The Friendship

The first book to explore the extraordinary story of the legendary friendship – and quarrel – between Wordsworth and Coleridge, two giants of English Romanticism.

Wordsworth and Coleridge’s passionate intimacy, shared ambition and subsequent estrangement contribute to a tragic tale. But Sisman’s biography of this most remarkable friendship – the first to devote itself wholly to exploring the impact of their relationship on each other – seeks to re-examine the orthodox assumption that these two poets flourished as a result of it. Instead, Sisman argues that it was a meeting that may well have been disastrous for both: for it was Wordsworth’s rejection of Coleridge, and not primarily his opium addiction, that destroyed the latter as a poet, and that Coleridge’s impossible ambitions for Wordsworth pushed the latter towards failure and disappointment.

Underlying the poignancy of the tale is the intriguing subject of the influence one writer can have on another. Sisman seeks to answer fundamental questions about this relationship: why was Wordsworth so reliant on Coleridge, and why was he so easily swayed in the most critical decision of his career? Was it in Coleridge’s nature to play second fiddle? Would it, in fact, have been better for both men if they had never met?

Reviews

‘Remarkable…compelling…excellent…this is a story with everything…Sisman persuasively outlines the reasons why these two great writers were attracted to each other, and why they fell out. Read it. Not just because it's a colourful tale, but because of what it reveals about the neuroses underpinning the creative impulse.’ Daily Telegraph

‘Refreshingly direct, thoughtful and objective…Adam Sisman's insightful portrait of the lifelong friendship between two proud and complex men justifies his publisher’s faith in the capacity of literary biography to thrive and endure. Sisman, like Holmes before him, has a gift for registering his subjects both in their time and our own. Their agonies, hopes and humiliations make for painful but absorbing reading.’ Sunday Times

‘[Sisman’s] account of their friendship is not only voyeuristically readable, but it offers real insight into the dynamics of literary creation.’ Sunday Times

‘Perceptive and affectionate…excellent…Sisman has done his research…his book is solid, trustworthy, grounded.’ Observer

‘Adam Sisman is one of those authors you know will be readable, enlightening and original…by concentrating on the years of magical rapport, Sisman captures the writers at their most electric.’ Independent

‘In a gripping, masterful narrative, Adam Sisman empathises equally with both men as he traces their friendship from its initial heady idealism, through the creative paradise of the Lake District years, to its sad, acrimonious ending.’ Sunday Telegraph

About the author

Adam Sisman worked in publishing from 1976 until 1989. Since then he has been an editor-at-large and a consultant to various publishing companies; he is also a partner in a successful copywriting business. He is the author of ‘A.J.P. Taylor: A Biography’ and ‘Boswell’s Presumptuous Task’, which won the National Book Critics Circle Award. He is married, with two children, and lives near Bath.