LONDON: The British Library has bought a valuable archive from the family of Samuel Taylor Coleridge that portrays the clan's affectionate, if slightly bemused, view of its "presiding genius."

In the nearly two centuries since Coleridge's death, the papers have been kept by family members in the village of Ottery St. Mary in Devon, England, where the creator of "Kubla Khan" and "The Rime of the Ancient Mariner" was born.

Highlights include a previously unknown manuscript of two of Coleridge's poems in his own hand, and many reminiscences of the poet in the letters and diaries of other family members. There are also letters from eminent Victorians who were friends of the Coleridges, including the poet Matthew Arnold, Prime Minister William Ewart Gladstone, the leading cleric Cardinal John Newman and architect Augustus Pugin.

"This is an archive of the whole Victorian era," said Frances Harris, the library's head of modern historical manuscripts. "It is an incredibly rich record — almost any document you turn over produces something of interest." The bulging archive, she said, "provides a family perspective on the family's presiding genius. There is a sense of affection and fascination" for the poet, who in his later years famously became "somewhat erratic" as his addiction to opium deepened and his health deteriorated.

The library secured the archive after the family decided to sell Chantry House, bought by Coleridge's brother James in 1796, and its contents. — AP

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail