Jackson Bibliography of Romantic Poetry

Cowper, William (1731-1800: ODNB)

He was born in Berkhamsted to the Rev. John Cowper and his first wife, Ann (Donne) Cowper. His mother died in 1737. He attended Westminster School, where he seems to have been happy,  and was then articled to a solicitor in London: though it went against his inclinations, the family intended him to be a barrister. He fell in love with a cousin, Theadora Cowper, but her father refused to consent to their marriage. He was called to the bar in 1754 and moved from Middle Temple to chambers in the Inner Temple in 1757. But in 1764, the prospect of a public examination led him to attempt suicide and brought about the first of a series of breakdowns. For a time he was confined to a madhouse. He discovered consolation in evangelical religion and moved out of London, finding sanctuary in the home of a clergyman, Morley Unwin, and his family. When Unwin died in 1767, Cowper moved with his widow Mary and the rest of the family to Olney, in Buckinghamshire, where he remained for most of the rest of his life, supported with funds from his family and with friendship and encouragement from a handful of sympathizers. With the Rev. John Newton of Olney, Cowper collaborated on a celebrated collection of hymns, most of them his own composition. After a second breakdown in 1773, he became convinced that God had abandoned him; after the death of Mary Unwin in 1796, he seems to have lost interest in everything apart from occasional poetical work. He died in East Dereham, Norfolk. (ODNB 15 May 2018)

• Cowper
• Mr. Cowper
• William Cooper
• Wm. Cooper [Cowper]
• Wm. Cowper

Books written (279):