William Cowper, Selected Letters

Book excerpt: The letters of William Cowper (1731-1800) are renowned for their seemingly effortless spontaneity, intimacy, and delicacy. William Blake said of them, "Certainly, the very best letters that ever were published." This book selects letters from every part of his life and give insight into the workings of his suicidal mind, desolate in its conviction of total abandonment by God. As a whole, the letters reveal Cowper's extraordinary skill as a writer of letters, his personality in all its guises, his deep-seated commitment to friendship, his fine critical sensiblility, and his interest in landscape, gardens, pets, and ordinary village lives and events. All the letters are printed in complete form, following the texts of the editors' acclaimed five-volume edition.