Alfred Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)

Alfred, Lord Tennyson was a British poet. He was appointed Poet Laureate in 1850 and remained so until his death in 1892. Some of his most well known poems include 'The Charge of the Light Brigade', 'Ulysses' and 'The Lady of Shalott'. Several of his early poems with their medieval themes and imagery, inspired the Pre-Raphaelite artists in their work. Tennyson was made a baronet in 1883, having turned down previous offers, and became the first writer to be made a peer. He is one of the most quoted poets in English literature and several of his phrases have become commonly used in the English language.

"I enclose the soldier’s copy of ‘The Charge’…"

Tennyson's undated letter is addressed to Sampson Low, Son & Co and was written at his home Farringford House in Freshwater on the Isle of Wight. In it he refers to an enclosed 'soldier's copy' of 'The Charge', (i.e. 'The Charge of the Light Brigade') which appears to have been requested by the recipient, presumably Sampson Low. Tennyson wishes to have this version included in a new volume. This may refer to 'Songs of the Brave: The Soldier's Dream and other Poems and Odes' a collection of poems by various poets including Tennyson, publised by Sampson Low in 1856.

'The Charge of the Light Brigade' was first published in 1854 in 'The Examiner'. Tennyson made revisions to it and it was subsequently reprinted in his collective work 'Maud and Other Poems' in 1855. He had 1000 copies of a single sheet version of the poem sent to soldiers at Sebastopol during the Crimean War, and in a letter written to the literary critic John Forster (1812-1876) in 1855 he revealed that he did not wish for the soldiers' copies to be taken from the version published in 'Maud'. Tennyson revised the poem again and this version was used for the second edition of 'Maud and Other Poems' published in 1856. 

View Alfred Lord Tennyson's letter [opens in a new window] 

Image Rights: © National Portrait Gallery London. By Julia Margaret Cameron albumen print 3 June 1869 11 3/8 in. x 9 3/4 in. (289 mm x 248 mm) Purchased 1974 cc-by-nc-nd