John Chapman to GE, London, 15 January 1857
Title
John Chapman to GE, London, 15 January 1857
Title
John Chapman to GE, London, 15 January 1857
Sender
John Chapman
Recipient
George Eliot
Date(s)
- 1857-01-15
Place
London
Letter Content
John Chapman to GE, London, 15 January 1857
MS: Yale.
King Wm. St. W.C. | January 15. 1857.
Dear Friend,
Of course it is impossible to adopt any scale of remuneration whereby I could graduate the payments to contributors to the W. R. so that each writer may be rewarded according to his (or her) merit. Still there are cases where a departure from the rule usually acted on would be so obviously just that I can have no hesitation as to the propriety of treating them as exceptional. Your articles are so uniformly excellent that I desire to express my appreciation of their merit by paying for what you may hereafter contribute at the rate of £12.12.0 per sheet.
While paying you for the article on Young, as per agreement -- both as to terms and length, I felt that you were inadequately remunerated; but knowing that the number, being a sheet and a half too long, would be a costly one I acted according to rule; now however that I have read your article again with greatly increased delight I shall not feel satisfied without sending you the enclosed 300 which therefore when added to the £20 already sent on account of the article will not represent its value but which you will perhaps regard as an assurance of my high estimation of it, and of my hope that you will let the "Westminster" be the medium of publication of whatever Quarterly Review articles you may be able to write.
Yours faithfully
John Chapman.
MS: Yale.
King Wm. St. W.C. | January 15. 1857.
Dear Friend,
Of course it is impossible to adopt any scale of remuneration whereby I could graduate the payments to contributors to the W. R. so that each writer may be rewarded according to his (or her) merit. Still there are cases where a departure from the rule usually acted on would be so obviously just that I can have no hesitation as to the propriety of treating them as exceptional. Your articles are so uniformly excellent that I desire to express my appreciation of their merit by paying for what you may hereafter contribute at the rate of £12.12.0 per sheet.
While paying you for the article on Young, as per agreement -- both as to terms and length, I felt that you were inadequately remunerated; but knowing that the number, being a sheet and a half too long, would be a costly one I acted according to rule; now however that I have read your article again with greatly increased delight I shall not feel satisfied without sending you the enclosed 300 which therefore when added to the £20 already sent on account of the article will not represent its value but which you will perhaps regard as an assurance of my high estimation of it, and of my hope that you will let the "Westminster" be the medium of publication of whatever Quarterly Review articles you may be able to write.
Yours faithfully
John Chapman.
Signature
John Chapman.
Citation
John Chapman, John Chapman to GE, London, 15 January 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/95482