I thank you very much, my dear SirThomas 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
, for your kind letter—Two or three times in reading the announcement of Lord ByronGeorge Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron | Born: 1788-01-22 in Holles Street, London, England. Died: 1824-04-19 in Missolonghi, Greece.
Romantic-era poet, playwright, and celebrity. English peer after he inherited the Barony of Byron of Rochdale in 1798. He died fighting for independence for Greece. Friend of William Harness.—lmw

's new TragedyThe Two Foscari: A Tragedy. Lord Byron. : J. Murray. 1821.
A historical blank verse tragedy by Lord Byron that tells the story of Doge Foscari in a markedly different way from Mitford's Foscari. Mitford had submitted her play to the management of Covent Garden for possible production on the very same day at the end of 1821 that Byron's Two Foscari was published along with two additonal plays, Sardanapalus and Cain. Byron's Two Foscari was never performed during his lifetime, but it served as the source material for Verdi's opera I due Foscari.—err I have thought What if he should take the other Venetian story!—so that the intelligence was not so great a surprise as you expected—but quite as great a vexation. What shall we do? I think with our excellent friend Mr. QualeMr. Quayle Quayle Mr. Mr. Quale
Mentioned in Mitford’s letters of November 6 and 16 1821 as a friend willing to help in Mitford’s theatrical aspirations. Surname spelled in the letter of November 16 as Quale. Forename unknown. Not identified in Coles. Needs further research. —lmw that this unpleasant coincidence my possibly accelerate the acceptance of the piece—but I believe that you think with me that it will very much diminish its chance of success in representation, & certainly bring with it such a train of comparison and depreciation afterwards as the poor FoscariFoscari: A Tragedy. London : G. B. Whittaker . 1826. will never have strength or root enough to bear. My FoscariFoscari: A Tragedy. London : G. B. Whittaker . 1826. I mean—Lord ByronGeorge Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron | Born: 1788-01-22 in Holles Street, London, England. Died: 1824-04-19 in Missolonghi, Greece.
Romantic-era poet, playwright, and celebrity. English peer after he inherited the Barony of Byron of Rochdale in 1798. He died fighting for independence for Greece. Friend of William Harness.—lmw

will probably make a fine play of that touching story—ManfredManfred. gave strong indications of dramatic talent & the failure of Marino FalieroMarino Faliero. seemed to spring chiefly from the defects of the plot & the superfluity of painstaking—Oh this Doge of VeniceFrancesco Foscari, Doge
Historical Doge of Venice on whom Mitford based her Doge in Foscari. Mitford's declared historical source is A View of Society and Manners in Italy by Dr. John Moore.—ebb will be a very different thing—Even if it were bad there would be the great name to contend with—the general pretention in his favour—the strange awe in which he holds the critics—The hangers on who love Lords—the Fetchers & Carriers of Bays [2] Coles suggests two close quotations from Pope. I would also suggest this, from Adam Smith, The Wealth of Nations, book IV, II, para. 20: But as the bounty upon corn occasions a greater exportation in years of plenty, so it must of consequence occasion a greater importation in years of scarcity, than in the actual state of tillage would otherwise take place. By means of it, the plenty of one year does not compensate the scarcity of another, and as the average quantity exported is necessarily augmented by it, so must likewise, in the actual state of tillage, the average quantity imported. If there were no bounty, as less corn would be exported, so it is probable that, one year with another, less would be imported than at present. The corn merchants, the fetchers and carriers of corn between Great Britain and foreign countries, would have much less employment, and might suffer considerably; but the country gentlemen and farmers could suffer very little. It is in the corn merchants accordingly, rather than in the country gentlemen and farmers, that I have observed the greatest anxiety for the renewal and continuation of the bounty. —lmw who affect poetry—all the pretenders of all sides Holland HouseHolland House circle | Holland House set
In Mitford's time, Holland House in Kensington was the home of Henry Richard Vassall Fox, 3rd Baron Holland, Whig politician. His house became a center for liberal and Whig politicians, writers, and artists. In 1813, Mitford dedicated her Narrative Poems on the Female Character to Lord Holland . See Coles, #16, p. 92, note 4.—lmw & MurrayJohn Samuel Murray | Born: 1778-11-27 in Fleet Street, London, England. Died: 1843-06-27.
