The family romance of the impostor-poet Thomas Chatterton.[The world of Sir William Canynge: Chatterton's Fifteenth-century father -- The death of Chatterton -- A fatherless boy grows up in Bristol -- Scoundrels galore -- Fabricating a father -- Petty lies, practical jokes, and historical hoaxes -- A noble insanity of the soul -- Chatterton's search for an eighteenth-century father -- The rage of satire -- Freedom of the press, revolution and obscenity -- The great imposter becomes a garden-variety narcissist -- The makings of a romantic hero -- Narcissism and melancholia -- The Rowley controversy]

New York : Atheneum, 1988, ©1987, 1988. Book. Good. Hardcover. 1st Edition. [1st edition] ; 1st printing ; xv, 301 pages : illustrations, music, portrait ; 24 cm ; ISBN: 0689118961; 9780689118968 LCCN: 87-14441 ; LC: PR3343; Dewey: 821/.6; B ; OCLC: 15792868 ; blue cloth with remains of sticker on front cover ; no dustjacket ; "The enigma of Thomas Chatterton is investigated by Louise J. Kaplan, who untangles the counterfeiter from the artist, the troubled adolescent from the visionary poet, as she recreates the short life of a fatherless boy who found an authentic voice only in the realm of his imaginings." ; "Louise J. Kaplan is the author of Oneness and Separateness and Adolescence: The Farewell to Childhood. She was director of child and adolescent clinical services at The Psychological Center of CUNY and is now engaged in private practice in New York City" ; Contents: The world of Sir William Canynge: Chatterton's Fifteenth-century father -- The death of Chatterton -- A fatherless boy grows up in Bristol -- Scoundrels galore -- Fabricating a father -- Petty lies, practical jokes, and historical hoaxes -- A noble insanity of the soul -- Chatterton's search for an eighteenth-century father -- The rage of satire -- Freedom of the press, revolution and obscenity -- The great imposter becomes a garden-variety narcissist -- The makings of a romantic hero -- Narcissism and melancholia -- The Rowley controversy ; G.