10 h 6 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 10 h 6 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What can a short poem hold—a love, a loss, a landscape, a lifetime of feeling?
In The Golden Treasury, Francis Turner Palgrave gathers short English poems that carry a single feeling or thought. Love, grief, nature, time and death give these songs and lyrics their subjects. The collection moves from the age of Shakespeare to the early nineteenth century, inviting you to pause over each voice rather than hurry through.
The collection guides the journey through Elizabethan song, Milton's graver seventeenth century, the quiet inward lyrics of the eighteenth century, and the Romantic poets. Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats appear in the final book. Along the way, Palgrave's choices reveal how one editor's taste shapes the poetry readers come to know and love.
What you’ll discover
- The Elizabethan voice Enter the age of Shakespeare through short poems full of song.
- Milton's graver world Meet the more serious mood of the seventeenth century, with Milton at its heart.
- Quiet inward lyrics Discover eighteenth-century poems where polished speech gives room to private thought and feeling.
- The Romantic poets Read Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats among poems of nature, love and loss.
- A rhythm to linger over Choose one poem, read it twice aloud, and let its rhythm settle.
Who will love it
This book suits readers who love poems made for reading aloud, songs of love, time, birds and seasons, and anyone who wants one volume that carries the voices of Shakespeare, Milton, Burns, Wordsworth and Keats.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A lyric is one feeling kept whole
- Early songs bring spring and fairies into verse
- Love and time meet in the sonnets
- Milton gives the lyric a graver voice
- Seventeenth century poets join wit to faith
- Gray and Collins turn odes into feeling
- Scottish songs and ballads bring plain sorrow
- Wordsworth finds wonder in plain things
- Keats, Shelley, Coleridge and Byron add fire
- Recurring images help you read aloud
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
- Large-print eBook
- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print paperback
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Large print hardcover
- 8.5 × 11 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
Every printed copy is made when you order it and shipped worldwide; shipping is shown at checkout. The eBook and the audiobook open when the book texts go online.
How it works
- Start free. Nothing to pay today; the eBook of this book is yours to keep.
- Read, listen and print. 200,000+ classics as eBook, large-print eBook, audiobook and 15-minute summary, and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print, 5 accounts for the price of one.
- We remind you first. Free for 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment. Then USD 0.14 a day in your first year on the yearly plan and USD 0.27 a day after, or USD 0.66 a day on the monthly plan. Cancel online in two clicks.
Bought on its own? Every eBook, audiobook and printed book you buy without the plan carries our 30-day money-back guarantee.
The Golden Treasury
by Francis Turner Palgrave · 1861
Four books of short English lyrics lead from Shakespeare's fairy songs to Keats on a nightingale.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
Free for 3 months · starts right away, on any device
Read free3 months free · cancel anytimeFree for 3 months, then USD 0.14 a dayCancel anytimeHow it works
- Read or listen
- Print and large print at cost
- 5 accounts for the price of one
In short
What do a fairy sleeping in a cowslip's bell, a shepherd begging his love to come away, and a poet calling to a nightingale have in common? They all live in one small, carefully chosen book.
The Golden Treasury at a glance
- Reading time
- About 6 h4 h 45 min fast, 7 h 5 min slow
- Length
- 85,400 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1861by Francis Turner Palgrave
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A lyric is one feeling kept whole
Palgrave wanted a small shelf of English songs and short poems that a reader could trust from first line to last. Everything in it is a lyric, meaning a poem built around one feeling or one moment.
That rule explains what is missing. There are no long stories in verse and no plays, only pieces short enough to hold in the mind. He even trims a few poems, dropping a stanza here and there to keep the whole sweet and even.
Free for 3 months · Cancel anytime
You looked at
Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1861
- Language
- English
- Reading time
- 6 h 35 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Palgrave, Francis Turner. The Golden Treasury. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-golden-treasury.
Palgrave, F. T. (2026). The golden treasury. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-golden-treasury (Original work published 1861)
Palgrave, Francis Turner. The Golden Treasury. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-golden-treasury.
@book{palgrave2026golden,
author = {Palgrave, Francis Turner},
title = {The Golden Treasury},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-golden-treasury},
note = {First published 1861}
}
Free gifts
USD 580 in free gifts when you start
Every book in every format and in 25 languages, 5 accounts for the price of one. Nothing to pay today.
- 200,000+ classic eBooksIn 25 languages, side by side
USD 170FREE - Every audiobookIn 25 languages, any device
USD 120FREE - 15-minute summariesRead or listen, in 25 languages
USD 60FREE - Print at cost, no markupPaperback, hardcover, large print
USD 60FREE - 5 accounts for the price of oneA shelf for everyone at home
USD 170FREE - A part in rebuilding the libraryNew languages and books for all
FREE
Questions about The Golden Treasury
Can I read it free?
Yes. The first key idea of the 15-minute summary is free with no sign-up. Start free and the whole book is yours for 3 months, with the eBook to keep, plus 200,000+ more classics and any book printed at cost as a paperback, hardcover or large print. Nothing to pay today: we email you 7 days before your first payment, and you can cancel online in two clicks.
Can I buy the printed book?
Soon. The paperback, hardcover and large print editions are being prepared. Choose Paperback or Hardcover above, leave your email, and we tell you the day you can order it, printed at cost.
How many accounts do I get?
Five, for the price of one: you and 4 more people, each with their own login, shelf and their own place in every book.
Can I cancel anytime?
Yes. Cancel online in two clicks at any time and nothing more is charged. Nothing is charged in your first 3 months, and we email you 7 days before your first payment.
What is The Golden Treasury about?
It is an anthology of English lyric poems, meaning short songs and poems built on one feeling. Palgrave arranged them in four books from Elizabethan times to the early nineteenth century, with notes and short summaries of each period.
Who compiled The Golden Treasury and when was it first published?
Francis Turner Palgrave compiled it, and it was first published in 1861. He chose the poems, arranged them in four books by period, and wrote the notes that explain old words, myths and his opinions.
Which poets are in The Golden Treasury?
Poets include Shakespeare, Spenser, Sidney, Donne, Herrick and Marvell in the early books, then Milton, Dryden, Gray, Collins, Burns and Cowper. Book Four brings Wordsworth, Coleridge, Byron, Shelley and Keats, along with many anonymous songs.
The author
Francis Turner Palgrave
1824–1897 · English poet and critic
Francis Turner Palgrave (1824–1897) was an English poet, critic and editor. He was born in Great Yarmouth and died in London. He edited The Golden Treasury, a collection of English poetry first published in 1861. He also wrote poetry and was Professor of Poetry at Oxford from 1885 to 1895.
More like this
Our mission
The library burned once. We are building it back.
Every great book, in every language and every format, for every family. Every plan helps pay for new languages, new audiobooks and books for readers who have never had them. Join the movement.
Read our story- Every language25 languages today, side by side, and more every year
- No wastePrinted on demand: no warehouses, no unsold stock, no pulped copies
- For everyonePaperback, hardcover and large print at the cost of printing
