Romanticism and Animal Rights

David Perkins is Marquand Professor, Emeritus, at Harvard University. He is the author or editor of nine books including The Quest for Permanence, Wordsworth and the Poetry of Sincerity, English Romantic Writers, A History of Modern Poetry, and Is Literary History Possible?

• Preface; Acknowledgements; 1. In the beginning of animal rights; 2. Grounds of argument; 3. Keeping pets: William Cowper and his hares; 4. Barbarian pleasures: against hunting; 5. Savage amusements of the poor: John Clare's badger sonnets; 6. Work animals, slaves, servants: Coleridge's young ass; 7. The slaughterhouse and the kitchen: Charles Lamb's 'Dissertation upon Roast Pig'; 8. Caged birds and wild; Notes; Bibliographical essay; Index.

'This is a welcome book … he not only provides the kind of scholarship that is necessary to inform the more general picture of animal studies, he also leaves plenty of scope for more detailed accounts of particular issues. What is more he does it through in an engagingly frank and clear approach to his reader.' Literature & History