It has been well over 6 years since I wrote a brief comment on Arnold's letters at this Internet Archive site. It was Arnold's essays that made him famous and it was through this activity of writing essays that he found his voice, a source of creative energy, and a means to its satisfaction. Such was the view of Stefan Collini, the reviewer of the first three volumes of Arnold's letters, a review published in the London Review of Books in January 2000.

Arnold did not want a biography of his life to be written; his family felt that a selection of his letters was not inappropriate.(See a prefatory note in the 1895,Vol.1 collection of his letters by MacMillan) He maintained a constant correspondence with his nearest relatives, and his "perfect naturalness" is what makes for some readers, like myself, his peculiar charm.-Ron Price, Tasmania, 8/12/'13, 2013.

A compilation of what is found in other collections over as many as six volumes, this single volume of letters over 40 years is useful without being comprehensive, accessible without being costly-for six volumes costs a good deal for the average punter. And I am such a punter. I won't go into detail here for reviews of Arnold's letters can be found elsewhere. Arnold never wanted to be the subject of a biography. these letters are the closest you'll get to Arnold in one volume without reading a biography.