Dissertation Topic

Awhile back, Mrs. Jones asked me what my dissertation is going to be on. I thought I would respond with a post, since there are probably a few other people who are wondering the same thing. I am writing a literary biography about the family of Samuel Taylor Coleridge. This British Romantic poet had three children, Hartley, Derwent, and Sara. All three were accomplished 19th century figures, but few scholars recognize that fact. In fact, they are studied primarily because of who their father was. To me, this seems to be the wrong approach. STC was not a major figure in their childhood, and his children spent very little time with him. So . . . I will "reverse the trend" by examining their lives, emphasizing the fact that their father was not around. I will look at the other influences in their life and examine what their were able to do with these influences and contribute to their age.

As a result of this dissertation, I've had biographies on the brain, both generally and theoretically. Hence the addition to the sidebar of the "Biography of the Day." For those of you who have taken the time to check those out, thanks for indulging my interest. One of my next projects - a biography of my family (so send me your stories!).