Original, generous, intimate, witty, brilliant, and occasionally batty, the Letters of Ted Hughes may be one of the most extraordinary collections of letters to be published in many years.

III   O early ripe! To thy abundant store What could advancing age have added more? It might (what nature never gives the young) Have taught the numbers of thy native tongue.                                         —John Dryden  We stood in a living room furnished with antiques and, on small tables winging the brocaded sofa, delicately fanned displays [...]