BIB_ID
421617
Accession number
MA 1352.675
Creator
Tennant, William, Reverend, circa 1814-1879.
Display Date
London, England, 1855 February 3.
Credit line
Purchased with the assistance of the Fellows, 1951.
Description
1 item (6 pages) ; 17.9 x 11.4 cm
Notes
Written from "St. Stephen's, Westminster."
Though Tennant does not refer to her by name, the young woman he describes in this letter is Caroline Maynard Thompson, whose case Dickens brought to Miss Burdett-Coutts's attention in November 1854. See the published correspondence, cited below, for additional information.
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.
Though Tennant does not refer to her by name, the young woman he describes in this letter is Caroline Maynard Thompson, whose case Dickens brought to Miss Burdett-Coutts's attention in November 1854. See the published correspondence, cited below, for additional information.
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.
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
Saying that he has called on Caroline Maynard Thompson in Brompton and gathered information about her situation; describing her background in detail and explaining that her father was "a head-workman in Broadwood's Piano Factory, & withal a drunken brute from whose word & example his children could learn nothing good. On his death, the mother & two daughters kept a School for girls, for a little while;" describing Thompson's physical appearance, clothing, and living arrangements, including the fact that she has a two-year-old child; adding "It is my belief, as I have stated that she sincerely desires to be rescued from a life of sin. But her manner of life as yet is not reputable;" discussing what employment she would be suited to; weighing the arguments for and against the idea of her emigrating, including the fact that "her mother is still alive & occupying a post in the Kensington Workhouse (as head nurse in the Infirmary). Her brother & sister (a milliner alas! of damaged reputation) are also residing in London, & she has the incumbrance of a little child;" proposing that she be found a job in London which would allow her to distance herself from her current associates, as a first step: "We intend to see whether her mother cannot find a home, however humble, for this daughter, & her willingness to acquiesce with any arrangements however poor & trying, will be a test of sincerity."
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