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and fellow poet William Hayley (1745-1820), appeared between 1803 and 1806, bringing together selected letters and unpublished poems to illuminate Cowper's personal and literary life.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 2 (1803) contains personal letters from the period 1791-4, accompanied by Hayley's biographical remarks. Also included are appendices of some of Cowper's original poems and translations from Latin and Greek, notably sections from Horace and Virgil.
