Leigh Hunt and the London Literary Scene: A Reception History of his Major Works, 1805-1828

Leigh Hunt’s contributions to English literature, although downplayed for several decades, are now acknowledged by scholars as key to our understanding of the Romantic period. He was not only a facilitator - in his support for the poetry of Shelly and Keats for example - but was also a major contributor in his own right to the literary and political world of the nineteenth century. Underscoring the literary innovations in his writing during the first three decades of the nineteenth century, this text focuses on the selected works that complement the current view of Hunt as a Romantic writer and show the independence in his critical approach and use of poetic language. With an episodic, chronological approach, this is an important reassessment of Hunt’s substantial contributions to several different genres, providing a fascinating account of the significant impact of his works on audiences during the Romantic period.