Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray to GE, Coventry, 21 March [1873]
Title
Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray to GE, Coventry, 21 March [1873]
Title
Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray to GE, Coventry, 21 March [1873]
Sender
Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray
Recipient
George Eliot
Date(s)
- 1873-03-21
Place
Coventry
Letter Content
Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray to GE, Coventry, 21 March [1873]
MS: Mr. Gordon S. Haight. Hitherto unpublished.
Coventry | March 21.
My dear Marian,
Your plan for helping the dear brutes and me brings the tears to my eyes and much gratitude to my heart. It is a beautiful idea you have thought out, and of course my feeling is that it is far beyond me. Such a work would require dramatic power, humour and imagination, of which I possess none; and my brain is old and very slow. I can only write little bits and scraps, of a simple kind, and that takes me a long time. And that made me think I might possibly write effectively little stories on humanity for the ragged-school class, who are essentially matter-of-fact, who can never understand a fable, but must have things placed literally before their eyes just as they see them themselves, to make any impression. A talking donkey would have no connection with the donkey they belabour, and the books that make them feel at all are those that might be written from their own point of view. I am merely giving you my first thought -- my second may be different, and I shall ponder over your delightful sketch of a book, and see if anything towards it grows up in my mind.
What shall I say about your cheque? You know all that I feel about it. I will lock it up, and if I can ever earn it, I will use it.
Ever your loving and grateful
Cara.
MS: Mr. Gordon S. Haight. Hitherto unpublished.
Coventry | March 21.
My dear Marian,
Your plan for helping the dear brutes and me brings the tears to my eyes and much gratitude to my heart. It is a beautiful idea you have thought out, and of course my feeling is that it is far beyond me. Such a work would require dramatic power, humour and imagination, of which I possess none; and my brain is old and very slow. I can only write little bits and scraps, of a simple kind, and that takes me a long time. And that made me think I might possibly write effectively little stories on humanity for the ragged-school class, who are essentially matter-of-fact, who can never understand a fable, but must have things placed literally before their eyes just as they see them themselves, to make any impression. A talking donkey would have no connection with the donkey they belabour, and the books that make them feel at all are those that might be written from their own point of view. I am merely giving you my first thought -- my second may be different, and I shall ponder over your delightful sketch of a book, and see if anything towards it grows up in my mind.
What shall I say about your cheque? You know all that I feel about it. I will lock it up, and if I can ever earn it, I will use it.
Ever your loving and grateful
Cara.
Signature
Cara.
Citation
Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray, Caroline [Mrs. Charles] Bray to GE, Coventry, 21 March [1873], 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/95545