Robert Southey (1774 - 1843) was an English writer whose work included poetry, plays, biographies, nonfiction, and children's stories. A friend of Samuel Coleridge (their wives were sisters) and William Wordsworth, Robert served as Poet Laureate of England for thirty years; his best known work is the original tale upon which ?Goldilocks and the Three Bears” is based--though the version we know today differs significantly.