GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, Witley, 12 July 1878
Title
GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, Witley, 12 July 1878
Title
GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, Witley, 12 July 1878
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray
Date(s)
- 1878-07-12
Place
Witley
Letter Content
GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, Witley, 12 July 1878
MS: Yale. Hitherto unpublished.
The Heights, Witley, | Nr. Godalming.
July 12. 78.
My dear Cara
Mr. Lewes says that there is not the slightest doubt about the law in the matter of a sold manuscript: it belongs simply to the purchaser. Endless manuscript plays have been bought by managers who have never put them on the stage: but there is no redress for the disappointed author, and no other manager can use the stifled play.
But with regard to your M.S., Mr. Lewes is convinced that it is not in the nature of a publisher to give money for a work and then willingly suppress the work. 101 If Nelson had only engaged to give you half profits or a percentage on sales he might be supposed to be careless in the matter, but he would not lightly allow his payment of £40 (was it not?) to have been made in vain. Hence Mr. Lewes thinks that he may still publish it, and his neglect of letters is a neglect common to many of his tribe. In any case your use of the proof without his concurrence would lay you open to unpleasant consequences. You can only have a right to print by repurchasing.
I am very sorry, for there is a sad lack of reasonable moral teaching, and I can believe that your little book would have taught teachers as well as children. One not improbable supposition is, that Nelson sees a danger of unsaleableness or scandal injurious to his business in a book which might seem to aim at making the world moral without help of clergy. Indeed, that is the only imaginable reason for his suppression of the M.S. after he has paid money for it -- if indeed it turns out that he is bent on suppressing it.
Mr. Jolly's notion is quite [subjective.] The purchase of a M.S. is not a contract to publish, and if it were it would include the repayment of the money as a condition of recovery.
This is the troublesome truth, which you will prefer knowing. Is there anybody of your acquaintance who has had transactions with Nelson and would call upon him for you?
Yours ever lovingly
Marian.
MS: Yale. Hitherto unpublished.
The Heights, Witley, | Nr. Godalming.
July 12. 78.
My dear Cara
Mr. Lewes says that there is not the slightest doubt about the law in the matter of a sold manuscript: it belongs simply to the purchaser. Endless manuscript plays have been bought by managers who have never put them on the stage: but there is no redress for the disappointed author, and no other manager can use the stifled play.
But with regard to your M.S., Mr. Lewes is convinced that it is not in the nature of a publisher to give money for a work and then willingly suppress the work. 101 If Nelson had only engaged to give you half profits or a percentage on sales he might be supposed to be careless in the matter, but he would not lightly allow his payment of £40 (was it not?) to have been made in vain. Hence Mr. Lewes thinks that he may still publish it, and his neglect of letters is a neglect common to many of his tribe. In any case your use of the proof without his concurrence would lay you open to unpleasant consequences. You can only have a right to print by repurchasing.
I am very sorry, for there is a sad lack of reasonable moral teaching, and I can believe that your little book would have taught teachers as well as children. One not improbable supposition is, that Nelson sees a danger of unsaleableness or scandal injurious to his business in a book which might seem to aim at making the world moral without help of clergy. Indeed, that is the only imaginable reason for his suppression of the M.S. after he has paid money for it -- if indeed it turns out that he is bent on suppressing it.
Mr. Jolly's notion is quite [subjective.] The purchase of a M.S. is not a contract to publish, and if it were it would include the repayment of the money as a condition of recovery.
This is the troublesome truth, which you will prefer knowing. Is there anybody of your acquaintance who has had transactions with Nelson and would call upon him for you?
Yours ever lovingly
Marian.
Signature
Marian.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, Witley, 12 July 1878, 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/93335