Although George Crabbe (1754-1832) was acclaimed by his contemporaries—receiving high praise from Lord Byron, Sir Walter Scott, and Jane Austen, among others—there has not been a collected edition of his verse since A.W. Ward's, some eighty years ago. The present edition draws on much recently discovered manuscript material from America and Britain, including a finished manuscript (with proofs) of , and manuscripts of four unpublished tales and of a number of shorter poems. Close attention has been paid to the evolution of the text from the rough pencil drafts in Crabbe's notebooks to the final version in print. An extensive commentary relates both to the literary context and to Crabbe's many observations on the social scene of his day.