John Murray (second of that name) was proprietor of the publishing house bearing his name. The business was founded in 1768 by his father, John Mac Murray (1745–1793), (who later changed the family name to Murray), and was continued by his son, John Murray III. Byron's friend, correspondent, and early publisher. He also published works by Austen, Scott, Washington Irving, and Crabbe, and he helped to found the Quarterly Review and the Edinburgh Review. Under his leadership, the firm developed into one of the most important and influential publishing houses in Romantic-era Great Britain. After 1812, his publishing house premises (and home) in London were at 50 Albermarle Street in Mayfair. He is buried at All Soul's, Kensal Green, London.—ajc, lmw
s & the QuarterlyQuarterly Review. 1809-1967.
Tory periodical founded by George Canning in 1809, published by John Murray. William Gifford edited the Quarterly Review from its founding in 1809 until 1824, was succeeded briefly by John Taylor Coleridge in 1825, until John Gibson Lockhart took over as editor from 1826 through 1853. Archived at Romantic Circles, Quarterly Review Archive —lmw—to say nothing of the posible scoffs & sneers of the noble AuthorGeorge Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron | Born: 1788-01-22 in Holles Street, London, England. Died: 1824-04-19 in Missolonghi, Greece.
Romantic-era poet, playwright, and celebrity. English peer after he inherited the Barony of Byron of Rochdale in 1798. He died fighting for independence for Greece. Friend of William Harness.—lmw

—think if he were to immolate my poor FoscariFoscari: A Tragedy. London : G. B. Whittaker . 1826.   & me so in another letter to John MurrayJohn Samuel Murray | Born: 1778-11-27 in Fleet Street, London, England. Died: 1843-06-27.
John Murray (second of that name) was proprietor of the publishing house bearing his name. The business was founded in 1768 by his father, John Mac Murray (1745–1793), (who later changed the family name to Murray), and was continued by his son, John Murray III. Byron's friend, correspondent, and early publisher. He also published works by Austen, Scott, Washington Irving, and Crabbe, and he helped to found the Quarterly Review and the Edinburgh Review. Under his leadership, the firm developed into one of the most important and influential publishing houses in Romantic-era Great Britain. After 1812, his publishing house premises (and home) in London were at 50 Albermarle Street in Mayfair. He is buried at All Soul's, Kensal Green, London.—ajc, lmw
—or to hitch me into a fresh Canto of Don JuanDon Juan. Byron . London: Hunt.
Published in parts between 1820 and 1824.—lmw
Mitford rated it good but wicked. In journal entry Saturday 31 July 1819 .—lmw—Oh my dear Mr. TalfourdThomas 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
what would become of me! With these feelings nothing prevents my immediately requesting you to send back the play but the paramount duty of getting money—And yet even in that point of view it might be page 2
better policy to withdraw the piece. I suppose if once a Tragedy were condemned or very coldly received it would be very difficult if not impossible to get another accepted. What would you & Mr. QualeMr. Quayle Quayle Mr. Mr. Quale
Mentioned in Mitford’s letters of November 6 and 16 1821 as a friend willing to help in Mitford’s theatrical aspirations. Surname spelled in the letter of November 16 as Quale. Forename unknown. Not identified in Coles. Needs further research. —lmw advise? Shall FoscariFoscari: A Tragedy. London : G. B. Whittaker . 1826. be boldly offered either through   your Mr. QualeMr. Quayle Quayle Mr. Mr. Quale
Mentioned in Mitford’s letters of November 6 and 16 1821 as a friend willing to help in Mitford’s theatrical aspirations. Surname spelled in the letter of November 16 as Quale. Forename unknown. Not identified in Coles. Needs further research. —lmw's friend or 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
? Or shall I lay it quietly by & begin another play on the instant from the first scene of the OrestesOrestes. Euripides. -0408. ? Never think any thing of my trouble—I don't mind that—but tell me frankly & honestly which I had better do. I cannot express to you the relief & comfort that it is to me to have two such friends to refer to—two friends on whose judgment & kindness I can so implicitly rely—Pray assure Mr. QualeMr. Quayle Quayle Mr. Mr. Quale
Mentioned in Mitford’s letters of November 6 and 16 1821 as a friend willing to help in Mitford’s theatrical aspirations. Surname spelled in the letter of November 16 as Quale. Forename unknown. Not identified in Coles. Needs further research. —lmw of the sincere gratitude which we all feel—I in particular—for his great & unmerited goodness—I do not thank you. I have no words.

