The collected letters of Charlotte Smith

Description

"In Charlotte Smith's biography, her sister Catherine Ann Dorset reported that "Mrs. Smith left no posthumous works whatsoever. The sweepings of her closet were, without exception, committed to the flames." Despite her family's diligence in destroying her papers, nearly five hundred of Smith's letters survived in twenty-two libraries, archives, and private collections. The present edition makes available most of these previously unpublished letters to publishers, patrons, solicitors, relatives, and friends." "One of the most popular poets of her time, Charlotte Smith revived the sonnet form in England, influencing Wordsworth and Keats. Equally popular as a novelist, she experimented with many genres, and even her children's books were highly regarded by her contemporaries. Smith conducted her public life in the face of profound personal troubles. With little support beyond her wits and her unwavering will, she almost single-handedly provided for a large family.^ The letters yield a wealth of hitherto unknown facts about her miserable failed marriage, her poor health, her poverty, and her twelve children's lives, marriages, and deaths. Her letters enlarge our understanding of her literary achievement, for they show the private world of spirit, determination, anger, and sorrow in which she wrote." "Covering Smith's entire career from 1784 to 1806, the letters also provide new details on the publication of all but two of her twenty-two titles. Smith reveals her customary approaches to composing, dealing with publishers, and exploring new ideas for marketable books. Through correspondence with literary supporters such as William Hayley and aristocratic patrons such as the duchess of Devonshire and the earl of Egremont, the letters also shed light on women and patronage in the late eighteenth century." "As this volume was going to press, the Petworth House Archives turned up fifty-six additional lost letters not seen in at least one hundred years.^ Most are from Smith's early career, along with two letters to her troublesome husband, Benjamin. The archives also preserved fifty letters by Benjamin, the only ones by him known to have survived. Two letters from Benjamin to Charlotte are reprinted in full, and generous excerpts from the rest are included in footnotes, bringing a shadowy figure to life."--BOOK JACKET.

Subjects

Genres

• Correspondence.