Tomko … has chosen a very strong topic: the tension between aesthetic cum ethical appeal and ideological imperiousness. His tendency to use a dialectic of opposing positions, examine the shortcomings of either extreme, and explore intermediate positions makes a good match for Coleridge's own heuristic inclinations. The scope of the book is broad, encompassing numerous theoretical/critical texts (Eagleton, McGann, Tolkien, to name only a few) and primary texts (e.g., Shelley's “Ozymandias,” Shakespeare's Hamlet and Tempest, Tolkien's Lord of the Rings). There is no doubting the drive to discover in this author. Given these strengths, the book sets the bar very high on a topic of pressing interest for many readers.

The Coleridge Bulletin

Elegantly written, theologically informed, this is top-level critical theory.

Catholic Herald

Michael Tomko's focussed, lucid, and eloquent study reconsiders Coleridge's seminal formulation in Biographia Literaria: “that willing suspension of disbelief for the moment, which constitutes poetic faith.” … Tomko makes an excellent case for the centrality of religious faith to Coleridge's thinking and writing.

European Romantic Review

Tomko offers us an extended meditation on Coleridge's idea of 'the willing suspension of disbelief' in its subsequent use, abuse and history as a critical term ... He writes with great insight ... [A] slim, stimulating and erudite book.

Theology