BIB_ID
420537
Accession number
MA 1352.71
Creator
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Display Date
London, England, 1847 June 27.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (3 pages) ; 18.3 x 11.1 cm
Notes
The letter is part of a collection, MA 1352, which consists of letters from Charles Dickens to the Baroness, to her companion Hannah (Meredith) Brown, or the latter's husband, William Brown; with 70 letters written by others to Miss Coutts or to Dickens in his capacity as her unofficial almoner; and a few others. See the collection-level record for more information.
Written from the "Athenæum."
Written from the "Athenæum."
Provenance
The letters formed part of the Burdett-Coutts sale (Sotheby, 17 May 1922); they were purchased for Oliver W. Barrett in whose collection they remained until it was sold by his son (Parke-Bernet, 31 October 1951).
Summary
Expressing his disappointment that she was not at Stratton Street when he and Mrs. Dickens came in accordance with her invitation; saying he will be going to Broadstairs until the end of September as "Our children have all got the whooping cough, and the change is recommended for them. They never cry, but go into corners to be convulsed, and come out cheerful;" suggesting that she open the Institution before the winter "...and while the garden is green and sunny. Your solicitor places Chesterton and myself in the awkward position of seeming to have acted, in the matter of the lease, without authority; he is so very tardy;" asking for authorization to proceed on her behalf.
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