BIB_ID
420854
Accession number
MA 1352.156
Creator
Dickens, Charles, 1812-1870.
Display Date
London, England, 1849 April 30.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (3 pages) ; 17.8 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 "Devonshire Terrace / Monday Evening / April Thirtieth 1849."
The word "Stonnellian" refers to a former inmate, Mary Anne Stonnell, who reverted to criminal practice after leaving the Home.
Written from "Devonshire Terrace / Monday Evening / April Thirtieth 1849."
The word "Stonnellian" refers to a former inmate, Mary Anne Stonnell, who reverted to criminal practice after leaving the Home.
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
Offering his opinion on a young woman they were considering for the Home; saying "My impression of the case, is, that it is not one which is well adapted to the Home, and that the friends themselves do not even seem to have any clear idea what the home is for. If the unfortunate child have confirmed habits of pilfering, I fear it would be best for her to go into a different kind of training altogether, with companions of a different age. And I have a great dread, now that we seem at last to be doing thoroughly well, of introducing a Stonnellian element into our formation. I say this, however, in ignorance of your own view of the case, and shall merely mention it to Mr. Ellis, of course, as my impression - unless anything he should tell me, should go towards altering it."
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