by
J C C MAYS
Coleridge’s Father
had its origins at the beginning of Jim Mays’ working life.
A professional career intervened, which included editing STC’s poems and
plays for the Collected Coleridge;
but on the verge of retirement he revisited his early enthusiasm and, after some
years’ further research, much of it in the Devon county archives, completed the
book. It is a substantial recovery
of a man who might otherwise only be remembered as a comic footnote in the life
of his famous son. His intellectual
achievements foreshadow those of STC, and far from being an absent-mind cleric
in the Parson Adams mould, he was highly motivated and skilfully self-directed,
achieving a degree of worldly success unknown to the earlier generations of his
family. In discovering who John
Coleridge really was, Jim Mays has also shone a new light on the historically
important but neglected Devon philomaths, amateur and professional alike, some
of whom fostered the young John Coleridge’s career.
And as a consequence of investigating JC’s family roots, he has also
revealed the lives and travails of the Devon poor in their sometimes tragic
detail.
This is the work of a scholar dedicated to the ideals and processes of
scholarship, and the material supporting the printed text is recorded in an
accompanying searchable cd, which also contains the full text. Our decision to
offer the material in this combined form has made it possible to produce a
finely printed book, while keeping costs viable. The Friends
of Coleridge are delighted to promote a unique
contribution to our knowledge of Coleridge, his father, and the world from which
they both came: and it is a happy coincidence that John Coleridge also published
his major work, Miscellaneous
Dissertations, by subscription, and that his 332 subscribers are much the
same in number as those we hope will support this venture.
EXPRESSIONS OF
INTEREST:
this links to a flyer with a synopsis of the book and instructions for
expressing interest, so that we can send you the payment form when we have
enough potential subscribers (about 300) to make the book viable.
Inspection copies: this link will give you an idea of what your book will look like: the first four of twelve chapters are here presented as a pdf. They are uncorrected proof sheets, and though we are aware of some of the typos, etc, any such notices, comments or suggestions are welcome and should be sent to Graham Davidson. A few inspection copies will also be viewable as printed books in Romantic locations to be announced here.
