The history of the Romantic period is often dominated by the cataclysmic political events that occurred within it The collection is divided into thematically linked sections, each of which is prefaced with brief notes on themes, issues and texts, and lists of books for further study. The dates of the period have been extended at the beginning to provide extracts from texts that frame the ensuing radical debate that arose around the French Revolution and concludes at the Reform Act of 1832, which can be seen as the culmination of the movement for political reform in the latter half of the Romantic period. The division of topic areas within the volumes into specific areas of interest will provide an easy route to negotiate the texts, whereas sections such as 'Women and politics' and 'Colonial politics' will highlight previously neglected areas.