Henry Crabb Robinson (1777–1867): The friend of almost every literary man of his day, first met Southey at a dinner at Dr Aikin’s in March 1808. Robinson had gone to Spain in 1808 as a special war correspondent of The Times, and through the connections he made at that time he was able to help Southey find materials he needed for the Edinburgh Annual Register.

London booksellers and publishers. George Robinson (1736–1801; DNB) and his brothers James Robinson (d. 1803/4; DNB), John Robinson (1753–1813; DNB), and possibly Henry Robinson (d. in or after 1813; DNB).

William Isaac Roberts (1786–1806): A Bristol writer who died aged nineteen. Southey helped promote an edition of his letters and poems in 1811.

Edward Roberts (d. 1835): Chief Clerk of the Pells; father of Barré Charles Roberts. He was related to the Bedfords. Grosvenor Bedford published an edition of Barré Charles’s papers and a memoir in 1814. Southey corresponded with Edward Roberts at this time.

Barré Charles Roberts (1789–1810): Third child and second son of Edward Roberts. A delicate child, he showed a precocious interest in antiquities and amassed a coin collection that was said to be worth 4,000 guineas. He was a student at Christ Church, Oxford, 1805–1808, and contributed to the Gentlemans Magazine and Quarterly Review, especially on numismatics. After his early death, Grosvenor Bedford, who was his cousin, compiled a Memoir (1814), which was, unsurprisingly, favourably reviewed by Southey in the Quarterly Review.

Susannah Rickman (née Postlethwaite; d. 1836): Married John Rickman in 1805.

John Rickman (1771–1840): Statistician. Only son of Thomas Rickman, vicar of Newburn, Northumberland. Educated at Guildford Grammar School (1781–1785) and Oxford (matric. Magdalen Hall, 1788, and migrated to Lincoln College, BA 1792). After graduation he joined his father, who had retired to live in Christchurch, Hampshire. Rickman worked as a private tutor and read widely in economics. He edited the Commercial, Agricultural and Manufacturer’s Magazine (until 1801). In 1796 he wrote a private paper in which he argued for the benefits to the nation of a census.

Lupton Relfe (1798–1845): Publisher, based at 13, Cornhill, London, and son of the musician Lupton Relfe (d. 1805). Relfe started his firm in about 1822 and brought out the early numbers (1823–1827) of the annual Friendship’s Offering. Southey, who contributed poems to the 1826, 1827, 1828 and 1829 issues, corresponded with Relfe in a professional capacity.

Samuel Reid (c. 1775–1821): A Bristol friend of Southey’s; probably the younger brother of the insurance broker William Reid (b. 1774). Sam Reid had intended to pursue a career as a Unitarian minister, but abandoned it after a crisis of faith. In 1806 he moved to Liverpool, where he worked as a private tutor.

Susan Reeve (1788–1853): The daughter of the Unitarian hymn-writer, minister and manufacturer John Taylor (1750–1826; DNB) and his wife Susanna (1755–1823; DNB). She married Reeve in 1807. Of their three children, only one survived infancy: Henry Reeve (1813–1895; DNB), later editor of the Edinburgh Review.