Selected Letters

William Cowper's letters are renowned for their seemingly effortless spontaneity, intimacy and delicacy. The letters in this volume have been chosen to display Cowper's lifelong skill as a writer of letters and to exhibit his personality in all its guises. They are used to demonstrate his deep-seated commitment to friendship, to reveal his critical sensibility and to commemorate his interest in subjects such as landscape, gardens, pets and ordinary village lives and events. All the letters are printed in complete form, following the text of the editors' five-volume edition.