The Collected Letters of Charlotte Smith:

by Charlotte Turner Smith, Judith Phillips Stanton (Editor)

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. Charlotte Smith's letters enlarge our understanding of her literary achievement, for they show the private world of spirit, determination, anger, and sorrow in which she wrote.

Despite her family's diligence in destroying her papers, almost 500 of Smith's letters survived in 22 libraries, archives, and private collections. The present edition makes available most of these never-before-published letters to publishers, patrons, solicitors, relatives, and friends. As this volume was going to press, the Petworth House archives turned up 56 additional lost letters not seen in at least 100 years. Most are from Smith's early career, along with two letters to her troublesome husband, Benjamin. The archives also preserved 50 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.

Genres: Poetry

768 pages, Hardcover

Published October 2, 2003

About the author

Charlotte Turner Smith was an English Romantic poet and novelist. She initiated a revival of the English sonnet, helped establish the conventions of Gothic fiction, and wrote political novels of sensibility.

Reviews

[Grace Harwood · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are studying the works of Charlotte Smith then you need this book. I mean really NEED it if you are serious about your research. The book is c. 820 pages long and contains a huge amount of letters from Smith to her publishers, the Earl of Egremont (who acted on Smith's behalf in a long-running legal dispute, before falling out with her spectacularly), to her friend Sarah Rose and a number of other literary worthies, including Dr Charles Burney (the father of novelist Fanny Burney). Smith is such a witty writer and her letters are just wonderful to read. Unashamedly acerbic to those who offended her (which was pretty much everyone - I imagine she was remarkably easy to offend), she also alters her discourse throughout her letters in order to get what she wants from the recipient, being by turns commanding to her publishers (treating them like tradesmen and then servile (and treating them as friends) when she is in need of cash. I'm coming to the end of my PhD studies now (researching Smith's works) and I've found that I come back to these letters over and over again for pretty much every chapter I've written. I've also used quotes from her letters repeatedly in order to liven up lectures and presentations with Smith's fantastic prose. This, quite frankly, was the best £50 I've ever spent on an academic text - I know it's a lot of money for a book, but believe me, if you are serious about Smith studies, this is so worth it.