Prologue: opening the door on Malthus's rollercoaster -- Before Malthus: population, economy and environment in … eighteenth century England -- Prophets of perfection: a revolutionary triptych -- The first inconvenient truth: Malthus's essay … and the quiet revolution of 1798 -- "Diarrhoea of the intellect": Malthus as the malign muse of romanticism -- Malthus and …