greta Hall, near Keswick in the Lake District, on 21 March 1843. During his lifetime he was among the most visible men of letters in Britain: a poet, historian, biographer, reviewer, editor, translator, political commentator, children’s writer, and, from 1813 until his death, Poet Laureate. Yet posterity has treated him unevenly. He is often remembered…
“The mass of mankind hate innovation: they hate to unlearn what they have learnt wrong, and they hate to confess their ignorance by submitting to learn anything right.”
Neighbourhood:
Hymn Writers, Nature Poets, Political Poets, Romantic Poets
Emotional landscape: Sorrow, Irony, Wonder
Charles Kingsley was born on 12 June 1819 at Holne, a village on the edge of Dartmoor in Devon, into a family whose circumstances, movements, religious commitments, and imaginative habits all helped to shape his career. He became one of the most conspicuous Victorian public intellectuals: an Anglican clergyman, novelist, poet, historian, lecturer, social reformer, controversialist, and writer for children. In his own…
“The more I know, the more I forgive.”
Neighbourhood:
Children's Verse, Nature Poets, Social Justice Poets, Victorian Poets
Emotional landscape: Longing, Sorrow, Despair