The rare three book set of The Poetical Works of William Cowper edited by Robert Bell and published by John W. Parker & Son in 1854. The books are half leather bound with marbled boards and inside covers and gilt lettering, all three are in very good condition with minimal foxing, slight damage to the spine volume plates on volumes I and III. Cowper was one of the most popular poets of his time, he changed the direction of 18th-century nature poetry by writing of everyday life and scenes of the English countryside. In many ways, he was one of the forerunners of Romantic poetry. Samuel Taylor Coleridge called him "the best modern poet". After being institutionalised for insanity, Cowper found refuge in a fervent evangelical Christianity. He continued to suffer doubt about his salvation and, after a dream in 1773, believed that he was doomed to eternal damnation. He recovered, and went on to write more religious hymns. His religious sentiment and association with John Newton (who wrote the hymn "Amazing Grace") led to much of the poetry for which he is best remembered, and to the series of Olney Hymns. His poem "Light Shining out of Darkness" gave English the phrase: "God moves in a mysterious ways His wonders to perform." Prop's shown for size and context.