With a novelist's insight and eye for detail, A.S. Byatt examines the
relationship between Wordsworth and Coleridge against the background of
the great changes of their times - in society, politics, education and
literature. As she charts their personal lives, traces the growth of
their ideas, and shows how these are reflected in their work, readers
are presented with pictures not only of the two poets themselves, but
also of their families, friends and contemporaries, including Southey,
de Quincey, Lamb, Hazlitt, Byron and Keats.