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Queries and Replies 2008
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To be posted please:
I just acquired a very pretty Howells letter, and I am wondering if anyone knows whether it has been published. The letter is on one side of one leaf, plain white paper. It concerns the book A Little Girl Among the Old Masters, which was comprised of sketches by Howells's youngest daughter Mildred (who was about ten or twelve years old at this time I think) and commentary by her father. The letter reads:
"Boston, Feb. 8, 1884.
Dear Madam:
Thank you very sincerely for your kind letter of the 3d. It has given the little girl's mother and me great pleasure, and the little girl herself turned long enough from her paper dolls to hear that some one liked her book. She wishes me to send you her love.
Yours truly
W. D. Howells.
Miss Rimann."
Does anyone know who Miss Rimann is? The comment about Mildred being occupied with her paper dolls reminds me of a letter that Howells wrote in the 1860s when he lived in Cambridge where he mentions how his eldest daughter Winnie, then a little girl, was busily employed with the little boy next door in the mud pastry line.
Mildred's book was published in Boston by James R. Osgood & Co., 1884. I know of one copy that was inscribed by one of Mildred's uncles for Xmas 1883, so evidently the book was out in time for the 1883 Christmas trade, or perhaps her uncle had an advance copy. In any event, this February 1884 exchange between Miss Rimann and WDH was both an early and a charming response to the book.
I am still looking for Howells books in dust jackets. I have a new email, below:
Mark Godburn
The Bookmark
North Canaan, CT
email: bookmarkstore@att.net <mailto:bookmarkstore@att.net>
3/31/08 |
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Howells's Review of Veblen's Theory of the Leisure Class
Dear Madam, dear Sir, I learned that Thorsten Veblens classic became a bestseller after Howells published a rave review of this book. Would you be so kind to let me know where this review appeared, I would love to read it. Thank you for your kind assistance and cooperation in this matter.
Best regards and a Happy New Year 2008
Peter Degen
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There is a copy of Howells's long and laudatory review at http://de.geocities.com/veblenite/txt/rv_tlcho.txt |
Book Reviews: A Traveler from Altruria
I am looking for book reviews on "A Traveler from Altruria" for my Gilded Age class. Can you point me in the right direction? I have been searching on the internets and have not found anything useful.
Grace and Peace,
Sara
3/31/08 |
A good source for book reviews is Book Review Digest, although it wouldn't work for A Traveler from Altruria since it covers entries only from 1905 on. It's available in bound form in most libraries and also on the subscription database WilsonWeb under the title "Book Review Digest Retrospective."
The New York Times archive (search at nytimes.com; select "1851-1980" from the pulldown menu) doesn't appear to have a review of the book.
Also check the big magazines of the day: The Atlantic, Harper's New Monthly Magazine, Scribner's, and the rest. |
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