In this series, a contemporary poet selects and introduces a poet of the past. By their choice of poems and by the personal and critical reactions they express in their prefaces, the editors offer insights into their own work as well as providing an accessible and passionate introduction to some of the greatest poets in our literature.

Robert Browning (1812-89) was largely educated in his father's vast library and spent only one term at university. In 1846 he married Elizabeth Barrett Browning, eloping to Italy until her death in 1861, when he returned to England to complete his celebrated work The Ring and the Book (1868-9). He died in Venice in 1889.