The Letters of Thomas Hood

Thomas Hood, 1799-1845, is one of the most notable minor authors of the late Romantic and early Victorian period. He began life as an engraver, and went on to write poetry and prose and to edit comic periodicals and annuals including Hood’s Magazine and New Monthly Magazine. His friends included Charles Lamb, Charles Wentworth Dilke, and Charles Dickens; his concerns, the provision of adequate copyright legislation and the plight of the downtrodden. Plagued by ill health and heavy debts, Hood managed to maintain his sense of humour and an affectionate warmth in his personal relations. Between 1835 and 1840 he lived in Koblenz and Ostende in an attempt to save money to pay his creditors in England. The letters he wrote at that time to his friends in London and to his family paint a vivid picture of the life of the English émigré. This is the only edition of Hood’s letters; it is definitive and thoroughly annotated. It presents more basic biographical information than the Memorials edited by Hood’s son and daughter, or the biography by Walter Jerrold. It is a rich source of information about Hood, and about many of the other literary figures of his time.