Search Special Collections

Location: BC MS 19c Tennyson, in volume "Autograph Letters Lord Tennyson, his Wife and Son, 1844-1892"

Category: 19c2 Female

Note: Thanks for sonnet sent by Mr Colquhoun for Tennyson's son; expresses delight with the vicinity in which she is living; mentions the unfortunate publicity in connection with "Brother Jonathan": "... with my whole heart I hate the idea of women obtruding themselves into public affairs ...", "the only women who have anything to do with [public affairs] further than thinking and feeling about them at home are heiresses who represent families. These I think should, when they have large estates, be allowed to have proxies in the House of Lords if noble & proxies for votes if commoners or the interests of many may suffer"; offers apology for failing to answer notes, invites Colquhoun to visit "perhaps our somewhat warmer climate might in itself be good for you and when that all but greatest of evils the loss of friends has befallen us, is there any earthly remedy so much to be relied on for relief as the society of one that remains?"; mentions the work Lord Tennyson is doing in the correction of
his three books for new editions; the difficulty in persuading Tennyson to accept the Laureateship: "... indeed a note of acceptance & one of refusal were actually put into the same envelope that at the very moment only of sending on to the post it should be determined which. His dread of levees and court bails and increased publicity caused this unwillingness originally and has since made him regret that it was overcome so far as it was". Letter of 5 April 1857: thanks for the address by Mr Chadwick [Sir Edwin Chadwick, 1800-90, social reformer] on the question of public sanitation.

Search for related full archival records