The two principal passions in the life of William Somervile (1675–1742) appear to have been hunting and poetry, which together combined in his most celebrated work, the four-volume hunting georgic poem The Chace (1735). Somervile was schooled in Stratford-upon-Avon, and thereafter Winchester College, before proceeding to New College, where he later became a fellow. New College Library’s holdings of his works are extensive, varied, and remarkable.

New College Library, Oxford, NB.66.33

New College Library and Archives, Oxford