• Preface and acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: universal empire; 2. Home imperial: Wordsworth's London and the spot of time; 3. Wordsworth and the image of nature; 4. Waverley and the cultural politics of dispossession; 5. Domesticating exoticism: transformations of Britain's Orient, 1785–1835; 6. Beyond the realm of dreams: Byron, Shelley and the East; 7. William Blake and the universal empire; 8. Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography.

'An original and brilliant interpretation of Romanticism which will have a significant impact on the way culture and imperialism are conceptualized. This invaluable contribution has the potential to alter our view of Romanticism, and speaks equally forcefully to scholars working in other fields, such as postcolonial theory, Victorian studies, cultural studies, literary theory, and materialist criticism.' Gauri Viswanathan, Columbia University

• Preface and acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: universal empire; 2. Home imperial: Wordsworth's London and the spot of time; 3. Wordsworth and the image of nature; 4. Waverley and the cultural politics of dispossession; 5. Domesticating exoticism: transformations of Britain's Orient, 1785–1835; 6. Beyond the realm of dreams: Byron, Shelley and the East; 7. William Blake and the universal empire; 8. Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography.

'An original and brilliant interpretation of Romanticism which will have a significant impact on the way culture and imperialism are conceptualized. This invaluable contribution has the potential to alter our view of Romanticism, and speaks equally forcefully to scholars working in other fields, such as postcolonial theory, Victorian studies, cultural studies, literary theory, and materialist criticism.' Gauri Viswanathan, Columbia University

• Preface and acknowledgements; 1. Introduction: universal empire; 2. Home imperial: Wordsworth's London and the spot of time; 3. Wordsworth and the image of nature; 4. Waverley and the cultural politics of dispossession; 5. Domesticating exoticism: transformations of Britain's Orient, 1785–1835; 6. Beyond the realm of dreams: Byron, Shelley and the East; 7. William Blake and the universal empire; 8. Conclusion; Notes; Bibliography.

'An original and brilliant interpretation of Romanticism which will have a significant impact on the way culture and imperialism are conceptualized. This invaluable contribution has the potential to alter our view of Romanticism, and speaks equally forcefully to scholars working in other fields, such as postcolonial theory, Victorian studies, cultural studies, literary theory, and materialist criticism.' Gauri Viswanathan, Columbia University