In this pioneering study of one of the few poets to grow rich from his poetry alone, Dr. Hagen draws on previously unpublished personal and business correspondence and on accounts at the Tennyson Research Centre and in his publishers' archives. The first book devoted to the people and circumstances surrounding the publications of a major Victorian poet, Tennyson and His Publishers illuminates the forces of the poet. Publishing forces described include the vagaries of audience and market, the idiosyncrasies of publishers, the exigencies of family and household, the fluctuations of reputation, and the fear of piracy. The milieu in which these forces worked included both publishers (Moxon, Strahan, King, Kegan Paul, Macmillan) and nonpublishers (Hallam, FitzGerald, Knowles, Emily Tennyson).

In each chapter, besides commenting on the poems and persons concerned, Dr. Hagen explains negotiations, details of agreements, reports on editions, and she gives available information on sales and income. Some of the figures are surprising, as is Tennyson's transformation from struggling artist to wealthy landowner solely through the outpouring of ink and inspiration.