The last four years of Macaulay's life, documented in this final volume of the Letters, began as an agreeable coda to the rest. He had come to terms with his invalid state, and took great satisfaction in the achievement that he had already realised. He continued to work at his History, but without any expectations or anxieties, instead he enjoyed what his labours had already brought him. First among these was his house, Holly Lodge, in Kensington, where he removed early in 1856 after nearly fifteen years in chambers at the Albany. At Holly Lodge, attended by servants, and visited by a steady company of family and friends, Macaulay took pleasure in entertaining, and in supervising the care of his trees, lawn and flowers - novel amusements to an urban bachelor of literary habits.
