The Walpole Mann correspondence covers some 46 years, from 1740 - 1786. The Man letters are here printed for the first time, and although not highly regarded in the past being decribed as 'dry & devoid of interest', the letters between the two men provide a fuller picture of the period than can be had elsewhere. The editors state that if only the Walpole-Mann letters had survived, Walpole'sposition as a man of letters would be in no way diminished.