W. W. Norton is pleased to announce that The Norton Book of Nature Writing is now available in a paperback college edition.

Building on the philosophies of the social sciences and of religion, the book is concerned with the interplay between the inner powers of individuals and the structures of their societies and also with how these inner powers affect how they see outer realities. Dorothy Emmet looks at persons in a world of impersonal processes. She is critical of the notion of a personal God, but sees the emergence of personal activities as constrained but also sustained through 'an enabling universe'.

"Anima poetae" by Samuel Taylor Coleridge is a collection of hitherto unpublished aphorisms, reflections, confessions, and soliloquies. The aim of the present work, however imperfectly accomplished, has been to present in a compendious shape a collection of unpublished aphorisms and sentences, and at the same time to enable the reader to form some estimate of those strange self-communings to which Coleridge devoted so much of his intellectual energies, and by means of which he hoped to pass through the mists and shadows of words and thoughts to a steadier contemplation, to the apprehension if not the comprehension of the mysteries of Truth and Being. Excerpt: "Love that soothes misfortune and buoys up to virtue—the pillow of sorrows, the wings of virtue. Disappointed love not uncommonly causes misogyny, even as extreme thirst is supposed to be the cause of hydrophobia. Love transforms the soul into a conformity"

Does the habit of taking drugs make authors write better, or worse, or differently? Does it alter the quality of their consciousness, shape their imagery, influence their technique? For the Romantic writers of the nineteenth century, many of whom experimented with opium and some of whom were addicted to it, this was an important question, but it has never been fully answered. In this study Alethea Hayter examines the work of five writers - Crabbe, Coleridge, De Quincey, Wilkie Collins and Francis Thompson - who were opium addicts for many years, and of several other writers - notably Keats, Edgar Allan Poe and Baudelaire, but also Walter Scott, Dickens, Mrs Browning, James Thomson and others - who are known to have taken opium at times. The work of these writers is discussed in the context of nineteenth-century opinion about the uses and dangers of opium, and of Romantic ideas on the creative imagination, on dreams and hypnagogic visions, and on imagery, so that the idiosyncrasies of opium-influenced writing can be isolated from their general literary background. The examination reveals a strange and miserable region of the mind in which some of the greatest poetic imaginations of the nineteenth century were imprisoned.

A corrective addendum to Edward Said’s Orientalism, this book examines how sympathetic representations of Islam contributed significantly to Protestant Britain’s national and imperial identity in the eighteenth century. Taking a historical view, Humberto Garcia combines a rereading of eighteenth-century and Romantic-era British literature with original research on Anglo-Islamic relations. He finds that far from being considered foreign by the era’s thinkers, Islamic republicanism played a defining role in Radical Enlightenment debates, most significantly during the Glorious Revolution, French Revolution, and other moments of acute constitutional crisis, as well as in national and political debates about England and its overseas empire. Garcia shows that writers such as Edmund Burke, Lady Mary Wortley Montagu, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Robert Southey, and Percy and Mary Shelley not only were influenced by international events in the Muslim world but also saw in that world and its history a viable path to interrogate, contest, and redefine British concepts of liberty. This deft exploration of the forgotten moment in early modern history when intercultural exchange between the Muslim world and Christian West was common resituates English literary and intellectual history in the wider context of the global eighteenth century. The direct challenge it poses to the idea of an exclusionary Judeo-Christian Enlightenment serves as an important revision to post-9/11 narratives about a historical clash between Western democratic values and Islam.

Volume 1 of 2. Coleridge's nephew, son-in-law, and first editor, Henry Nelson Coleridge, began at the end of 1822 a record of Coleridge's remarks as a way of preparing an anthology of the interests and thought of the great poet and critic. His manuscripts, gathered to form the major text of his new edition, include passages on relatives, friends, and various censorable topics omitted from the Table Talk of 1835 and unpublished until now. These two volumes also contain talk recorded by other listeners from 1798 until Coleridge's death in 1834. Some of these records have not been previously published; some are published from manuscripts that differ from versions previously known. Also included are previously unpublished remarks by Wordsworth. Along with a bibliography of earlier editions of Table Talk and other useful appendixes, Carl Woodring's edition reprints the second edition (1836), which differs from the manuscripts more extensively than the edition of 1835. THis is the first fully annotated edition of a work that long remained more popular in the United Kingdom than any of the works in prose published by Coleridge himself. The two volumes make a convenient encyclopedia of his ideas and interests. Carl Woodring is George Edward Woodberry Professor of Literature Emeritus at Columbia University. Originally published in 1990. The Princeton Legacy Library uses the latest print-on-demand technology to again make available previously out-of-print books from the distinguished backlist of Princeton University Press. These editions preserve the original texts of these important books while presenting them in durable paperback and hardcover editions. The goal of the Princeton Legacy Library is to vastly increase access to the rich scholarly heritage found in the thousands of books published by Princeton University Press since its founding in 1905.

Wordsworth & Coleridge: Lyrical Ballads and Other Poems represents a seminal watershed in English literature, marking the dawn of Romanticism with its fervent embrace of nature, emotion, and the individual's interior world. This collection masterfully demonstrates a wide array of literary styles, from the simplicity and directness of the rural ballad to complex meditations on human and natural worlds. It pulses with the radical energy of its time, challenging Enlightenment rationalism and foreshadowing a century deeply concerned with personal and social liberation. The standout pieces defy traditional poetic norms of the era, making the anthology a historic pivot towards modern poetic sensibility. The diverse backgrounds of William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, though both pivotal figures of the Romantic movement, bring a rich interplay of themes and stylistic approaches to the anthology. Their joint effort not only signifies a close intellectual and artistic collaboration but also reflects the broader historical, cultural, and literary currents of late 18th and early 19th centuries. The melding of Wordsworth's profound connection with nature and Coleridge's innovative symbolic imagination creates a multidimensional exploration of the human condition and our relationship with the natural world. This anthology is an indispensable treasure for readers seeking to immerse themselves in the genesis of Romanticism. It offers a unique lens through which to explore pivotal literary innovations and themes of the era. As such, it beckons not only students and scholars of English literature but anyone intrigued by the transformative power of poetry and its ability to wrestle with timeless questions through the beauty of language. The collection stands as a testament to the enduring relevance and dynamism of Wordsworth and Coleridge's visionary work.