GE to Emily Davies, London, 18 November 1869
Title
GE to Emily Davies, London, 18 November 1869
Title
GE to Emily Davies, London, 18 November 1869
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Emily Davies
Date(s)
- 1869-11-18
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to Emily Davies, London, 18 November 1869
MS: Girton College. Envelope: Miss Emily Davies | The College | Hitchin. Postmark: LONDON-N.W | 5 | NO 18 | 69. Brief extract published: Barbara Stephen, Emily Davies and Girton College, 1927, p. 227.
The Priory | 21 North Bank | November 18. 69.
My dear Miss Davies
Thanks for your kind remembrance of me. We have been in the quiet country, in our dear dual solitude among the autumn woods and fields, and we have returned much restored.
I am cheered by hearing that the beginning at Hitchin 889 looks so happy and promising. I care so much about individual happiness, that I think it a great thing to work for, only to make half a dozen lives rather better than they might otherwise be.
Of course you are only paying a visit to the College? I ask rather selfishly, in the hope that you will answer me some day in person, and let me feel that you are still a neighbour.
About giving our books to the College Library. We don't own our copyrights, so that our books belong to our publishers, and we are not therefore fond of giving them away, since the generosity must be exercised by our publishers and not by us. I mention this that you may understand how Mr. Lewes is only able to send three or four of his books. He would not like to ask Longmans for a copy of the History of Philosophy. I can ask Blackwood to send the cheap edition of my books and we will get Romola and the Life of Goethe from Smith & Elder.
We have told friends that we shall be glad to see them at the end of this month, and until then we are inclined to remain alone, accustoming ourselves to an undisturbed home life which has been made strange to us. 890
Always, My dear Miss Davies
Yours most sincerely
M. E. Lewes.
MS: Girton College. Envelope: Miss Emily Davies | The College | Hitchin. Postmark: LONDON-N.W | 5 | NO 18 | 69. Brief extract published: Barbara Stephen, Emily Davies and Girton College, 1927, p. 227.
The Priory | 21 North Bank | November 18. 69.
My dear Miss Davies
Thanks for your kind remembrance of me. We have been in the quiet country, in our dear dual solitude among the autumn woods and fields, and we have returned much restored.
I am cheered by hearing that the beginning at Hitchin 889 looks so happy and promising. I care so much about individual happiness, that I think it a great thing to work for, only to make half a dozen lives rather better than they might otherwise be.
Of course you are only paying a visit to the College? I ask rather selfishly, in the hope that you will answer me some day in person, and let me feel that you are still a neighbour.
About giving our books to the College Library. We don't own our copyrights, so that our books belong to our publishers, and we are not therefore fond of giving them away, since the generosity must be exercised by our publishers and not by us. I mention this that you may understand how Mr. Lewes is only able to send three or four of his books. He would not like to ask Longmans for a copy of the History of Philosophy. I can ask Blackwood to send the cheap edition of my books and we will get Romola and the Life of Goethe from Smith & Elder.
We have told friends that we shall be glad to see them at the end of this month, and until then we are inclined to remain alone, accustoming ourselves to an undisturbed home life which has been made strange to us. 890
Always, My dear Miss Davies
Yours most sincerely
M. E. Lewes.
Signature
M. E. Lewes.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Emily Davies, London, 18 November 1869, Complete George Eliot Letters(2026), George Eliot Archive, edited by Beverley Park Rilett. https://GeorgeEliotArchive.org, Accessed September 7, 2026. https://www.georgeeliotarchive.org/items/show/92313