BIB_ID
442056
Accession number
MA 14350.38
Creator
Howitt, Anna Mary, 1824-1884, sender.
Display Date
London, England, 1848
Credit line
Bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987.
Description
1 item (4 pages) ; 18.1 x 11.4 cm
Notes
Though this letter is included in this group, we think it was written by Fredrika Bremer rather than Anna Mary Howitt due to the different style of handwriting and the letter's content, which mentions Anna Mary. We believe the writer to be Fredrika Bremer, author of Brothers and Sisters, a text named by the writer in this fragment. Brothers and Sisters was written by Bremer and translated by Mary Howitt, Anna Mary's mother.
Date ascertained by the publication year of Brothers and Sisters, translated by Mary Howitt, in 1848.
Forms part of a collection of letters written by Anna Mary Howitt to Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (1827-1891); see MA 14350.
Date ascertained by the publication year of Brothers and Sisters, translated by Mary Howitt, in 1848.
Forms part of a collection of letters written by Anna Mary Howitt to Barbara Leigh Smith Bodichon (1827-1891); see MA 14350.
Provenance
Bequest of Gordon N. Ray, 1987.
Summary
Writing to thank Barbara for speaking the truth; stating that she trusts Barbara's criticism even if her opinion differs, which it does in this case; discussing her views on genius, moral dignity, clear sense, and sweetness; discussing mutual friends and their cleverness; referring to Anna Mary Howitt's intellect and praising her; reasserting that she honestly wrote what she thought in her article; discussing the issues one faces when writing for fame; noting that sometimes she finds a desire to achieve fame through writing in her heart, though she is ashamed to say so; hoping that she will never conceal the truth in order to obtain fame; sharing that she is happy to hear that Barbara enjoyed Brothers and Sisters; sharing that she herself was enchanted by the translation. The letter is cut off here, so this appears to be a fragment.
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