update cat rec b24964153
Materials are arranged chronologically.
Unknown
[identification of item], Geraldine Jewsbury Correspondence, SPEC.RARE.CMS.0046, Rare Books and Manuscripts Library, Ohio State University
Materials in this collection are available for patron use, but may be used in the Thompson Library Special Collections reading room only.
Processed by Olivia Spencer, December 2015
Geraldine Jewsbury (1812-1880) was the daughter of a cotton mill owner in Derbyshire. She spent most of her life keeping house for her father and later for her brother, but she also managed to keep a long correspondence with various figures including Walter Mantell, Thomas Carlyle, Jane Carlyle, and Richard Blackmore, among others.
She remained unmarried her entire life, though quite a bit of her correspondence was with men she was interested in, though none of her love interests pursued her. It was often said that, due to some of her habits and education, that Victorian men were frightened by her.
Known for being emotional but quite intelligent, Jewsbury kept up with her correspondence until her death in 1880.
The collection contains eight volumes of copied coorespondence between Geraldine Jewsbury and the following: Walter Mantell, Richard Blackmore, Thomas Carlyle, Jane Carlyle, Charles Dickens, John Ruskin, Elizabeth Barrett Browning, Percy Shelley, Mary Wolstonecraft Shelley, Guiseppe Mazzini, Mrs. Oliphant, and Waldo Dunn. The bulk of the correspondence is between Geraldine Jewsbury and Walter Mantell.
The correspondence was copied by hand within the eight volumes, each measuring 27 cm, by various copiers recording Jewsbury's correspondence.
The transcripts for this collection were made by Waldo H. Dunn of the originals located at: The Alexander Library (Wellington, N.Z.)