author
Joseph Cottle
1770–1853
A Bristol bookseller turned publisher, he gave early backing to some of the best-known poets of the Romantic era. He also wrote poetry and memoirs of literary life that kept his name in the story of Coleridge, Southey, and Wordsworth.
1 Audiobook
Reminiscences of Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey
by Joseph Cottle
About the author
Born in 1770, Joseph Cottle was an English publisher and author closely associated with the early Romantic movement. He built his bookselling and publishing business in Bristol, where he became known for supporting writers at the start of their careers.
He is especially remembered for publishing work by Samuel Taylor Coleridge and Robert Southey, and for his connection with William Wordsworth and the circle around Lyrical Ballads. Alongside his publishing work, he wrote poetry and prose of his own.
Later in life, he published recollections of the literary figures he had known, including a controversial account of Coleridge that drew criticism at the time. Even so, his memoirs remain part of the historical record of the period, and his role as an early champion of major Romantic writers has kept his reputation alive.