An account of the poet's early adulthood that draws on autograph letters to his father and archival documents to reconstruct domestic circumstances around his marriage, the composition and reception of his first poetic collections, and his participation in early literary journals. It profiles the circle of young Romantic collaborators, explores friendships and rivalries, and contrasts documentary evidence with later autobiographical recollections to illuminate how youthful successes, personal losses, and editorial work shaped his emerging career.