Henry Buxton Forman was a bibliographer and antiquarian bookseller of the Victorian era, whose literary reputation is built upon his bibliographies of significant poets. However, his name is inextricably linked to the exposure of a large-scale forgery conspiracy involving first editions. These revelations cast a shadow over his earlier scholarly endeavors and complicated his standing in literary history. Forman's work thus serves as a cautionary tale about the fragility of the literary market and the importance of provenance.
This edition, based on careful study of the manuscript sources, includes every poem, verse drama, and fragment known to have been written by Keats. A commentary by Buxton Forman on the early printed editions, a chronology of Keat's life, and a note on the wealth of manuscript material complete the authoritative text.
The Masque of Anarchy (or The Mask of Anarchy) is a British political poem written in 1819 following the Peterloo massacre of that year.