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Donne, William Bodham, 1807-1882,. Autograph letters signed from William Bodham Donne, London and nearby, to Frances Anne Kemble [manuscript], 1856-1876.

Title: Autograph letters signed from William Bodham Donne, London and nearby, to Frances Anne Kemble [manuscript], 1856-1876.

45 autograph letters signed, 2 autograph letters incomplete and 1 autograph letter probably incomplete. As librarian of the London Library (1852-1857), and later as examiner of plays and inspector of theatres (1857-1874), Donne was in touch with many of the well-known politicians, writers and artists of his day and often mentions them in his letters. Among others he refers to are Mr. and Mrs. Browning, J.P. Collier (p. 301), Edward Fitzgerald, J.A. Froude, Henry Greville, J.P. Harley, Mrs. Jameson, Charles Kingsley, Walter Landor, Monckton Milnes, Charles Reade, Crabb Robinson, James Spedding, Tom Taylor, Tennyson, Thackeray, Anne Thackeray and R.C. Trench. He comments on certain plays and actors, e.g. Ristori (p. 239, 265a), Fechter (p. 317, 325), Irving (p. 345), Richard III on horseback at Astley's (p. 241), [Dion Boucicault's] Colleen Bawn (p. 309) and Charles and Ellen Kean's productions at the Princess Theatre which he characterizes as beautifully adorned, but "unbeautifully" acted (p. 249, 267). Occasionally he refers to his duties as inspector (e.g. p. 283, 317); he praises the beauty of the new Covent Garden Theatre, 1858 (p. 265a). He was also director of the plays given at Court and gives many details of his tasks at Windsor; the more absurd a play the better [the Royal family] seem to like it (p. 311). Donne knew the Kemble family well and relays news of Adelaide Sartoris [i.e. Kemble], her nephew, Henry (an officer like his own son, Frederic, in the Indian army), her nephew, Harry (an actor), Gertrude and Charles Santley and her niece, Mildred, who married his son, Charles. Donne owned an estate in Mattishall, Norf. and discusses estate matters in several letters. In (p. 251) he quotes from a letter from Mrs. Sartoris.

ArchivalResource: 48 items.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/461319746 View

Kemble, Fanny, 1809-1893,. Autograph letters signed from Fanny Kemble to various recipients [manuscript], 1831-1890.

Title: Autograph letters signed from Fanny Kemble to various recipients [manuscript], 1831-1890.

Correspondents: Lady [Anne] Byron, F[rances Power] Cobbe, William [Bodham] Donne, Henry [William] Greville, Mary Charlotte Lloyd and Harriet St. Leger. Includes 167 letters, many letters incomplete, and 9 leaves from her journals. Many of the letters describe her experiences in America and her views on slavery and on the Civil War. Letters written from London, Ireland, Switzerland, Italy and the United States. A letter to Donne (307) tells of John Brown's Raid and castigates him as a "fanatic maniac." Some letters to Greville discuss New England's reactions to the possibility of England's entering the war. Several letters touch on Shakespeare. Othello is a sermon against inordinate affections. She did like [Charles] Kean's Othello. She thinks she would not like Fechter's; his Iago must be like her father's (347, 247, 249, 245). Sarah Bernhardt's portrayal of Lady Macbeth recalled Mrs. Siddons' notion of her as a small delicate fair blue-eyed woman (187). The letters refer constantly to her family and friends and to contemporary artists, actors, writers, preachers and politicians, among them Joanne Baillie (223), Ann Bradshaw (247), Emily Brontë (353), John Gibson, William Godwin (387), Nathaniel Hawthorne (381), Harriet Hosmer, Henry James, Charles Kingsley (387-389), Frederic Leighton, Longfellow (413), Macaulay, F. D. Maurice (393), Mendelssohn, Theodore Parker, Adelaide Procter (415) and Shelley (363). Also, a letter to Fanny Kemble from Frances P. Cobbe, July 8, [1875] (19b), a letter to Frances Cobbe from Fanny Kemble's maid, Eleanor Brianzoni, January 19, 1898, telling her of Fanny Kemble's death (457), a poem on Venice by Fanny Kemble, ca. 1861 (453) and several photographs and illustrations. Poem listed in Folger index of first lines. The fragments of her journals, 1831-1832, ca. 1840 and ca. 1850, include an anecdote about Mrs. Siddons and Richard Sheridan (435), musings on Lawrence's drawings of the Kemble family (449), a description of her feelings on seeing an actress on her first night (441) and a discussion of The tempest and A midsummer night's dream (439).

ArchivalResource: 1 v.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/471768100 View

Vol. CCXXVI (ff. 256). 17-20 Dec. 1834.includes:f. I Ernest Augustus Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury: Correspondence with Sir R. Peel: 1834-1848.ff. 3, 10 William Brooks: Correspondence with Sir R. Peel: 1834.f. 5 William Bro...

