Romanticism celebrated imagination, nature, and individual emotion against the backdrop of industrialization and revolution. Poets and novelists elevated feeling over reason.
British · 1770–1850 · Poetry
Co-founder of English Romanticism. His nature poetry defined the movement's central themes.…
British · 1772–1834 · Poetry
His supernatural poems and critical theory are foundational to Romantic literature.…
British · 1775–1817 · Fiction
Her novels of manners remain among the most read in the English language globally.…
American · 1783–1859 · Fiction
The first American author to gain international recognition. His Hudson Valley tales defined American folklore.…
British · 1788–1824 · Poetry
The original celebrity poet. His scandalous life and verse made him the archetype of the Romantic hero.…
American · 1789–1851 · Fiction
His Leatherstocking Tales created the frontier hero archetype central to American identity.…
British · 1792–1822 · Poetry
His lyrical poems and radical politics made him the most intellectually ambitious of the Romantics.…
British · 1795–1821 · Poetry
His odes are considered the peak of English Romantic verse. He died at 25.…
British · 1797–1851 · Fiction
Frankenstein invented the science fiction genre. Written at 18, it remains one of literature's most enduring myths.…
French · 1802–1885 · Fiction/Poetry
Les Misérables is one of the most translated novels in history. His social conscience defined French Romanticism.…