The Ashley Manuscripts form one of the most important collections of 19th-century English literary manuscripts in existence. Spanning the period from Coleridge to Conrad, the manuscripts were formerly part of the library assembled by Thomas James Wise, forger, book-thief and President of the Bibliographical Society. Manuscripts of the Younger Romantics and of the Pre-Raphaelites are strongly represented in the collection, together with those of Swinburne. Wise really started the practice of collecting the manuscripts of contemporary authors, and was adept at seeking out the widows, children and step-children of the preceding generation. Regrettably, Wise's lack of scholarship and of honesty, and his practice of dispersing related manuscripts throughout the collection, have made it impossible to identify the contents accurately. In this catalogue, T.A.J. Burnett has described and indexed the collection in great detail, making it more readily available to students and reseachers.