GE to John Blackwood, [St. Mary's, 1 May 1857]
Title
GE to John Blackwood, [St. Mary's, 1 May 1857]
Title
GE to John Blackwood, [St. Mary's, 1 May 1857]
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
John Blackwood
Date(s)
- 1857-05-01
Place
[St. Mary's]
Letter Content
GE to John Blackwood, [St. Mary's, 1 May 1857]
MS: National Library of Scotland. Endorsed: May 1. 1857. Extracts published: Cross, I, 443-444.
My dear Sir
Thank you for the pleasant notes of impressions concerning my story, sent to me through Lewes. I will pay attention to your caution about the danger of huddling up my stories. Conclusions are the weak point of most authors, but some of the fault lies in the very nature of a conclusion, which is at best a negation.
There must be something wrong in the winding up of [Amos,] for I have heard of two persons who were disappointed with the conclusion. But the story never presented itself to me as possible to be protracted after Milly's death. The drama ends there.
I am thinking of writing a short epilogue to [Mr. Gilfil's Love Story,] 850 and I will send it you with the proof from Jersey, where on a strict promise that I am not to be dissected, I shall shortly join our friend Lewes.
The third story will be very different from either of the preceding, which will perhaps be an advantage, as poor Tina's sad tale was necessarily rather monotonous in its effect.
Any scraps of gossip you can send me from time to time about the effect of the stories will be welcome to the susceptible authorship of your dutiful contributor,
George Eliot.
MS: National Library of Scotland. Endorsed: May 1. 1857. Extracts published: Cross, I, 443-444.
My dear Sir
Thank you for the pleasant notes of impressions concerning my story, sent to me through Lewes. I will pay attention to your caution about the danger of huddling up my stories. Conclusions are the weak point of most authors, but some of the fault lies in the very nature of a conclusion, which is at best a negation.
There must be something wrong in the winding up of [Amos,] for I have heard of two persons who were disappointed with the conclusion. But the story never presented itself to me as possible to be protracted after Milly's death. The drama ends there.
I am thinking of writing a short epilogue to [Mr. Gilfil's Love Story,] 850 and I will send it you with the proof from Jersey, where on a strict promise that I am not to be dissected, I shall shortly join our friend Lewes.
The third story will be very different from either of the preceding, which will perhaps be an advantage, as poor Tina's sad tale was necessarily rather monotonous in its effect.
Any scraps of gossip you can send me from time to time about the effect of the stories will be welcome to the susceptible authorship of your dutiful contributor,
George Eliot.
Signature
George Eliot.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to John Blackwood, [St. Mary's, 1 May 1857], 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/92561