John Blackwood to GE, London, 2 June 1871
Title
John Blackwood to GE, London, 2 June 1871
Title
John Blackwood to GE, London, 2 June 1871
Sender
John Blackwood
Recipient
George Eliot
Date(s)
- 1871-06-02
Place
London
Letter Content
John Blackwood to GE, London, 2 June 1871
Text: First draft, National Library of Scotland. Endorsed: Copied into letterbook. Hitherto unpublished.
Burlington Hotel | Cork St. | June 2/71.
My Dear Mrs. Lewes
Although I expect to see Mr. Lewes [to]morrow I must write a line to tell you how intensely I am delighted with Miss Brooke 285 -- it is filled to overflowing with touches of nature and character that could not be surpassed. If I had made a memorandum of all the happy turns of thought still more happily expressed I would have filled pages with quotations as I read from the old twaddler Brooke, who is to the very life, to the smallest sketch introduced. Every character stands out clear and distinct. I have met old Brookes and curiously contagious creatures they are, if you found yourself talking with an amiable specimen of the sort I believe that at the end of the conversation you would feel as if you had equalled him. I recollect a distinct case of the kind happening to myself and [laughing] immoderately over all I had said while endeavoring to keep pace with my worthy interlocuter. The excellent baronet 286 could not be more angry with Mr. Casaubon or sorry for Dorothea than I am. How she will fare when she wakens to real life is a source of great anxiety to me.
There may not be in this first part what are considered popular incidents but there is overpowering interest in such a picture of human nature and I am much deceived if you are not about to repeat if not excell all your previous triumphs. It was impossible to read your M.S. quickly. If I tried to do so for a page I found some gem was escaping me. With many congratulations I am Dear Mrs. Lewes
always yours truly
John B.
Text: First draft, National Library of Scotland. Endorsed: Copied into letterbook. Hitherto unpublished.
Burlington Hotel | Cork St. | June 2/71.
My Dear Mrs. Lewes
Although I expect to see Mr. Lewes [to]morrow I must write a line to tell you how intensely I am delighted with Miss Brooke 285 -- it is filled to overflowing with touches of nature and character that could not be surpassed. If I had made a memorandum of all the happy turns of thought still more happily expressed I would have filled pages with quotations as I read from the old twaddler Brooke, who is to the very life, to the smallest sketch introduced. Every character stands out clear and distinct. I have met old Brookes and curiously contagious creatures they are, if you found yourself talking with an amiable specimen of the sort I believe that at the end of the conversation you would feel as if you had equalled him. I recollect a distinct case of the kind happening to myself and [laughing] immoderately over all I had said while endeavoring to keep pace with my worthy interlocuter. The excellent baronet 286 could not be more angry with Mr. Casaubon or sorry for Dorothea than I am. How she will fare when she wakens to real life is a source of great anxiety to me.
There may not be in this first part what are considered popular incidents but there is overpowering interest in such a picture of human nature and I am much deceived if you are not about to repeat if not excell all your previous triumphs. It was impossible to read your M.S. quickly. If I tried to do so for a page I found some gem was escaping me. With many congratulations I am Dear Mrs. Lewes
always yours truly
John B.
Signature
John B.
Citation
John Blackwood, John Blackwood to GE, London, 2 June 1871, 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/95308