GE to Sara Sophia Hennell, Richmond, 24 December [1856]
Title
GE to Sara Sophia Hennell, Richmond, 24 December [1856]
Title
GE to Sara Sophia Hennell, Richmond, 24 December [1856]
Sender
George Eliot
Recipient
Sara Sophia Hennell
Date(s)
- 1856-12-24
Place
Richmond
Letter Content
GE to Sara Sophia Hennell, Richmond, 24 December [1856]
MS: Coventry City Libraries. Hitherto unpublished.
Park Shot | December 24.
Dear Sara
Magnificat anima mea! But a little pang of vexation mingles with my rejoicing namely, the very mesquin amount of the sum which Mr. Baillie is to hand over, after making you wait all this time. I had somehow or other got it into my head that the prize was £100. I have just been reading your letter to Mr. Lewes, and as his opinion about titles and prices is worth having, I write you word of it at once, as a contribution towards your grounds of decision. He says, by no means put Sara, but S. S. Hennell. He thinks that Sara would do harm. Again he objects to the word "popular," and suggests either "Exposition of the Arguments between Christianity and Inf[idelit]y" or, "Christianity and Infidelity, an exposition of the arguments on both sides." For my own part, I don't much like the latter, but I agree with Mr. Lewes in disliking Mr. Baillie's title. 772 As to price, George decidedly votes for the 5s/. and boards. He thinks a paper cover for a philosophical book a bad augury.
I'm glad you have Mr. John Sibree at hand, as a book of reference. Still more glad am I that you have read and delighted in Aurora Leigh. Such books are among the great blessings of life.
Mr. Lewes is just gone. I am thankful for him to have this little change, for his head has been worse of late, and he enjoys a visit to the pleasant hearth of Vernon Hill, more than anything else away from home. Love to Cara.
Ever your affectionate
Pollian.
MS: Coventry City Libraries. Hitherto unpublished.
Park Shot | December 24.
Dear Sara
Magnificat anima mea! But a little pang of vexation mingles with my rejoicing namely, the very mesquin amount of the sum which Mr. Baillie is to hand over, after making you wait all this time. I had somehow or other got it into my head that the prize was £100. I have just been reading your letter to Mr. Lewes, and as his opinion about titles and prices is worth having, I write you word of it at once, as a contribution towards your grounds of decision. He says, by no means put Sara, but S. S. Hennell. He thinks that Sara would do harm. Again he objects to the word "popular," and suggests either "Exposition of the Arguments between Christianity and Inf[idelit]y" or, "Christianity and Infidelity, an exposition of the arguments on both sides." For my own part, I don't much like the latter, but I agree with Mr. Lewes in disliking Mr. Baillie's title. 772 As to price, George decidedly votes for the 5s/. and boards. He thinks a paper cover for a philosophical book a bad augury.
I'm glad you have Mr. John Sibree at hand, as a book of reference. Still more glad am I that you have read and delighted in Aurora Leigh. Such books are among the great blessings of life.
Mr. Lewes is just gone. I am thankful for him to have this little change, for his head has been worse of late, and he enjoys a visit to the pleasant hearth of Vernon Hill, more than anything else away from home. Love to Cara.
Ever your affectionate
Pollian.
Signature
Pollian.
Citation
George Eliot, GE to Sara Sophia Hennell, Richmond, 24 December [1856], 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/94099