The Regency Revisited

For poetry in England, the Regency years (1811-1820) were a time of cultural revolution, with key figures such as Robert Southey and Leigh Hunt. Revisiting the wide impact of this period, this collection shows not only how the Regency transformed Romanticism but also literature, re-conceptualizing how scholars view what it means to be Romantic.

The Regency Revisited reconfigures Romantic Studies through a neglected timeframe. It demonstrates how politics and culture of the Regency years transformed literature. By co-opting authors, the Regency provoked opposition, and brought new genres and modes of writing to the fore. Key figures are Robert Southey and Leigh Hunt: The Regency Revisited shows their pivotal roles in transforming Romanticism. Austen and Byron also feature as authors who honed their satire in response to Regency culture. Other topics include Blake and popular art, Regency science (Humphry Davy), Moore and parlour songs, Cockney writing and Pierce Egan, and Anna Barbauld and the collecting and exhibiting that was so popular an aspect of Regency London.

1. Introduction; Tim Fulford and Michael E. Sinatra
2. The Glimmer of Futurity, 1811-1815; Jonathan Sachs
3. Jane Austen, Percy Shelley, and Felix Britannica; Joel Faflak
4. Renewing the Estate: Mansfield Park and the Berkeley Peerage Affair; Robert Miles
5. William Blake and the Decorative Arts; Tilar Mazzeo
6. The State of The Examiner's World in 1813; Jeffrey N. Cox
7. 'Senator and Actors': Leigh Hunt's Theatrical Criticism and the Regency; Michael E. Sinatra
8. 1813: The Year of the Laureate; Michael Gamer
9. Of Precious Loobies, Bag Wigs, and Posthumous Orators: Hunt's 'Resurrection' of Southey; Gregory Kucich
10. The Volcanic Humphry Davy; Tim Fulford
11. Lord Byron's Greek Air: Rediscovering a Regency Lyric; Andrew Stauffer
12. Collecting, Cultural Memory and the Regency Museum; Sophie Thomas
13. De-Radicalizing Popular Literature: from William Hone to Pierce Egan; John Gardner