William Blake vs the World

FascinatingThe Times
Blakeian in its singularityNew Statesman
A wonderful adventureIrish Times
Rich, complex and original Tom Holland
A crisp, ambitious and thoroughly contemporary introductionTimes Literary Supplement

Poet, artist, visionary and author of the unofficial English national anthem Jerusalem, William Blake is an archetypal misunderstood genius. In this radical new biography, we return to a world of riots, revolutions and radicals, discuss movements from the Levellers of the sixteenth century to the psychedelic counterculture of the 1960s, and explore the latest discoveries in neurobiology, quantum physics and comparative religion to look afresh at Blakes life and work - and, crucially, his mind. Taking the reader on wild detours into unfamiliar territory, John Higgs places the bewildering eccentricities of a most singular artist into context and shows us how Blake can help us better understand ourselves.