Sydney Dobell wrote the popular dramatic poem The Roman (1850) and a number of lovely lyrics, including the haunting "Keith of Ravelston." But he is most often remembered for the notorious Balder (1854), a "Spasmodic" poem that ruined his poetic reputation.

Sydney Thompson Dobell was born in Cranbrook, Kent, the eldest son among the ten children of an old Sussex family. His father, John Dobell, a hide merchant, wrote a radical pamphlet on government, Man Unfit to Govern Man (1812). His mother, Julietta, was the daughter of Samuel Thompson, a well-known political reformer and religious leader, who advocated a free thinking, ecumenical Christianity. Thus, Dobell grew up in a literary, religious, and speculative household, with a bias toward radicalism.

Because his family was opposed to public schools and universities, Dobell was educated entirely at home by private tutors. He also showed a remarkable zeal for learning on his own and composed...