This book is based on an exhibition by Nigel Brown in which he painted a set of works around Coleridge’s Rime of the Ancient Mariner. The images include direct portraiture of the Romantic poets, often taken out of their historical context and depicted in New Zealand landscapes. The poet, Denys Trussell, then wrote 30 poems that sit alongside 30 of the paintings and relate to them. He then wrote an extensive essay on the romantics and romanticism in Europe and Aotearoa New Zealand, focusing on their legacy, particularly in the development of concern for the environment and for the protection of human rights over the past 200 years. That essay is illustrated with a further 14 paintings by Nigel Brown.