CHATEAUBRIAND, Viscount De. Sketches of English Literature; with considerations on the spirit of the times, men, and revolutions. Second edition. In two volumes. xii, 36pp; [2], iv, 361, [1]p. Full contemporary dark blue calf with blind and gilt stamped boards, ornate gilt panelled spines with red morocco labels. Marbled edges and end-papers. Some slight rubbing and foxing, and minor crack to the head of the upper joint of Vol II. 8vo. Henry Colburn. 1837. ~ “Chateaubriand was an Anglophile, bringing back with him an appreciation of Shakespeare and Byron, and especially Milton, creating a French translation of “Paradise Lost” in blank verse (a hitherto unknown form) and championing Milton to the French as a greater poet than Homer or Dante. His affinity for Byron, however, really caught on and reached a level of idolatry among the first generation of French Romantic poets. They even felt compelled to emulate his dress and lifestyle; a proper poet was supposed to look like Byron. The incompatibilities between the two countries are also worth investigating. Coleridge believed that the French language was unsuitable for his poetry, and the French poets did not give Wordsworth and Coleridge serious readings. Later in his life, Chateaubriand would create a large, two-volume survey of English literature in which he only mentions Coleridge and Wordsworth in a list of “working class” poets who restored the ballad.” ref: The Development and Evolution of English and French Romantic Poetry. B. Preslopsky, Georgetown, 2012.