'To reveal the Eternal' : the spiritual friendship of Margaret Cropper and Evelyn Underhill

Abstract

Margaret Cropper is best known in Anglican circles for completing Lucy Menzies' biography of Underhill. Cropper's own writings, however, have been almost entirely forgotten, although she was considered one of the pre-eminent Lake district poets of her day, renowned for "her supreme skill... clear, individual voice ... and deep understanding of the [Lake] folk and their dialect". Cropper's influential friendship with Underhill has likewise been largely overlooked. The two writers corresponded frequently, sending rough drafts of their manuscripts to the other for comment and correction. Underhill stayed with Cropper at the latter's home in the Lake District on numerous occasions, and it was Cropper who recommended Reginald Somerset Ward to Underhill as her next spiritual director after Baron Friedrich von Hügel. This essay will present a brief survey of Cropper's life and career before examining Underhill and Cropper's friendship.