The unknown Coleridge

by Raymonde Hainton

The Unknown Coleridge is an overdue first biography of Derwent Coleridge, the poet's second son. Derwent was born in 1800 into the full flood of Lakeland Romanticism. A profound love of Nature, and reverence for his father's poetic circle, never left him. He is the only Coleridge who tried throughout a long and significant public life to put into practice his father's philosophy. After his unconventional upbringing in the Lake District, and an ardent and moody student life in the Cambridge of the 1820s, Derwent obtained his first job teaching in Plymouth. His passionate courtship of Mary Pridham led to newfound religious convictions and a remarkable marriage partnership. Under her influence he entered the Anglican clergy and became curate and schoolmaster in the Cornish township of Helston. For a decade the Helston Grammar School defied geographical isolation, attracting some distinguished pupils (including Charles Kingsley) and building its master's skills and reputation. The school w