Mr. QualeMr. Quayle Quayle Mr. Mr. Quale
Mentioned in Mitford’s letters of November 6 and 16 1821 as a friend willing to help in Mitford’s theatrical aspirations. Surname spelled in the letter of November 16 as Quale. Forename unknown. Not identified in Coles. Needs further research. —lmw's observations shew great delicacy of taste & feeling—We both you know felt that the catastrophe was given—the death I mean—to the wrong person—but then it was done as I suppose you saw to conciliate Mr. YoungCharles Mayne Young, or: Mr. Young | Born: 1777-01-10 in Fenchurch Street, London, England. Died: 1856.
Actor who performed at Covent Garden and Drury Lane between 1807 and 1832. Acted under Mr. Young. Rival of Kean. Known for his Hamlet. Written about by Washington Irving. His son wrote a memoir of him in 1871. —lmw
—The CamillaCamilla Donato
daughter of Senator Donato in Mitford’s play Foscari —ebb offer was my own fault.—I wanted to throw into strong relief the unshaken faith & womanly devotion of CamillaCamilla Donato
daughter of Senator Donato in Mitford’s play Foscari —ebb—& allowing for a little Theatrical exaggeration—besides (to cut short my excuses) I was getting near the end of the Play, could not afford to let the interest slacken & did not know what else to make her say—But I will alter it if you think it better —& if it could be so managed in the casting the characters I should be delighted to give FoscariFrancesco Foscari
character in Foscari —ebb
See also historical counterpart: son of Doge Foscari.—ebb the death by joy. Perhaps you will yourself take the trouble to make the few verbal alterations which Mr. QualeMr. Quayle Quayle Mr. Mr. Quale
Mentioned in Mitford’s letters of November 6 and 16 1821 as a friend willing to help in Mitford’s theatrical aspirations. Surname spelled in the letter of November 16 as Quale. Forename unknown. Not identified in Coles. Needs further research. —lmw has had the goodness to suggest in case you agree to [del: .]offer it to the ManagerHenry Harris
At the time of Foscari’s composition, Henry Harris was manager of Covent Garden Theatre. He took over the management from October 1820, following the death of his father, Thomas Harris, and the transfer by John Kemble of his one-sixth share to his younger brother Charles. Source: Covent Garden Theatre and the Royal Opera House: Management. Survey of London: Volume 35, the theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Ed. F. H. W. Shepard. London: London County Council, 1970. 71-85 . British History Online. Web. 9 June 2015.—lmw
.. My friend Miss JamesElizabeth Mary James, or: Miss James | Born: 1775 in Bath, Somerset, England. Died: 1861-11-25 in 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey, England.
Close friend and correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Webb and Susanna Haycock. Her father died in 1818 and her mother in 1835. After her parents’ deaths, she lived with her two younger sisters, Emily and Susan, in Green Park Buildings, Bath, Walcot, Somerset; High Street, Mortlake, Surrey; and 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey. According to Coles, referring to Mitford’s diary, letters were also addressed to her at Bellevue, Lower Road, Richmond (Coles 26). She was buried at St. Mary Magdalene, Richmond, Surrey. In the 1841 census, she is listed as living on independent means; in the 1851 census, as landholder; in the 1861 census, she as railway shareholder.—lmw had an interview the other day with Mr. YoungCharles Mayne Young, or: Mr. Young | Born: 1777-01-10 in Fenchurch Street, London, England. Died: 1856.
Actor who performed at Covent Garden and Drury Lane between 1807 and 1832. Acted under Mr. Young. Rival of Kean. Known for his Hamlet. Written about by Washington Irving. His son wrote a memoir of him in 1871. —lmw
—She did not mention FoscariFoscari: A Tragedy. London : G. B. Whittaker . 1826. —but on her sounding him about new Tragedies, he said he had one written expressly for himself in page 3
his pocket which he did not know whether the ManagerHenry Harris
At the time of Foscari’s composition, Henry Harris was manager of Covent Garden Theatre. He took over the management from October 1820, following the death of his father, Thomas Harris, and the transfer by John Kemble of his one-sixth share to his younger brother Charles. Source: Covent Garden Theatre and the Royal Opera House: Management. Survey of London: Volume 35, the theatre Royal, Drury Lane, and the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. Ed. F. H. W. Shepard. London: London County Council, 1970. 71-85 . British History Online. Web. 9 June 2015.—lmw
. would accept all was intrigue behind the Curtain. She says that he is engaged to be married to a rich widow & will only remain on the Stage this season. If the Play (Foscari)Foscari: A Tragedy. London : G. B. Whittaker . 1826. should be presented & accepted, would it do any good to get a letter to him from an intimate friend of his in the Country? And had not we better call it The FoscariFoscari: A Tragedy. London : G. B. Whittaker . 1826. ?—And, still supposing that it be offered, shall we shew it—not for criticism or recommendation, but as mere matter of compliment to Mr. MilmanHenry Hart Milman, Very Reverend, or: Very Reverend | Born: 1791-02-10 in London, England. Died: 1868-09-24 in London, England.
