Written by the distinguished scholar Professor John Beer, and published here in paperback for the first time, this volume on Blake in Palgrave Macmillan's Literary Lives series follows the writer's life and combines biography and critical analysis. Covering Blake's early career, his major works (such as Songs of Innocence and of Experience) and his work as a visual artist, this new study will be a must for all Blake scholars and enthusiasts. Recent discoveries concerning Blake's forebears and their religion make this new study additionally timely.