Title: The collected letters of Charlotte Smith /
Authors: Smith, Charlotte, 1749-1806; Stanton, Judith Phillips, 1946-
Publisher: Indiana University Press,
Year: 2003
Subjects: Smith, Charlotte,; Smith, Charlotte,; Authors, English Correspondence
Abstract: "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 The present edition makes available most of these previously unpublished letters to publishers, patrons, solicitors, relatives, and friends."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.^
Contents: The horror of the Abyss / 1765-83 -- To live only to write & write only to live / 1784-90 -- Hope long delay'd / 1791-92 -- A new course of suffering / 1793 -- A state of anxiety / 1794 -- Overwhelmd with sorrow / 1795 -- A wanderer upon earth / 1796 -- A necessitous author / 1797 -- Lord Egremonts extraordinary kindness / 1798-1800 -- Domestic miseries / 1801 -- Petty duns & continual want / 1802 -- An houseless beggar / 1803 -- The best of the bunch / 1804 -- A prison & a grave / 1805-1806 -- Nothing but the wind.