I had better tell youThomas Noon Talfourd | Born: 1795-05-26 in Reading, Berkshire, England. Died: 1854-03-13 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England.
Close friend, literary mentor, and frequent correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. A native of Reading, Talfourd was educated at the Reading’s newly-established Mill Hill school, a dissenting academy, from 1808 to 1810. He attended Dr. Richard Valpy’s Reading School from 1810 to 1812. His career in law began with a legal apprenticeship with Joseph Christy, special pleader, in 1817. He was called to the bar in London in 1821 and ultimately earned a D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Laws) from Oxford on June 20, 1844. While establishing his practice as a barrister and special pleader, he worked as legal correspondent for The Times, reporting on the Oxford Circuit, and also continued his literary interests. After 1833, he was appointed Serjeant at Law, as well as a King’s and Queen’s Counsel. He was elected and served as Member of Parliament for Reading from 1835 to 1841 and from 1847 to 1849 ; he served with Charles Fyshe Palmer, Charles Russell, and Francis Piggott. Highlights of his political and legal career included introducing the first copyright bill into Parliament in 1837 (for which action Charles Dickens dedicated Pickwick Papers to him) and defending Edward Moxon’s publication of Percy Shelley’s Queen Mab in 1841 . He was appointed Queen’s Serjeant in 1846 and Judge of Common Pleas in 1849 , at which post he served until his death in 1854. He was knighted in 1850 .
Talfourd’s literary works include his plays Ion (1835), The Athenian Captive (1837) and Glencoe, or the Fate of the MacDonalds(1839).
—lmw, cmm, ebb
that FoscariFoscari: A Tragedy. Mary Russell Mitford. London : G. B. Whittaker . 1826. is at last gone off to Mr. Kemble.Charles Kemble | Born: 1775-11-25 in Brecon, South Wales. Died: 1854-11-12 in England.
British actor, the younger brother of John Phillip Kemble and Sarah Siddons. Although he was considered by some to be as fine an actor as his sister and brother, he mostly appeared in secondary rather than leading roles. Father of Frances Kemble. One of the co-proprietors of Covent Garden Theatre . He served as Examiner of Plays in the early nineteenth-century, reviewing plays for licensing by the Lord Chamberlain.—lmw
—The last Act rather better than when you saw it because in transcribing the glaring patchwork got a good deal softened down & harmonisedharmonized—I told him that I should be ready to make any other alteration if this did not please him (by the way people say that Mrs. C.K.Maria Theresa de Camp Kemble, or: Mrs. Charles Kemble, Miss deCamp | Born: 1777-01-17 in Vienna, Austria. Died: 1838-09-03 in Addlestone, Surrey, England.
Actor, later Mrs. Charles Kemble. Likely born Marie Thérèse de Camp or du Fleury. Acted under Miss deCamp. (sometimes spelled duCamp.) Married actor Charles Kemble 2 July 1806. Starred in a travestied version of The Beggar’s Opera in 1792 and went on to star in Miss in her Teens, The Recruiting Officer and The Iron Chest. After her marriage, she appeared at Covent Garden, assisted Charles Kemble with productions, and authored several comedies. Mother of Frances Kemble and Adelaide Kemble. —lmw, cmm
is the critic—Is it so?) & begged him to have the goodness to let me kn[gap: 3 chars, reason: torn.][ow?] his opinion after he had read the PlayFoscari: A Tragedy. Mary Russell Mitford. London : G. B. Whittaker . 1826. —I tried as much [gap: 3 words, reason: torn.][as I could] by implication, without an actual fib, to make him believe [gap: 2 words, reason: torn.][that the] plan was his own—& indeed he did say something of "If Fosc[gap: 3 chars, reason: torn.][ari][gap: 2 words, reason: torn.] a sword"—though as you well know in this Act, as in mos[gap: 1 chars, reason: torn.][t][gap: 2 words, reason: torn.][of the] others—the good design is your's—& the bad execution m[gap: 8 chars, reason: torn.][ine—but] it is now fairly off my hands—& I will hope—if I ca[gap: 5 chars, reason: torn.][n—Do] you really think it has any chance?—I am now [gap: 1 word, reason: torn.][gap: 4 chars, reason: torn.][unde]cided what to do—& half resolved to try JulianJulian; a Tragedy in Five Acts. Mary Russell Mitford. London New York: G. B. Whittaker W. B. Gilley . 1823. —I [gap: 2 words, reason: torn.][gap: 1 word, reason: torn.] last—& between us [gap: 1 word, reason: torn.][we] shall certainly find out th[gap: 1 chars, reason: torn.][e][gap: 1 word, reason: torn.]—which was more than Sir Walter ScottWalter Scott, Sir, Baronet, or: Sir Baronet | Born: 1771-08-15 in College Wynd, Edinburgh, Scotland. Died: 1832-09-21 in Abbotsford, near Melrose, Roxburghshire, Scotland.
