Alexander Pope would certainly have approved of Richard Gamman's defence of his reputation as a "misery-guts" (Letters, February 12).
When the allegation was originally made, Pope devised a cunning plan to have some of his "amicable" letters published to show his character in a favourable light.
He even tricked readers into thinking several letters to friends were addressed to famous people and "donated" more than a few.
The letters were published in 1735, 1737 and 1742 and it took a century before his ill-gotten fame as letter-writer extraordinaire was exposed as a contrivance.
-William Fraser, Hailsham
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