After a brilliant career at Brasenose College, Oxford, Milman was ordained into the Church of England in 1816 and became parish priest of St Mary's, Reading, in 1818, where he became acquainted with Mary Russell Mitford. Mitford mentions Milman's literary, critical, and editing work in her correspondence and indicates that he made written suggestions on the manuscript of Foscari in 1821. Milman was elected professor of poetry at Oxford in 1821; Sir Robert Peel made him Rector of St Margaret's, Westminster, and Canon of Westminster in 1835, and in 1849 he became Dean of St Paul's. He published poetry, several tragedies, and hymns, as well as translations of Euripides, and an edition of Horace. He also wrote several important histories, including History of the Jews (1829), History of Christianity to the Abolition of Paganism in the Roman Empire (1840), and History of Latin Christianity (1855); he also edited Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and published a Life of Gibbon (1838, 1839). Milman was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.—lmw
? It would be something to convince one of the QuarterlyQuarterly Review. 1809-1967.
Tory periodical founded by George Canning in 1809, published by John Murray. William Gifford edited the Quarterly Review from its founding in 1809 until 1824, was succeeded briefly by John Taylor Coleridge in 1825, until John Gibson Lockhart took over as editor from 1826 through 1853. Archived at Romantic Circles, Quarterly Review Archive —lmw people that at least it was not got up with any view to so impossible thing as competition—or [del: .]even to take advantage of the immediate interest excited by the announcement of Lord ByronGeorge Gordon Noel Byron, 6th Baron Byron | Born: 1788-01-22 in Holles Street, London, England. Died: 1824-04-19 in Missolonghi, Greece.
Romantic-era poet, playwright, and celebrity. English peer after he inherited the Barony of Byron of Rochdale in 1798. He died fighting for independence for Greece. Friend of William Harness.—lmw

's subject but ^ wasreally written some months ago in the full hope & intention of interfering with nobody—least of all with him. Mr. MilmanHenry Hart Milman, Very Reverend, or: Very Reverend | Born: 1791-02-10 in London, England. Died: 1868-09-24 in London, England.
After a brilliant career at Brasenose College, Oxford, Milman was ordained into the Church of England in 1816 and became parish priest of St Mary's, Reading, in 1818, where he became acquainted with Mary Russell Mitford. Mitford mentions Milman's literary, critical, and editing work in her correspondence and indicates that he made written suggestions on the manuscript of Foscari in 1821. Milman was elected professor of poetry at Oxford in 1821; Sir Robert Peel made him Rector of St Margaret's, Westminster, and Canon of Westminster in 1835, and in 1849 he became Dean of St Paul's. He published poetry, several tragedies, and hymns, as well as translations of Euripides, and an edition of Horace. He also wrote several important histories, including History of the Jews (1829), History of Christianity to the Abolition of Paganism in the Roman Empire (1840), and History of Latin Christianity (1855); he also edited Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire and published a Life of Gibbon (1838, 1839). Milman was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.—lmw
is very kind & gracious when we meet, & I really think it would propitiate him—After all it is most likely that your decision will be not to offer my FoscariFoscari: A Tragedy. London : G. B. Whittaker . 1826. —deplorably womanish & feeble as it is! Do you think I shall ever write better?

