William Blake (Cosimo Classics Biography)

n this exceptional work, produced as part of a series of literary biographies throughout the 1920s, author G. K. Chesterton directly addresses the question of whether William Blake's genius was tainted by mental illness or whether part of the key to his success was his idiosyncratic perspective. An impressive chronicler of Blake's life, Chesterton weaves well-reasoned descriptions of Blake's unusual philosophy into a dialogue on his work, producing a remarkably sensitive biography of one of the towering figures of world literature. AUTHOR BIO: Gilbert Keith Chesterton (1874-1936) was born in London. Though he considered himself a mere "rollicking journalist," he was a prolific and gifted writer in virtually every area of literature. A man of strong opinions, and enormously talented at defending them, he possessed an exuberant personality that nevertheless allowed him to maintain warm friendships with such literary eminences as George Bernard Shaw and H. G. Wells?with whom he often vehemently disagreed. During his life he published nearly 70 books, and at least another ten have been published since his death in 1936.