At the turn of the century Browning was lionized by literary clubs and magazines. Throughout this century his poetry has been crucial to developments in professional literary criticism. from Santayana’s essay, “The Poetry of Barbarism” to recent discussions of contemporary theories of literature. This book considers how the poet’s reputation has reflected the changing relations of the academy to twentieth-century culture. Book reviewed by Clyde de L. Ryals in Victorian Studies, Autumn 1996
