The Life of William Cowper

The Life of William Cowper deals exhaustively with the poet’s life, compiling not only the various discoveries of previous biographies but also a large number of previously unavailable facts. Wright had access to the whole of Cowper’s correspondence and was able to read it in chronological order, which no previous biographer was able to do. The biography begins with Cowper’s birth in 1731, traces his early education, gives an account of the three years Cowper “misspent” working in an attorney’s office, and continues through all of Cowper’s travels. Cowper’s struggle with depression is explored in depth, as is his relationship with John Newton and with his “adopted” family, the Unwins.