James Thomson's The City of Dreadful Night: A Study of the Cultural Resources of its Author and a Reappraisal of the Poem

At at time when many critics still viewed Thomson's City as the work of a gifted but erratic and sick poet with no cultural preparation to speak of, Henry Paolucci undertook to reassess both the reputation of the author and the quality of his work to prove otherwise. With clarity and candor, Paolucci acknowledges Thomson's dark melancholy but shows it to be far removed from the strident optimism of others who shared similar beliefs, depicting him, ultimately, as an Augustinian struggling to fin purpose in a world lacking faith, hope, and love. Thomson's City is a modern rendering of St. Augustine's City of Man.