The summer of 1799 saw a new fad take root in a certain circle of British society: the inhalation of nitrous oxide, also known as "laughing gas." The pioneer of

Lynda Pratt's collection of specially commissioned essays is the first edited volume devoted to the multiple connections between Robert Southey (1774-1843) and

Humphry Davy's contemporaries bestowed on him their highest honors. Since Davy's death in 1829, each scholarly generation has accrued info. about him & his coll