Letters from England, Volume 2 (of 3)

"Letters from England, Volume 2 (of 3)" by Robert Southey is a fictitious travel account written in the early 19th century. The work is presented as letters from an imaginary Spanish nobleman, Don Manuel Alvarez Espriella, who travels through England, observing its culture, landscapes, and institutions. The book provides a unique perspective on English society, revealing both its virtues and its vices through the eyes of an outsider. The beginning of the volume introduces the reader to Oxford, where the narrator arrives and describes the university's picturesque scenery and the idiosyncratic customs of its students. He reflects on the dress of the collegians, the elegance of Christ Church, and the captivating atmosphere of the city. Through encounters with local students and detailed observations, the narrator highlights aspects of university life while also lamenting the loss of beauty in modern architecture. His journey continues as he notes on the delights and oddities of various colleges, the mode of living among students, and the charming ambiance of the English countryside, setting the stage for continued exploration and commentary on English culture throughout the volume. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, and Poet Laureate from 1813 until his death. Like the other Lake Poets, William Wordsworth and Samuel Taylor Coleridge, Southey began as a radical but became steadily more conservative as he gained respect for Britain and its institutions. Other romantics such as Byron accused him of siding with the establishment for money and status. He is remembered especially for the poem "After Blenheim" and the original version of "Goldilocks and the Three Bears".