"Thomas Chatterton wrote poetry, forged medieval manuscripts, and died in tragic and mysterious circumstanceseither adolescent suicide or accidental drug overdose.". "This book restores Chatterton as a seminal figure in English literature. It is a major collection of diverse new essays by writers, biographers, critics, and scholars, showing the mercurial Chatterton in new contexts, perpetually challenging the genres of writing: ultimately mixing history, fiction, and myth in a great post-Enlightenment reinvention of the past."--BOOK JACKET.