Acquired as part of a large collection of letters addressed to William Angus Knight, Chair of Moral Philosophy at the University of St. Andrews and Wordsworth scholar. Items in the collection have been individually accessioned and cataloged.
Housed with Shorthouse's autograph manuscript of John Inglesant and three additional autograph letters to Knight; see MA 1022 and MA 1022.1-4.
Written on mourning stationery with "Landsdowne, Edgbaston" letterhead.
Thanking him for his letter and saying he is "very glad that [Knight] think[s] the paper interesting"; saying that he will be "most grateful for any suggestions and improvements"; noting that he can shorten the paper by removing "some passages which do not immediately relate to Wordsworth"; telling him that he has received an offer from [Alexander] Macmillan to publish his novel, John Inglesant; mentioning Mrs. J. H[umphry] Ward.