Biographia Epistolaris, Volume 2 being The Biographical Supplement of Coleridge's Biographia Literaria

In this richly annotated collection, listeners are invited into the private correspondence of a towering Romantic mind as he prepares to set sail for Malta in the spring of 1804. The letters reveal his sharp wit, his uneasy reflections on the habit of dispensing advice, and his wistful affection for friends who have shaped his literary journey. Interwoven with vivid sketches of the seas‑borne landscape—Porto’s harbor, Gibraltar’s bustling rocks, and the distant promise of Italy—the narrative offers a rare glimpse of his restless intellect on the brink of adventure.

Beyond the travelogue, the volume presents a careful scholarly edition that gathers and renumbers footnotes, clarifies elided names, and notes minor corrections, making the original prose more accessible than ever. Listeners will appreciate how the author balances philosophical musings with heartfelt personal moments, all while hinting at the larger project of his unfinished biographical supplement. The result is an intimate portrait of a poet‑critic navigating both literal and figurative horizons.