“Such is the story which Mr. Salt tells, and tells simply and sympathetically. He ‘had not the advantage of personal acquaintance with James Thomson,’ but he writes as if he had. There is a brighter side to the picture, and to this also the biographer does justice. He throws into relief the brighter qualities of this unhappy man; his social gifts, his brilliant talk, his capacity of friendship, receptivity and humour, and above all, his popularity. We are treated to plenty of his letters, and these really are a treat.... But whatever the demerits of Mr. Salt’s criticism, this seems certain: that the perusal of his ‘Life of James Thomson’ will prove in most cases a prelude to the perusal of James Thomson’s works.”—Scots Observer.