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Nathaniel Hawthorne, 4 January 1853
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On Thackeray
Nathaniel Hawthorne, 4 January 1853
HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel (1804-1864). Autograph letter signed ("Nathl Hawthorne") to James Russell Lowell, Boston, 4 January 1853.
One page, bifolium, 166 x 132mm, mounted along left margin to a card (a few mild spots of foxing).
"I enjoy Thackeray's books above all things." Declining Lowell's invitation to a dinner in Boston given for the visiting William Makepeace Thackeray: "I can't possibly come for various reasons, both domestic and external. Besides, I am a terribly heavy guest, and it is a matter of conscience with me not to inflict myself on you for two days and a night. Then, too, I am trying hard to write something amidst innumerable interruptions and botherations. [He was working on Tanglewood Tales, for Girls and Boys, published later that year.] Furthermore—'there is a Lion in the way.' I enjoy Thackeray's books above all things; but it is quite a non sequitur that I should therefore seek his society. Do excuse me, and, instead of my coming to you, do you come and see me. Your friend..." See James R. Mellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne in His Times, Boston, 1980, p. 423. Provenance: Christie's New York, 29 May 1998, lot 66 (part).
Nathaniel Hawthorne, 4 January 1853
HAWTHORNE, Nathaniel (1804-1864). Autograph letter signed ("Nathl Hawthorne") to James Russell Lowell, Boston, 4 January 1853.
One page, bifolium, 166 x 132mm, mounted along left margin to a card (a few mild spots of foxing).
"I enjoy Thackeray's books above all things." Declining Lowell's invitation to a dinner in Boston given for the visiting William Makepeace Thackeray: "I can't possibly come for various reasons, both domestic and external. Besides, I am a terribly heavy guest, and it is a matter of conscience with me not to inflict myself on you for two days and a night. Then, too, I am trying hard to write something amidst innumerable interruptions and botherations. [He was working on Tanglewood Tales, for Girls and Boys, published later that year.] Furthermore—'there is a Lion in the way.' I enjoy Thackeray's books above all things; but it is quite a non sequitur that I should therefore seek his society. Do excuse me, and, instead of my coming to you, do you come and see me. Your friend..." See James R. Mellow, Nathaniel Hawthorne in His Times, Boston, 1980, p. 423. Provenance: Christie's New York, 29 May 1998, lot 66 (part).
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Heather Weintraub
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