Letters and Journals of Lord Byron
Lord Byron to John Murray, 7 January 1814
“Correct this proof by Mr.
Gifford’s (and from the MSS.), particularly as to the pointing. I have added a section for Gulnare, to fill up the parting, and dismiss her
more ceremoniously. If Mr. Gifford or you dislike, ’tis but a
sponge and another midnight better employed than in yawning
over Miss * *; who, by the by, may soon
return the compliment.
“Wednesday or Thursday.
“P.S. I have redde * *. It is full of praises of Lord Ellenborough!!! (from which I infer near and dear
relations at the bar), and * *
* *.
“I do not love Madame de
Staël, but, depend upon it, she beats all your natives hollow as an
authoress, in my opinion; and I would not say this if I could help it.
“P.S. Pray report my best acknowledgments to Mr. Gifford in any words that may best express how
truly his kindness obliges me. I won’t bore him with lip
thanks or notes.”
Maria Edgeworth (1768-1849)
Irish novelist; author of
Castle Rackrent (1800)
Belinda (1801),
The Absentee (1812) and
Ormond (1817).
William Gifford (1756-1826)
Poet, scholar, and editor who began as a shoemaker's apprentice; after Oxford he
published
The Baviad (1794),
The Maeviad
(1795), and
The Satires of Juvenal translated (1802) before becoming
the founding editor of the
Quarterly Review (1809-24).
John Murray II (1778-1843)
The second John Murray began the
Quarterly Review in 1809 and
published works by Scott, Byron, Austen, Crabbe, and other literary notables.
Germaine de Staël (1766-1817)
French woman of letters; author of the novel
Corinne, ou L'Italie
(1807) and
De l'Allemagne (1811); banned from Paris by Napoleon, she
spent her later years living in Germany, Britain, and Switzerland.