Scottish advocate, antiquarian, poet, and novelist. Also worked as clerk of the Court of Session in Edinburgh. He assembled a collection of Scottish ballads, many of which had never before been printed, in Minstrelsy of the Scottish Border, first published in 1802, but continually expanded in revised editions through 1812 . Author of the long romance poems, The Lay of the Last Minstrel (1805), Marmion (1808), and The Lady of the Lake (1810). From 1814-1831, Scott published 23 novels, and over the course of his literary career, he wrote review articles for the Edinburgh Review, The Quarterly Review, Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, and the Foreign Quarterly Review.—ebb, esh
[gap: 1 word, reason: torn.][did] in the matter of Hallidon Halidon HillHalidon Hill; A Dramatic Sketch from Scottish History. Walter Scott. 1822. . Shall I try? [gap: 2 words, reason: torn.][I would] not if I had a better plot—or indeed any historical plot—but not having any other plan in view I think I may as well try—provided I can recover that full possession & love of the subject which I had six [months] ago & which was almost an omen of success. But I am afraid of the level scenes—afraid of the whole character of the CountCount D’Alba
a powerful Nobleman in Julian.—ebb[1] In Mitford's play, Julian, Count D'Alba is a villainous character who is obsessed with Julian's wife Annabel.—ebb which ought to be voluptuous luxurious glowing—such as Benjamin Jonson | Born: 1572-06-11. Died: 1637-08-06 in London, England.
Early modern English playwright and contemporary of William Shakespeare. Jonson was known for satirical plays, including Every Man in His Humour (1598), Volpone, or The Foxe (1605), and The Alchemist (1610).—ebbBen Jonson or MassingerPhilip Massinger | Born: 1583 in Salisbury, Wiltshire, England. Died: 1640-03-17 in Southwark, London, England.
Early-modern-era playwright and associate of Shakespeare and Fletcher with the King's Men. —lmw
would have drawn con amore—but which I could not if I would—& would not if I could—That character [so done][2] Coles differs from editor's reading here of the previous two words. Coles has "{ . . . } none" (letter #39, p.195, note 4)—lmw would have filled up the level scenes with magnificent pictures—but now I am almost sure that it will be unequal. Not a line of his character is [del: .] written yet—I have only the beginning & the scene in the second act which you have seen—& the death of the father in the 4th—& now I think to do the Catastrophe next—If I do any. page 2
Shall I? I confess to you that I do not expect to succeed—Do you think it worth whileworthwhileto try?—This is a strange encroaching way of looking as if I hoped for an answer—but do not write unless you are quite at leisure—Do not let me again interfere with business or pleasure or repose—Pray do not—I know your kindness, & should be as sure of it as of my own MotherMary Russell Mitford, or: Mrs. Mitford | Born: 1750 in Ashe, Hampshire, England. Died: 1830-01-02 in Three Mile Cross, parish of Shinfield, Berkshire, England.
Mary Russell was the youngest child of the Rev. Dr. Richard Russell and his second wife, Mary Dicker; she was born about 1750 in Ashe, Hampshire. (Her birth date is as yet unverified; period sources indicate that she was ten years older than her husband George, born in 1760.) Through the Russells, she was a distant relation of the Dukes of Bedford (sixth creation, 1694). She had two siblings, Charles William and Frances; both predeceased her and their parents, which resulted in Mary Russell inheriting her family’s entire estate upon her mother’s death in 1785. Her father’s rectory in Ashe was only a short distance from Steventon, and so she was acquainted with the young Jane Austen. She married George Mitford or Midford on October 17, 1785 at New Alresford, Hampshire. On the marriage allegation papers, both gave their addresses as Old Alresford. Their only daughter, Mary Russell Mitford, was born two years later on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire. Mary Russell died on January 2, 1830 at Three Mile Cross in the parish of Shinfield, Berkshire. Her obituary in the 1830 New Monthly Magazine gives New Year’s day as the date of her death.—ajc, lmw
's if I never saw your hand writinghandwriting again.—God bless you my dear friendThomas Noon Talfourd | Born: 1795-05-26 in Reading, Berkshire, England. Died: 1854-03-13 in Stafford, Staffordshire, England.
