GE to John Blackwood, London, 2 November 1866
Title
GE to John Blackwood, London, 2 November 1866
Title
GE to John Blackwood, London, 2 November 1866
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
John Blackwood
Date(s)
- 1866-11-02
Place
London
Letter Content
GE to John Blackwood, London, 2 November 1866
MS: National Library of Scotland. Hitherto unpublished.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
November 2. 66.
My dear Sir
According to Mr. William Blackwood, whom we had the pleasure of seeing the other day, you have been saying that you ought to have written to me. Pray consider, therefore, that this letter is a fire-douche on your head.
I think the project of publishing an illustrated edition of the books -- which Mr. William tells me you are entertaining -- is a wise one, as likely to assist in their circulation. In the abstract I object to illustrated literature, but abstract theories of publishing can no more be carried out than abstract theories of politics. The form in which books shall appear is a question of expediency to be determined chiefly by public taste and convenience, not by private preference. I am not inclined to be sturdy except about the matter of my books, and I shall be glad if a satisfactory plan can be matured for an illustrated edition. 537
It may be an item for consideration that "Romola" will be at my disposal at the end of 3 years from the beginning of last June, Smith and Elder retaining only the right to publish it always in one form -- so that from the beginning of June, 1869, it can be included in the series of my books. 538
I hope you are as robust as golf and sea-breezes ought to make you. It was rather exasperating to us who have been living in almost constant rain, to hear Mr. William Blackwood say that he had been having three weeks of splendid weather at rainy Torquay!
Mr. Lewes has broken down again sadly, and I am eagerly looking forward to his renunciation of editorship, 539 which I am sure it is not prudent for him to retain. His brain is quite as much occupied as it ought to be, without those endlessly varying solicitations of editorship, which no one knows better than you.
Always yours sincerely
M. E. Lewes.
J. Blackwood Esq.
MS: National Library of Scotland. Hitherto unpublished.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
November 2. 66.
My dear Sir
According to Mr. William Blackwood, whom we had the pleasure of seeing the other day, you have been saying that you ought to have written to me. Pray consider, therefore, that this letter is a fire-douche on your head.
I think the project of publishing an illustrated edition of the books -- which Mr. William tells me you are entertaining -- is a wise one, as likely to assist in their circulation. In the abstract I object to illustrated literature, but abstract theories of publishing can no more be carried out than abstract theories of politics. The form in which books shall appear is a question of expediency to be determined chiefly by public taste and convenience, not by private preference. I am not inclined to be sturdy except about the matter of my books, and I shall be glad if a satisfactory plan can be matured for an illustrated edition. 537
It may be an item for consideration that "Romola" will be at my disposal at the end of 3 years from the beginning of last June, Smith and Elder retaining only the right to publish it always in one form -- so that from the beginning of June, 1869, it can be included in the series of my books. 538
I hope you are as robust as golf and sea-breezes ought to make you. It was rather exasperating to us who have been living in almost constant rain, to hear Mr. William Blackwood say that he had been having three weeks of splendid weather at rainy Torquay!
Mr. Lewes has broken down again sadly, and I am eagerly looking forward to his renunciation of editorship, 539 which I am sure it is not prudent for him to retain. His brain is quite as much occupied as it ought to be, without those endlessly varying solicitations of editorship, which no one knows better than you.
Always yours sincerely
M. E. Lewes.
J. Blackwood Esq.
Signature
M. E. Lewes.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to John Blackwood, London, 2 November 1866, 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/92631