James Thomson (1834-1882), who often signed his work with the pseudonym "B. V.," ranks among the greatest of the Victorian poets, and his magnum opus "The City of Dreadful Night" exerted a powerful impact on modern poetry of the Twentieth Century. For the first time in print, his entire body of work now appears as the poet left it upon his untimely death at the age of 47. The three books of verse which Thomson prepared for publication stand in their entirety, and his uncollected poems are arranged in chronological order. The volume concludes with the verse translations found in Thomson's essays, many of which were omitted from previous editions. Here at last, in one lovingly edited volume, is the work of the Victorian era's most neglected and yet most resonant voice---James Thomson.

Previous studies of James Thomson [B.V.] failed to consider adequately the significant relationship between the man and his poetry, a failure which Mrs. Walker corrects in the present work. That poet of the Victorian Age who was so correctly labeled "The Laureate of Pessimism" will find renewed appreciation from students of the period who read this book.

Secret City is Richard Pawley's analysis of the life and writings of James Thomson, one of the most tormented authors of the Victorian era, best known for his work 'The City of Dreadful Night.' Pawley creates an emotional profile of Thomson not through secondary sources alone, but also through his writings. He does not simply give a critical evaluation of Thomson's writings and his contribution to the literature of the period. Pawley's analysis of Thomson's life allows Thomson to tell of his own agonies through his writing, and gives insight to the darker side of the Victorian era.