Better known by the bardic name of Iolo Morganwg, Edward Williams was one of history's great fantasists. The legacy he left behind was a cottage filled to the ceiling with manuscripts. This volume provides a re-evaluation of the diverse interests of Iolo Morganwg and the extent to which his ideas and writings shaped the Welsh cultural tradition.

An industrious academic and charmingly eccentric Romantic poet and forger, Iolo Morganwg (1747-1846) left behind a floor-to-ceiling stack of unpublished manuscripts in his small Welsh cottage. "A Rattleskull Genius," based on that trove of unpublished material now held at the National Library of Wales, provides both a celebration and a critical reassessment of the author and his contributions to Welsh cultural tradition.