Books in the Letter of Richard Cobden series

The first of four volumes, this book provides the first critical edition of Richard Cobden's letters, providing a unique insight into the career of one of Britain's leading nineteenth-century politicians. Drawing on material from Britain, Europe, and the United States, the letters are accompanied by notes, and an introduction explaining the unusual history of the letters and re-assessing Cobden's importance in their light.

Volume Two of The Letters of Richard Cobden follows the career of the 'Manchester Manufacturer' who had gained celebrity through the repeal of the Corn Laws in 1846 as he became the dominant Radical leader on the British political scene between 1848 and 1853.

The fourth volume of Cobden's Letters primarily deals with Cobden's search for a permanent political legacy, both at home and abroad. It deals with his success in negotiating the Anglo-French Commercial Treaty of 1860, his involvement in smoothing Anglo-American relations at the time, and his work towards the enfranchisement of the working classes.

The third volume of Cobden's Letters covers the Crimean War, the Indian Mutiny, and the preliminary negotiations over the Anglo-French Commercial Treaty of 1860. It reveals the tension between public and private life experienced by Cobden from 1854 until 1859.