THE TOWN OF COWPER; Or, The Literary and Historical Associations of By THOMAS WRIGHT, Illustrated with Photographs and Wood-Engravings. LONDON: SAMPSON 40W, MARSTON, AND CO. Opinions of the Press. "One of the most natural forms of enthusiasm is that which delights to trace the associations that link famous men to places. Mr. Wright's pleasant mélange of antiquities and history The Town of Cowper" ministers not unsuccessfully to this passion. The devout pilgrim to Olney, whether he be the "spring-heeled American" of our author, or one of more sober pace, will find in these annals of the neighbourhood a really valuable guide. The topography of the district is vividly presented in the series of descriptive sketches that deal mainly with Cowper's life, and the illustrations are full of interest. Nor does Mr. Wright omit to discuss the lives of lesser luminaries, such as Newton, Thomas Scott, Carey the Missionary, Sutcliff and other worthies. The account of Gotehurst, or Gayhurst, and the chapter on "Kilwick Wood," are good examples of the descriptive style that is searching without tediousness." The Saturday Review. "The Town of Cowper, by Thomas Wright, is a pleasantly written volume on the literary and historical associations of Olney, illustrated with photographs and wood-engravings. The subject is well worn, and yet not so much so as to make Mr. Wright's labour superfluous. He corrects several errors, andis also able to give to the reader much fresh information. The spots associated with Cowper's poetry are so illustrated by pen and pencil that the visitor to Olney might use the volume as a guide. I will enable him to judge of what the town was in the poet's time and to understand the changes that have taken place, The volume is readable throughout, and even readers already familiar with the literature of the subject will glean from it new facts and suggestions. Mr. Wright dates from Cowper School, Olney, and it is easy to see "That the labour he has expended on this volume has been undertaken with the generous enthusiasm of a local historian. The best letter writer in the language, one of the best, if not the best, of descriptive ports, a delightful writer of occasional verses, and a charming humourist, Cowper has made the little town of Olney famous through out the English-speaking world. We are glad, therefore, with Mr. Wright as a companion, to visit it once more in imagination, and we shall be better pleased still, with his book in our hand, to walk over ground on which this household poet has conferred a literary immortality." Illustrated London News. "Admirers of the great Evangelical poet of Olney and they are many will welcome "The Town of Cowper," by Mr. Thomas Wright. Mr. Wright's volume contains a great mass of literary, historical, and topographical information, which is also well arranged. Nor must we forget to mention that the volume is enriched by several excellent photographs and wood-engravings." The Graphic. "The patient and unsparing research evidenced in the neat volume entitled The Town of Cowper is deserving of all praise, and its result, as is natural, is a book full of interesting and reliable reading. Mr. Wright has set before himself the task of penning a memoir of the poet, and, in addition, a record of such literary and historical associations as crowd about Olney and its neighbourhood. Both duties he has accomplished with the success that rarely attends any but congenial work. * A frontispiece with group of photographs gives several likenesses of Cowper and others, and many other matters of interest are comprehended in this agreeable volume."--The Literary World. * "The author has given some interesting details concerning these (Cowper and the Olney divines), and cites letters and passages from their works in his descriptions of their lives. Photographs and wood-engravings add to the acceptability of the book."--The Morning Post. "A pleasant volume of reminiscences and sketches." The Daily Chronicle. * * "We can heartily recommend to om readers Mr. Wright's work on Olney The volume is an indespensable item in the library of local book-lovers, of admirers of Cowper, and of persons interested in the neighbourhood. It would form a capital present to old or young; and we would recommend those who are looking about for school prize books for the approaching "breakings up" to invest largely in copies of Mr. Wright's book.'--The Beds Times. "As a memorial of Cowper and the town with which his name is indissolubly associated, the volume is unique; it is singularly interesting, and does honour to the literary skill and judgment of the author." Northampton Mercury. "That the volume is the fruit of careful research is manifest on every page, while one of the chiefest characteristics is the strict attention bestowed on details. Nothing that is possessive of interest, historical or traditional seems to have been passed by, and even the stones and trees are made to unburden themselves of stories of Olney and Cowper. The publishers have put the book before the public in an attractive form, which makes it suitable for a place in the drawing-room or library, and us first-class presentation work.". Northampton Herald. |