Dream-Child

An in-depth look into the life of Romantic essayist Charles Lamb and the legacy of his work [An] electrifying portrait of Charles Lamb.New Yorker A pioneer of urban Romanticism, essayist Charles Lamb (17751834) found inspiration in Londons markets, theaters, prostitutes, and bookshops. He prized the citys literary scene, too, where he was a star wit. He counted among his admirers Mary Shelley, William Wordsworth, and Samuel Taylor Coleridge. His friends valued in his conversation what distinguished his writing style: a highly original blend of irony, whimsy, and melancholy. Eric G. Wilson captures Lambs strange charm in this meticulously researched and engagingly written biography. He demonstrates how Lambs humor helped him cope with a lifedefining tragedy: in a fit of madness, his sister Mary murdered their mother. Arranging to care for her himself, Lamb saved her from the gallows. Delightful when sane, Mary became Charless muse, and she collaborated with him on childrens books. In exploring Marys presence in Charless darkly comical essays, Wilson also shows how Lamb reverberates in todays experimental literature.