GE to John Blackwood, London, 18 November 1861
Title
GE to John Blackwood, London, 18 November 1861
Title
GE to John Blackwood, London, 18 November 1861
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
John Blackwood
Date(s)
- 1861-11-18
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to John Blackwood, London, 18 November 1861
MS: National Library of Scotland. Published: TLS, 10 March 1972, p. 282.
16, Blandford Square, | N.W.
November 18. 61.
My dear Sir
Your explanatory letter to Mr. Lewes leaves, I think, nothing more to be discussed about this long-agitated business of the new editions. I agree with you that the £4. saved on the paper will be best applied in improving the binding. We can hardly expect a very large sale of the 6s/. editions, so it will be wisest to proceed on the basis of modest hopes in the printing. Let us understand, then, that I &unknown;expect&unknown; accept the proposition of £60 per thousand for all the four books in their 6s/. edition i.e. if you at length decide on fixing "Silas" at that price.
You will perhaps be interested and amused, as I was, to hear that one of the most ardent among the admirers of "Adam Bede" is -- Alexandre Dumas, the elder! 568 Count Arrivabene 569 brought us that information from Naples yesterday. Dumas declaimed about it, after his peculiar fashion, with the book in his hand, translating here and there, especially from Hetty's journey -- and pronouncing the book to be the greatest novel of the age. After this I will never venture to predict who will like or dislike my books. But imagine what I escaped: by some means or other it was reported by telegraph that we were coming to Naples, and Dumas was preparing to announce my arrival in an article. I shudder at the thought. Pray appreciate the picture of my frightened self accosted by that journalistic whirlwind. It was too piquant a bit of gossip for me to resist telling it you, though I am plunged in the glooms of sick headache.
Mr. Lewes has finished his article on Hamlet and Othello, and will despatch it tomorrow. It is really important that there should be some truthful writing about Fechter's Othello. 570 I think the performance positively injurious to the half-cultivated people who make up the mass of his audiences. That a tragedy like that, should produce a series of small titters in its moments of highest pathos, is an outrage on Shakespeare and is demoralizing to the titterers. I could perceive that most of the elegantly dressed people around me were totally unacquainted with the play and were being introduced to Shakspeare by Fechter. They were in a state of utter obfuscation.
Ever yours truly
M. E. Lewes.
MS: National Library of Scotland. Published: TLS, 10 March 1972, p. 282.
16, Blandford Square, | N.W.
November 18. 61.
My dear Sir
Your explanatory letter to Mr. Lewes leaves, I think, nothing more to be discussed about this long-agitated business of the new editions. I agree with you that the £4. saved on the paper will be best applied in improving the binding. We can hardly expect a very large sale of the 6s/. editions, so it will be wisest to proceed on the basis of modest hopes in the printing. Let us understand, then, that I &unknown;expect&unknown; accept the proposition of £60 per thousand for all the four books in their 6s/. edition i.e. if you at length decide on fixing "Silas" at that price.
You will perhaps be interested and amused, as I was, to hear that one of the most ardent among the admirers of "Adam Bede" is -- Alexandre Dumas, the elder! 568 Count Arrivabene 569 brought us that information from Naples yesterday. Dumas declaimed about it, after his peculiar fashion, with the book in his hand, translating here and there, especially from Hetty's journey -- and pronouncing the book to be the greatest novel of the age. After this I will never venture to predict who will like or dislike my books. But imagine what I escaped: by some means or other it was reported by telegraph that we were coming to Naples, and Dumas was preparing to announce my arrival in an article. I shudder at the thought. Pray appreciate the picture of my frightened self accosted by that journalistic whirlwind. It was too piquant a bit of gossip for me to resist telling it you, though I am plunged in the glooms of sick headache.
Mr. Lewes has finished his article on Hamlet and Othello, and will despatch it tomorrow. It is really important that there should be some truthful writing about Fechter's Othello. 570 I think the performance positively injurious to the half-cultivated people who make up the mass of his audiences. That a tragedy like that, should produce a series of small titters in its moments of highest pathos, is an outrage on Shakespeare and is demoralizing to the titterers. I could perceive that most of the elegantly dressed people around me were totally unacquainted with the play and were being introduced to Shakspeare by Fechter. They were in a state of utter obfuscation.
Ever yours truly
M. E. Lewes.
Signature
M. E. Lewes.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to John Blackwood, London, 18 November 1861, Complete George Eliot Letters(2026), George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/92623