This edition of the poems of John Wilmot, Earl of Rochester (1647-1680) was acclaimed by the Review of English Studies as being 'for the first time…a complete and uncensored text of Rochester's poetry'. Much of Rochester's verse remained unpublished for many years, as it was considered too sexually bold and outrageous, but his work is much more than that of a Restoration profligate and libertine. His perceptive scepticism produced poems of great insight and satirical wit, and he could be a tender lyricist.

David Vieth's edition of his work is scholarly and thorough, with an historical introduction and extensive bibliography and notes.