The book is divided into decades of his life. Each chapter covers a new decade and the work he published in that time. There is also a chapter to provide context on his life, and another chapter on Browning's influence with modern poets.

Every poem or play is not covered. Gridley covers the major works and collections, although mentions many others. His primary aim is to show the reader/scholar how Brownings work was changing during his life. The author gives you commentary for nineteenth century critics and other writers of the time.

Although not a biography, there is some basic information on Brownings life. This is primarily to give some context to the poetry he was writing.

This is not a difficult read for the scholar. There will be lots of names mentioned (like Chesterton, Lyell, Tennyson) and occurences (like the repeal of the corporation acts) which would require some background to fully understand. It is not indepth, so if the reader has an encyclopedia handy, this will be no problem at all.

Gridley does go into some of the major works. I found his coverage of "The Ring and the Book" to be helpful.

I would recommend this book to others wanting to better understand one of the most influential poets from the nineteenth century.