Joseph Severn, Walter Severn and the Romantic poets: Two new arrivals in College Library

In March 1878, Walter Severn rushed to Rome to be at the bedside of his father Joseph, who he believed was dying. When he arrived, Joseph recounted his early life and reminisced about a number of famous and prominent people he had known. Walter noted down the conversation for posterity and it is this which...

Rebel with Many Causes: Percy Bysshe Shelley

For those who find themselves square pegs confronted with only the roundest of holes, the example of the poet Shelley offers reassurance that the way to greatness does not lie along the paths of compliance and conformity. Unhappily, however, his reputation as one of the greatest Romantic poets did not evolve until after his premature...