GHL to Edward, Lord Lytton, London, [October 1868]
Title
GHL to Edward, Lord Lytton, London, [October 1868]
Title
GHL to Edward, Lord Lytton, London, [October 1868]
Sender
George Henry Lewes
Recipient
Edward, Lord Lytton
Date(s)
- 1868-10
Place
London
Letter Content
GHL to Edward, Lord Lytton, London, [October 1868]
MS: Lady Hermione Cobbold.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
Monday.
My dear Lord Lytton
The remarkable play 818 you were good enough to send me was all the more welcome because hygienic conditions prevent my risking a visit to the theatre, (although the enthusiasm of some of my friends tempted me in that direction) and because it brought the twofold advantage of letting me see Macready, and not see Bandmann, in the part of Vyvyan. The advantages of stage representation to a work constructed for the stage are doubtless immense -- but there is also a terrible drawback in the dense stupidity of actors, few of whom nowadays have the faintest notion of a verse and still fewer of a natural expression. I am not sure therefore that I did not enjoy the reading of your play even more than I should have enjoyed the performance. At any rate, with all due deference to magnificent critics who having never written plays themselves are in a position of lofty superiority to those who have, I affirm that the Rightful Heir would have made the reputation of a lesser man. You must pay the penalty (a glorious penalty) of former successes!
Yours very truly
G. H. Lewes.
MS: Lady Hermione Cobbold.
The Priory, | 21. North Bank, | Regents Park.
Monday.
My dear Lord Lytton
The remarkable play 818 you were good enough to send me was all the more welcome because hygienic conditions prevent my risking a visit to the theatre, (although the enthusiasm of some of my friends tempted me in that direction) and because it brought the twofold advantage of letting me see Macready, and not see Bandmann, in the part of Vyvyan. The advantages of stage representation to a work constructed for the stage are doubtless immense -- but there is also a terrible drawback in the dense stupidity of actors, few of whom nowadays have the faintest notion of a verse and still fewer of a natural expression. I am not sure therefore that I did not enjoy the reading of your play even more than I should have enjoyed the performance. At any rate, with all due deference to magnificent critics who having never written plays themselves are in a position of lofty superiority to those who have, I affirm that the Rightful Heir would have made the reputation of a lesser man. You must pay the penalty (a glorious penalty) of former successes!
Yours very truly
G. H. Lewes.
Signature
G. H. Lewes.
Citation
George Henry Lewes, GHL to Edward, Lord Lytton, London, [October 1868], 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/94514