You are a thousand times too good to me about that wretched article—I know the high gentlemanly spirit I had to do with & that the worse I behaved the better you would. But I am forgiven—And there is another Article written for the poor boys—which is the quickest consolation possible—I saw & every body must see that the WindsorWindsor, Berkshire, England | Windsor | Berkshire | England | 51.4817279 -0.6135759999999664 Market town in Berkshire, about twenty miles from Reading and twenty miles from Charing Cross. Location of royal residence Windsor Castle. British royals resumed an active presence in Windsor after 1778, when George III began use of Queen’s Lodge, and continued with use of the Castle after 1804. Two new army barracks were built in the town in the early nineteenth century.—lmw paper manEditor of the Windsor and Eton Express
Mitford refers to this person as the Windsor paper man. Presumably the editor or proprietor of the Windsor and Eton Express newspaper. Unidentified. Dates unknown.—lmw must really have taken pains to cut & mangle. Frank CowsladeFrancis Frank Cowslade, or: Frank
As Coles notes, Francis or Frank Cowslade was one of the publishers of the Reading Mercury newspaper (Coles # 16, p.95, note 11). He appears to have also worked as a Reading jobbing printer and bookseller; he is listed as such on two of the published political essays of the pseudonymousTimothy Trueman. —lmw is a bright Genius in the comparison. And I am so glad of the entire EpilogueEpilogue to Orestes by Euripides. Euripides.
Talfourd wrote an Epilogue for a performance of Orestes by Euripides . Later printed in Richard Valpy’s Poems, Odes, Prologues, and Epilogues Spoken on Public Occasions at Reading School, second edition. —lmw—And so much obliged for the promised numbers—particularly the Greek Tragedy—I will be most careful of them. I have just been reading Potter's AeschylusThe Tragedies of Aeschylus. Aeschylus.
Translation of Aeschylus’s plays read by Mitford.—ebb with the greatest possible delight. How much finer & truer is his OrestesOrestes
Orestes, title character in the play Choephoræ or the Libation Bearers, attributed to Aeschylus.—lmw in the Choe (Heaven send me through that long page 4
hard word!) the ChoephoræChoephoræ, The Libation Bearers.
Athenian tragedy attributed to Aeschylus; the second play of the Oresteia —lmw(Is that right?)—than the mean shuffling goodfornothing heroOrestes
Orestes, title character in the play Orestes attributed to Euripides.—lmw of EuripidesEuripides | Born: -0480 in Salamís. Died: -0406 in Macedonia.
Ancient world playwright, considered together with Aeschylus and Sophocles as establishing the classical foundation of Western tragedy. Author of Ion , on which Thomas Noon Talfourd later based his own play of the same title, as well as Orestes , and Cyclops , the only known complete example of a burlesque satyr play, translated into a satiric poem in 1819 by Percy Shelley . —ebb, lmw
? But AeschylusAeschylus | Born: -0525 in Eleusis, West Attica. Died: -0455 in Gela, Sicily.
Ancient writer of tragedies, the earliest of the three celebrated progenitors of classical tragedy, including Euripides and Sophocles against both of whom he successfully competed for prize-winning plays in ancient Greece. His plays are some of the earliest existing examples of tragedy, though the genre likely predates him. Aeschylus, like Euripides and Sophocles, served in military roles to fight the Persians. Author of the historical tragedy, Persians (472 BC), as well as the Oresteia (458 BC, the only complete trilogy cycle of plays from ancient Greece, Aeschylus was credited by the librarians at Alexandria with writing Prometheus Bound, though the authorship is now disputed. Mitford knew and discussed the eighteenth-century translation of Aeschylus’s plays by Robert Potter . —ebb seems to be a much greater person—no dramatic writer except ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare | Born: 1564-04 in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England. Died: 1616-04-23 in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England.
Early modern era actor, theater manager, poet, and playwright. Part owner of playing company The Lord Chamberlain's men and author or co-author of thirty-eight plays. Considered the greatest English dramatist and Britain's national poet. Mitford wrote in the Introduction to her Dramatic Works: I had grown up—it is the privilege of English people to grow up—in the worship of Shakespeare, and many of his favourite scenes I literally knew by heart. —lmw
ever astonished me so much—the scene of CassandraCassandra
Daughter of King Priam and Queen Hecuba of Troy, Cassandra was a prophet in ancient Greek mythology whose prophecies were never believed.—err in the AgamemnonAgamemnon.
Athenian tragedy attributed to Aeschylus; the first play of the Oresteia —lmw—the description of the combatants in the Seven chiefs before Thebes (which by the bye is like ShakespeareWilliam Shakespeare | Born: 1564-04 in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England. Died: 1616-04-23 in Stratford upon Avon, Warwickshire, England.
