Seamus Heaney has described The Collected Letters as "one of the great publishing events of the decade." This volume covers a formative period (1896-1900) in Yeats's political career, and the beginning of his theatrical involvement. Letter by letter, Yeats's private concerns, artistic quarrels, and exhausting political life are revealed. Rich and readable notes provide a narrative for these years, explaining allusions, and setting the correspondence in its cultural and political contexts.