William Hayley

Successors such as Wordsworth and Coleridge admired yet overshadowed William Cowper (1731–1800). Troubled by mental instability, he retreated from both the legal profession and the woman he had hoped to marry, seeking out a quiet existence in the country. In spite of his struggles, he made a translation of Homer's Iliad, produced a considerable body of poetry, and maintained many epistolary contacts. This four-volume biography, compiled by his friend and fellow poet William Hayley (1745–1820), appeared between 1803 and 1806, bringing together selected letters and unpublished poems to illuminate Cowper's personal and literary life. Featuring a frontispiece portrait engraved by William Blake, Volume 1 (1803) contains Hayley's narrative of Cowper's life, interspersed with his letters. Warm-hearted and engaging, the letters also reflect the debilitating changes of his mood and the beginnings of his troubled faith. They date from 1765, just after his first nervous collapse, to 1791.

Successors such as Wordsworth and Coleridge admired yet overshadowed William Cowper (1731–1800). Troubled by mental instability, he retreated from both the legal profession and the woman he had hoped to marry, seeking out a quiet existence in the country. In spite of his struggles, he made a translation of Homer's Iliad, produced a considerable body of poetry, and maintained many epistolary contacts. This four-volume biography, compiled by his friend and fellow poet William Hayley (1745–1820), appeared between 1803 and 1806, bringing together selected letters and unpublished poems to illuminate Cowper's personal and literary life. Opening with an essay, 'Desultory remarks on the letters of eminent persons, particularly those of Pope and Cowper', Volume 3 (1804) includes letters in which Cowper gives his frank opinions of contemporary literary figures, notably Samuel Johnson, interspersed with his characteristic flights of whimsy and enthusiastic remarks on gardening.

Successors such as Wordsworth and Coleridge admired yet overshadowed William Cowper (1731–1800). Troubled by mental instability, he retreated from both the legal profession and the woman he had hoped to marry, seeking out a quiet existence in the country. In spite of his struggles, he made a translation of Homer's Iliad, produced a considerable body of poetry, and maintained many epistolary contacts. This four-volume biography, compiled by his friend and fellow poet William Hayley (1745–1820), appeared between 1803 and 1806, bringing together selected letters and unpublished poems to illuminate Cowper's personal and literary life. Volume 4 (1806) is a collection of supplementary material, namely amendments to the previous volumes, additional letters and an index giving a short description of every letter's content.

Title: Epistle to a Friend, on the death of John Thornton, Esq. By the author of "An Epistle to an Eminent Painter" i.e. William Hayley] ... The second edition, corrected. Publisher: British Library, Historical Print EditionsThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. It is one of the world's largest research libraries holding over 150 million items in all known languages and formats: books, journals, newspapers, sound recordings, patents, maps, stamps, prints and much more. Its collections include around 14 million books, along with substantial additional collections of manuscripts and historical items dating back as far as 300 BC. The FICTION & PROSE LITERATURE collection includes books from the British Library digitised by Microsoft. The collection provides readers with a perspective of the world from some of the 18th and 19th century's most talented writers. Written for a range of audiences, these works are a treasure for any curious reader looking to see the world through the eyes of ages past. Beyond the main body of works the collection also includes song-books, comedy, and works of satire. ++++The below data was compiled from various identification fields in the bibliographic record of this title. This data is provided as an additional tool in helping to insure edition identification: ++++ British Library Hayley, William; 1782. 4 . 11641.h.11.(2.)