Blake: A Biography

“It was published in the late 1990s. But I think it still stands as the best biography to read, because not only is it meticulous and clearly written to set a standard for any subsequent attempt at a biography. But I love Ackroyd’s biography because he’s not afraid of the supernatural side of Blake. It’s full of detail about where he lived, and how he was immersed in the Georgian period, but doesn’t shy away from Blake’s life with angels and his communications with the dead. He explores the spiritual and religious milieu of the times of which Blake was a part and that is quite distinctive from subsequent books on the whole.” Read more...

The best books on William Blake

Mark Vernon, Biographer