Record Number: 21439
Reading Experience:
Evidence:
Alfred Tennyson to 'Miss Holloway (of Spilsby)', 'about her cousin Miss Jean Ingelow's poems, A Rhyming Chronicle of Incidents and Feelings': 'I have only just returned to town, and found the Rhyming Chronicle. Your cousin must be worth knowing; there are some very charming things in her book, at least it seems so to me, tho' I do not pique myself on being much of a critic at first sight, and I really have only skimmed a few pages. Yet I think I may venture to pronounce that she need not be ashamed of publishing them. Certain things I saw which I count abominations, tho' I myself in younger days have been guilty of the same, and so was Keats. I would sooner lose a pretty thought than enshrine it in such rhymes as "Eudora" "before her," "vista" "sister." She will get to hate them herself before she gets older, and it would be a pity that she should let her book go forth with these cockneyisms. If the book were not so good I should not care for these specks, but the critics will pounce upon them, and excite a prejudice.'
Century:1800-1849
Date:Between 1 Jan 1849 and 31 Dec 1849
Country:England
Timen/a
Place:city: London
Type of Experience(Reader):
silent aloud unknown
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
(Listener):
solitary in company unknown
single serial unknown
Reader / Listener / Reading Group:
Reader: Age:Adult (18-100+)
Gender:Male
Date of Birth:6 Aug 1809
Socio-Economic Group:Professional / academic / merchant / farmer
Occupation:Writer
Religion:n/a
Country of Origin:England
Country of Experience:England
Listeners present if any:e.g family, servants, friends
n/a
Additional Comments:
n/a
Text Being Read:
Author: Title:A Rhyming Chronicle of Incidents and Feelings
Genre:Poetry
Form of Text:Print: Book
Publication Details1849
Provenanceunknown
Source Information:
Record ID:21439
Source:Hallam Tennyson
Editor:n/a
Title:Alfred Lord Tennyson: A Memoir by His Son
Place of Publication:London
Date of Publication:1897
Vol:1
Page:286-287
Additional Comments:
n/a
Citation:
Hallam Tennyson, Alfred Lord Tennyson: A Memoir by His Son, (London, 1897), 1, p. 286-287, http://www.open.ac.uk/Arts/reading/UK/record_details.php?id=21439, accessed: 19 May 2024
Additional Comments:
In postscript to letter Tennyson adds, 'Strange! that I did not see it. I turn to the title-page, and find the book [italics]is[end italics] published. I fancied it had only been printed. Forgive my hurry! Well, your cousin will amend, perhaps, the errors I have mentioned, in her next edition' (see p.287 in source).
