A very handsomely preserved example of the definitive eight-volume 1835 first edition of The Life and Works of William Cowper, published by Saunders and Otley and edited by the Reverend Thomas Shuttleworth Grimshawe.
Grimshaw's edition of of William Cowper was the first exhaustive attempt at compiling his extensive Private Correspondence. Originally collected and edited separately by his cousin John Johnson, the 1835 edition incorporated the precious private letters directly alongside William Hayley’s biography and Cowper’s complete poems and translations. This edition set set off a rather famous 1835 publishing rivalry with Robert Southey, who was simultaneously releasing a rival multi-volume edition. Fortunately for Saunders and Otley, they held the exclusive copyright to the intimate private letters, giving this edition a distinct advantage by presenting a far more complete, unvarnished portrait of Cowper’s internal life, literary genius, and personal struggles than had ever been assembled before.
Devotionally, Grimshawe’s editorial vision was explicitly framed through an Evangelical Anglican lens. Cowper, best known in religious circles as the co-author of the Olney Hymns alongside John Newton, suffered from severe bouts of suicidal depression and spiritual despair, often fearing he was damned by God. Earlier biographers often downplayed or secularized his intense religious experiences, but Grimshawe, a committed clergyman, sought to reclaim Cowper’s faith as central to his life and poetry. He curated the edition to highlight how Cowper’s deep Christian devotion inspired enduring classic hymns like "God Moves in a Mysterious Way" and "There is a Fountain Filled with Blood," presenting Cowper not as a tragic victim of religious madness, but as a faithful believer whose spiritual reflections could comfort and uplift others facing mental or spiritual trials.
[William Cowper] Grimshawe, Rev. T. S. [Ed] The Life and Works of William Cowper. Complete in Eight Volumes. London. Sanders an Otley. 1835.
A good, solid set in very shelf-attractive half lather. Some generalized rubbing and wear as shown. Interiors show some scattered foxing, largely concentrated at the front and rear of volumes. Textually very solid and clean.
