Stating that early nineteenth-century British literature is overpopulated with images of dead and deadly animals, this is a study of animal encounters in the works of Charles and Mary Lamb, John Clare, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Lord Byron, and William Wordsworth.

In his study of the presence of animals in early nineteenth-century works by Charles and Mary Lamb, John Clare, William Wordsworth, Samuel Taylor Coleridge, and Lord Byron, Chase Pielak observes that images of dead and deadly animals coincided with questions about what constitutes human life and its boundaries. He argues that each author uses language that ultimately betrays itself to expose beastly disruptions that not only startle the authors themselves but serve as landmarks within Romantic literature.

"In Memorializing Animals, Pielak shows how animals have a place in the study of Romantic literature; their otherness provides the Romantics and us opportunities to rethink community and hospitality." - Ronald Broglio, Arizona State University "The bookis an excellent read for anyone with interests in nineteenth Century British poetry or a desire to learn about animal memorialism." - George E. Dickinson, College of Charleston