Early modern era actor, theater manager, poet, and playwright. Part owner of playing company The Lord Chamberlain's men and author or co-author of thirty-eight plays. Considered the greatest English dramatist and Britain's national poet. Mitford wrote in the Introduction to her Dramatic Works: I had grown up—it is the privilege of English people to grow up—in the worship of Shakespeare, and many of his favourite scenes I literally knew by heart. —lmw
s or FletcherJohn Fletcher | Born: 1579 in Rye, Sussex, England. Died: 1625 in London, England.
Playwright following Shakespeare, contemporary of Ben Jonson in the early seventeenth century, and collaborator with Francis Beaumont. Some plays once attributed to Beaumont and Fletcher as a duo were now known to have been written by only one of them and/or with other collaborators.—ebb, rnes
's description of the Champions in the Two Noble KinsmenTwo Noble Kinsmen.
Tragicomedy likely first performed around 1613 and first printed in 1634; generally accepted as being co-authored by John Fletcher and William Shakespeare.—lmw) & the whole conception of that sublime PrometheusPrometheus
Prometheus, the title character in the tragedies attributed to Aeschylus such as Prometheus Bound.—lmw —Oh there is nothing like him. The translation is so fine too—so manly & vigorous—all fire & fury. This is very impertinent in me to talk of AeschylusAeschylus | Born: -0525 in Eleusis, West Attica. Died: -0455 in Gela, Sicily.
Ancient writer of tragedies, the earliest of the three celebrated progenitors of classical tragedy, including Euripides and Sophocles against both of whom he successfully competed for prize-winning plays in ancient Greece. His plays are some of the earliest existing examples of tragedy, though the genre likely predates him. Aeschylus, like Euripides and Sophocles, served in military roles to fight the Persians. Author of the historical tragedy, Persians (472 BC), as well as the Oresteia (458 BC, the only complete trilogy cycle of plays from ancient Greece, Aeschylus was credited by the librarians at Alexandria with writing Prometheus Bound, though the authorship is now disputed. Mitford knew and discussed the eighteenth-century translation of Aeschylus’s plays by Robert Potter . —ebb to you—I did the other day to a friend of your's—a great Grecian—not Mr. BurgessMr. Burgess Burgess Mr.
Forename unknown. Dates unknown. The person who recommended to Mitford a particular volume of Sophocles plays, mentioned in her letter to Talfourdof November 12 and 13, 1821.—lmw. Yes—said he—the PrometheusPrometheus Bound.
The authorship of this influential ancient Greek tragedy was classically attributed to Aeschylus, but this has been disputed since the mid-19th century.—ebb is rather pretty—one of the prettiest—Now what business has that man to know Greek!

Will you have the goodness to put the enclosed note into the twopenny post—This Miss JamesElizabeth Mary James, or: Miss James | Born: 1775 in Bath, Somerset, England. Died: 1861-11-25 in 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey, England.
Close friend and correspondent of Mary Russell Mitford. She was the eldest daughter of Thomas Webb and Susanna Haycock. Her father died in 1818 and her mother in 1835. After her parents’ deaths, she lived with her two younger sisters, Emily and Susan, in Green Park Buildings, Bath, Walcot, Somerset; High Street, Mortlake, Surrey; and 3 Pembroke Villas, Richmond, Surrey. According to Coles, referring to Mitford’s diary, letters were also addressed to her at Bellevue, Lower Road, Richmond (Coles 26). She was buried at St. Mary Magdalene, Richmond, Surrey. In the 1841 census, she is listed as living on independent means; in the 1851 census, as landholder; in the 1861 census, she as railway shareholder.—lmw is a pretty fellow—I sent her FoscariFoscari: A Tragedy. London : G. B. Whittaker . 1826. with the flower roots begging her of all love to find no faults & suggest no alterations. She send me word that I must alter so & so—throw round a thousand Valpeian mystifications new write my second act, & new model my Fourth—so I shall write her a dutiful note & say I won't.

—Good Lord here's the Postman & I can't—yes I will—He must wait. Kindest regards from my 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 & 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
to you & Mr. QualeMr. Quayle Quayle Mr. Mr. Quale
Mentioned in Mitford’s letters of November 6 and 16 1821 as a friend willing to help in Mitford’s theatrical aspirations. Surname spelled in the letter of November 16 as Quale. Forename unknown. Not identified in Coles. Needs further research. —lmw—