Title: Vol. CCXXVI (ff. 256). 17-20 Dec. 1834.includes:f. I Ernest Augustus Charles Brudenell-Bruce, 3rd Marquess of Ailesbury: Correspondence with Sir R. Peel: 1834-1848.ff. 3, 10 William Brooks: Correspondence with Sir R. Peel: 1834.f. 5 William Bro... Dec 1834

ArchivalResource: 1 item

http://searcharchives.bl.uk/primo_library/libweb/action/search.do?srt=rank&ct=search&mode=Basic&indx=1&vl(freeText0)=040-002092185&fn=search&vid=IAMS_VU2 View

Willoughby de Eresby, Clementina Elizabeth Heathcote-Drummond-Willoughby, Baroness, 1809-1888,. Autograph letter signed from C.E.D. Willoughby, London, to Henry William Greville [manuscript], ca. 1867 June 4.

Title: Autograph letter signed from C.E.D. Willoughby, London, to Henry William Greville [manuscript], ca. 1867 June 4.

ArchivalResource: 1 item.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/463457626 View

Junius, 18th cent. Junius letters and William Woodfall letters, [1779]-1802.

Title: Junius letters and William Woodfall letters, [1779]-1802.

Three holograph essays and one epitaph, all presumed to be by Junius, only one signed. Two of them are letters sent to [Henry Sampson] Woodfall, publisher of the Public Advertiser. The first essay, "A Fact," attributed to Junius but signed "Veritas," concerns Marriot Arbuthnot's conduct as Lieutenant Governor and Commissioner of the Navy at Halifax in 1776. The second essay, unsigned, but attributed to Junius, calls for an inquiry into the conduct of Admiral Arbuthnot and General Henry Clinton in abandoning Rhode Island in 1779. The essay is accompanied by the editor's introductory and closing remarks. The third essay, signed by Junius, also concerns the loss of Rhode Island. The epitaph, "A Monumental Inscription intended to be engraved in America on the Tomb of a certain unworthy Admiral," is signed "Lex talionis" and concerns Arbuthnot. The letters appear in printed form in a leaflet entitled "Three Letters of Junius believed to be unpublished" probably printed at the Middle Hill Press. Accompanied by three ALS from William Woodfall, the earliest dated 1781 Jan 28 to Mr. Macpherson concerning a bill for printing and newspaper expenses of Mr. Benfield, possibly relating to a contested election the year before involving Paul Benfield, John Macpherson, and Samuel Petrie. Two other letters are to Henry F. Greville, dated May 1802, inviting him to attend actor [Thomas] King's final performance at the Drury Lane Theatre. The second of these letters contains a note from Greville concerning the seating arrangement.

ArchivalResource: 7 items.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/77584087 View

Junius, 18th cent. Junius letters and William Woodfall letters, [1779]-1802.

Title: Junius letters and William Woodfall letters, [1779]-1802.

Three holograph essays and one epitaph, all presumed to be by Junius, only one signed. Two of them are letters sent to [Henry Sampson] Woodfall, publisher of the Public Advertiser. The first essay, "A Fact," attributed to Junius but signed "Veritas," concerns Marriot Arbuthnot's conduct as Lieutenant Governor and Commissioner of the Navy at Halifax in 1776. The second essay, unsigned, but attributed to Junius, calls for an inquiry into the conduct of Admiral Arbuthnot and General Henry Clinton in abandoning Rhode Island in 1779. The essay is accompanied by the editor's introductory and closing remarks. The third essay, signed by Junius, also concerns the loss of Rhode Island. The epitaph, "A Monumental Inscription intended to be engraved in America on the Tomb of a certain unworthy Admiral," is signed "Lex talionis" and concerns Arbuthnot. The letters appear in printed form in a leaflet entitled "Three Letters of Junius believed to be unpublished" probably printed at the Middle Hill Press. Accompanied by three ALS from William Woodfall, the earliest dated 1781 Jan 28 to Mr. Macpherson concerning a bill for printing and newspaper expenses of Mr. Benfield, possibly relating to a contested election the year before involving Paul Benfield, John Macpherson, and Samuel Petrie. Two other letters are to Henry F. Greville, dated May 1802, inviting him to attend actor [Thomas] King's final performance at the Drury Lane Theatre. The second of these letters contains a note from Greville concerning the seating arrangement.

ArchivalResource: 7 items.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/702164458 View

Greville, Henry William, 1801-1872,. Autograph letters initialed from Henry William Greville, London, to [Frances Anne] Kemble [manuscript], [1861-1862].

Title: Autograph letters initialed from Henry William Greville, London, to [Frances Anne] Kemble [manuscript], [1861-1862].

Most of the letters discuss the American Civil War; the British opinion of the war was that it was "an immense folly and unjustifiable." Several discuss Prince Albert's illness and death.

ArchivalResource: 7 letters.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/299096954 View