The letters collected here comprise an important chapter in the life of Walter Pater's literary career. They record in great detail the relations between this Victorian man of letters and his publisher, Macmillan and Co. Specifically they illustrate how such discussions affected the form as well as the content of his books. The book provides a very full illustration and analysis of the crucial influence of the author-publisher relationship to literature.

Robert M. Seiler is Associate Professor Emeritus, Communication and Culture at the University of Calgary, Canada.