The Wisdom of the Romantics

by Michael K. Kellogg

The post-Enlightenment movement known as Romanticism is a messy period; so messy, in fact, that many scholars eschew any attempt to define it. In reaction to the overreliance placed on reason by Enlightenment thinkers, Romantics emphasized individual freedom, emotional intensity, introspection, sincerity, and heightened imagination. They sought out nature at its wildest and most tall mountains, steep gorges, and resounding cataracts. They dabbled in the gothic and grotesque, in mythology, the sacred, and the mystical. Romanticism was a turning inward into subjectivity.

In The Wisdom of Romanticism, author Michael Kellogg profiles such disparate authors as Rousseau and Balzac, Goethe and Hegel, Wordsworth and Jane Austen, revealing that classifying Romantic thinkers is a highly subjective enterprise – which is the whole point.

That isn’t to say that the change in thinking was inconsequential. Far from it. The transition from Haydn and Mozart to Beethoven and Chopin could not have been more dramatic. The German-born composer Giacomo Meyerbeer brought grand opera to new heights. The paintings of Francisco Goya, William Blake, Caspar David Friedrich, and J. M. W. Turner were all part of the transition away from a classical, academic style to the “emotive extremes” that heralded the coming of impressionism in the latter part of the century. In this latest entry into his popular Wisdom series, Kellogg explores the mercurial and ephemeral movement known as “Romanticism,” arguing that what Romanticism “is” includes many contradictions, precisely what the rationalists rejected.

Genres: Philosophy, Nonfiction, Literature

376 pages, Hardcover

Published May 6, 2025

Reviews

[✨ tweety ✨ · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Romanticism is my favorite period and as someone in this field, I'm always interested in books about this topic because I get never tired of reading about it.

The book is divided in 10 chapters plus introduction, each focusing on a different author who represented the feeling of this period and its contradictions, and is still remembered today because of their importance. It was organized chronologically, and it felt like a journey. The author starts with Rousseau, who is the first Romantic author, and ends with Balzac, with whom, symbolically, Romanticism is "laid to rest".

I found the book clear and well-organized. Every chapter began with the life of the author and then continued with the analysis of their main works and thought . The connection between the writers that the author has chosen for this book was well-thought too because you can "see" the threads binding them which solidify the unity of this book.

I'm Italian, so I was happy that the author included Alessandro Manzoni. He is not really known in the US despite having written such a great behemoth like "The Betrothed" and poems like the beautiful "5 Maggio" dedicated to Napoleon, and it's such a shame. I hope that he is more known! He is the only Romantic author we have along with Giacomo Leopardi (a lot consider him existentialist and not a romantic), who could've been a good choice to confront with Goethe and Keats (with whom he sadly shared a similar fate).

I enjoyed this immensely and I think that even those who are not from this field can find this book easy to understand because of the accessible language and clear explanations of the works and concepts used by the author.

Thanks to the publisher for this ARC!

[MoonlightCupOfCocoa · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thank you to NetGalley and Prometheus Books for the ARC! As always, all opinions below are 100% my own!

This book was meaty. In a good way! It digs deep into the lives and works of some of the biggest names in Romanticism, giving you a real sense of who they were and where they came from. It's not exactly light reading, but it does a good job easing the readers into each figure. Some chapters were definitely trickier than others (yes, I am glaring at you, Hegel -- Not that anyone should be surprised about that).

Overall, I enjoyed the book. I took my times with it so I could really soak it all in. If I'm being honest, I probably would've gotten even more out of it if I'd read an intro to Romanticism first (I believe the author wrote one actually) and maybe even read some of the works myself before reading about them here.

If you intend on reading one of the included works, I suggest you do that first to avoid spoilers then come back to this book for a deeper dive. I believe you will find the experience very rewarding. That's what I intend on doing myself in the near future!

[Chloe · Rating 5 out of 5]

“The Wisdom of Romantics” dives deep into the lives of various romantic philosophers, artists, poets and writers of the movement (Rousseau, Hegel, Austen, Keats just to name a few.) With an emphasis on emotion, imagination, individual freedom, nature, a love for mystical gothic elements, mythology and art – Romanticism was quite the transformative time! Completely opposite to the focus on reason, science and secular thought favored by Enlightenment thinkers previously.

I’ve been getting back into reading philosophical works and having just finished a biography on Mary and Percy Shelley I was looking forward to revisiting romanticism further. I was thrilled to come across this book and was keen to take my time with it. Overall, it was a fantastic look into some of the key players of the time. Highly recommend!

Thank you to NetGalley and The Globe Pequot Publishing Group/Prometheus Books for this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.

[Mandy · Rating 5 out of 5]

A comprehensive and detailed exploration of Romanticism through the study of 10 key figures, ranging across literature, music, art and philosophy. It delves into the lives and works of Jane Austen and Goethe, Rousseau and Balzac amongst others, demonstrating how each contributed to the movement. Although a scholarly work, it’s clearly and accessibly written, and offers the reader an excellent introduction to Romanticism. Informative, engaging and always interesting, it’s very much a book that can be referred to again and again, and it’s certainly one I will keep by my side when examining any of the figures mentioned.

[Ram Tackett · Rating 4 out of 5]

I now want to read more of Kellogg, and translations of these romantics.

He introduced me to philosophe and philosophers previously unknown to me, for which I am now grateful.

Mostly verbose and impeccable and foreign (to me) vocabulary, leaving me needing a handy dictionary.

Being a visual thinker, I found the names Cliff Noted within blurring, and stories somewhat maddening and intriguing simultaneously.

[Joanna · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is packed with information on the Romantics. It is the perfect book for a history and literature buff like me. It is not an easy read though, so this is more for someone with a bit of background knowledge about the period.