Theodore Watts-Dunton: Poet, Novelist, Critic

The study traces the life, critical method, and literary circle of an influential poet, novelist, and critic, surveying early influences, regional landscapes, and friendships with figures such as Dante Gabriel Rossetti, William Morris, and George Borrow. It assembles and interprets essays on poetry, prose, humour, and religious feeling, examines editorial work for periodicals, and analyses major imaginative prose including Aylwin and The Coming of Love. Interleaved are travel sketches of East Anglia and Wales, discussions of folk-life and Romanies, and sustained reflections on a renascence of wonder in literature and criticism.