Close friend, literary mentor, and frequent correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. A native of Reading, Talfourd was educated at the Reading’s newly-established Mill Hill school, a dissenting academy, from 1808 to 1810. He attended Dr. Richard Valpy’s Reading School from 1810 to 1812. His career in law began with a legal apprenticeship with Joseph Christy, special pleader, in 1817. He was called to the bar in London in 1821 and ultimately earned a D.C.L. (Doctor of Civil Laws) from Oxford on June 20, 1844. While establishing his practice as a barrister and special pleader, he worked as legal correspondent for The Times, reporting on the Oxford Circuit, and also continued his literary interests. After 1833, he was appointed Serjeant at Law, as well as a King’s and Queen’s Counsel. He was elected and served as Member of Parliament for Reading from 1835 to 1841 and from 1847 to 1849 ; he served with Charles Fyshe Palmer, Charles Russell, and Francis Piggott. Highlights of his political and legal career included introducing the first copyright bill into Parliament in 1837 (for which action Charles Dickens dedicated Pickwick Papers to him) and defending Edward Moxon’s publication of Percy Shelley’s Queen Mab in 1841 . He was appointed Queen’s Serjeant in 1846 and Judge of Common Pleas in 1849 , at which post he served until his death in 1854. He was knighted in 1850 .
Talfourd’s literary works include his plays Ion (1835), The Athenian Captive (1837) and Glencoe, or the Fate of the MacDonalds(1839).
—lmw, cmm, ebb
—Pray forgive this tedious [scrawl]—accept the kindest remembrances & believe me always

Have you heard that Mrs. CouttsHarriot Coutts Mellon, Duchess of St. Albans | Born: 1777-11-11. Died: 1837-08-06.
Mrs. Coutts was the second wife of Thomas Coutts, banker; she was the former actor Harriot Mellon and later became Harriot Beauclerk, Duchess of St. Albans upon her second marriage. Her first name seems to be variously spelled Harriot and Harriet. She was widowed early 1822 and inherited the bulk of her husband Thomas Coutts's estate, including controlling shares in his banking interests. She gave a famous party at Holly Hill, Highgate in July 1822 . —lmw


has bought Whiteknights[3] Coles proposes Whiteknights Park "an estate near Reading which belonged to George Spencer, fifth Duke of Marlborough (1766-1840)" (Coles #39, p.197, note 8). This seems a plausible bit of gossip, since, although the Duke declared bankruptcy and put the house's contents up for auction in October 1819, the house itself did not change hands until 1824. See "Whiteknights Park," & "George Spencer-Churchill, 5th Duke of Marlborough," An opposing argument is that Mitford clearly wrote two words, lifting her pen after "White." It's not clear what the second word is.—lmw—What an infamous report is that respecting Mr. MacreadyWilliam Charles Macready | Born: 1793-03-03 in London, England. Died: 1873-04-27 in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England.
English actor, one of the most prominent tragedians of his era. He appeared at Covent Garden and Drury Lane Theatres in London and also toured the United States. He appeared in Sheridan Knowles's William Tell, Byron's Sardanapolus, and Bulwer-Lytton's Money (1840), as well as in many Shakespearean roles. He also managed both Covent Garden and Drury Lane Theatres. In his role as actor-manager, Macready was a correspondent and collaborator with Mary Russell Mitford. The first play on which they worked was Mitford's Julian. Mitford dedicated to Macready the print edition of Julian: To William Charles Macready, Esq., with high esteem for those endowments which have cast new lustre on his art; with warm admiration for those powers which have inspired, and that taste which has fostered the tragic dramatists of his age; with heartfelt gratitude for the zeal with which he befriended the production of a stranger, for the judicious alterations which he suggested, and for the energy, the pathos, and the skill with which he more than emhodied its principal character; this tragedy is most respectfully dedicated by the author. Macready retired from the stage in 1851. —lmw
& her? [4] Coles has the previous two words as illegible (Coles, #39, p.197, note 8).—lmwMy FatherGeorge Mitford, Esq., or: George Midford | Born: . Died: .
Father of Mary Rusell Mitford, George Mitford was the son of Francis Midford, surgeon, and Jane Graham. The family name is sometimes recorded as Midford. Immediate family called him by nicknames including Drum, Tod, and Dodo. He was a member of a minor branch of the Mitfords of Mitford Castle in Northumberland. Although later sources would suggest that he was a graduate of the University of Edinburgh medical school, there is no evidence that he obtained a medical degree and he did not generally refer to himself as Dr. Mitford, preferring to style himself Esq.. In 1784, he is listed in a Hampshire directory as surgeon (medicine) of Alresford. His father and grandfather worked as apothecary-surgeons and it seems likely that he served a medical apprenticeship with family members.
He married Mary Russell on October 17, 1785 at New Alresford, Hampshire. On the marriage allegation papers, both gave their addresses as Old Alresford; they later came to live at Broad Street in New Alresford. Their only child to live to adulthood, Mary Russell Mitford, was born two years later on December 16, 1787 at New Alresford, Hampshire. He assisted Mitford's literary career by representing her interests in London and elsewhere with theater owners and publishers. He was active in Whig politics and later served as a local magistrate. He coursed greyhounds with his friend James Webb.
—lmw to my great astonishment laughs at it—but surely it is no joke—how indignant he must be at such a calumny.