P. P. Howe is inextricably linked in the mind of all those interested in the English Romantic movement with William Hazlitt, whose biography he wrote and whose complete works he edited. Without Howe's work it is unlikely that Hazlitt would fill such a prominent position in the landscape of English Romanticism since few would be willing to lavish the scholarship and devotion that he gave to his subject and fewer still would be capable of redeeming Hazlitt from the calumnies and neglect into which his reputation had fallen.

Percival Presland Howe was born in Lewisham, South London, on 29 July 1886. He was brought up in a large, cultured, middle-class family by refined and gifted parents. His father was devoutly religious, a confirmed liberal, and a supporter of good causes. He had his own ship-broking firm. He also had a love of literature, especially the poetry of William Blake and...