John Clare, the Preface to The Shepherd's Calender

Hessey told Clare on 5 September 1826 that both he and Taylor thought Clare should write the Preface himself (Eg. 2247, fol. 211^v). Clare drafted his Preface almost immediately on the back of a letter (Eg. 2247, fol. 212), wisely deleting suggestions of excessive gratitude and hints of his ‘inability to write what my feelings are anxious to dictate’.