Arnold's major poems, "Stanzas from the Grande Chartreuse," the love poems in the "Switzerland" and "Faded Leaves" sequences, several narrative poems, and his major elegies are found in part one of this volume. The prose selections in part two, arranged in chronological order of composition, span Arnold's entire writing career, beginning with several lively letters from his early correspondence with Arthur Hugh Clough, to his very last essay, "Civilization in the United States." Throughout both the poetry and prose is heard the unmistakable voice of a man whom E.M. Forster aptly described as "a great poet, a civilized citizen, and a prophet."

    Due to his father's accident, this become providential for the family's survival. They move into the house so his father can recover gradually, his mother takes in three affluent child boarders, with ultimate success.