Hazlitt the Dissenter Religion, Philosophy, and Politics, 1766-1816

Hazlitt the Dissenter is unique in providing the first book-length account of Hazlitt's early life as a dissenter, and how this shaped his literary apprenticeship until 1816. Each chapter draws on a substantial body of new material – including a range of previously unattributed writings by Hazlitt and his father - to offer fresh readings of important early writings. Its multidisciplinary approach, chronological focus, and appreciation of denominational difference and theological nuance make it invaluable reading for anyone interested in literary and religious history on both sides of the Atlantic.
As the first multi-disciplinary account of Hazlitt's early literary career, it provides a new insight into the literary, intellectual, political and religious culture of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. Challenging the prevailing critical understanding of Hazlitt as a 'Romantic essayist' or 'radical journalist', Hazlitt the Dissenter presents an innovative portrait of one of the great English prose writers.

Stephen Burley has published widely on Romanticism and Rational Dissent. He is the editor of The Charles Lamb Bulletin and is a special subject editor on a major interdisciplinary project to produce a multi-volume edition of Henry Crabb Robinson's diary. He is Head of English at Headington School, Oxford, UK.

Introduction
1. William Hazlitt (1737-1820) and the Unitarian Controversy
2. 'A Slaughter-House of Christianity': New College Hackney (1786-96)
3. 'A New System of Metaphysics'
4. Retrospective Radicalism: Pitt, Patriotism, and Population
Conclusion