My day of research on Alfred Lord Tennyson including his family and friends - Part One

Alfred Tennyson engraving by F. Hollyer, Housed at The Morgan Library and Museum, NYC

I was absolutely filled with a nervous excitement that I almost forgot what it felt like to be this anxious. I never forget to be grateful when getting an opportunity to visit free of charge with the express intention of doing my own research on a man that I have grown to sincerely love, Alfred Lord Tennyson. I have been researching his life and works since 2011 and this was and is the first time I actually, physically looked upon and held in my own two hands his handwritten letters! My hands were shaking the entire time; hour after hour, I did not stop for a break, even though my stomach rumbled so loudly I thought for sure the two other people quite near me could hear me! I was so nervous I couldn't eat any food that morning. NOTHING...I tried toast but even with the rumbly in my tumbly it was  no use, I just couldn't hold it down! 

One of Alfred Tennyson's letters not kept at The Morgan Library but one I found online. 

I wanted to add it for fun and because of Tennyson's words he writes:

"I am much obliged to you, though sorry for the result of your research." Tennyson writes 

from Farringford House on the Isle of White to an unnamed person, dated October 11, 1860.

As I sat down the female employee brought out my list of eight items; the maximum number allowed. I focused on Alfred's letters mainly as well as his families letters as I said before. The first item listed was one of two books in Tennyson's possession. His 1853 Moxon Edition of Ode to Wellington. It was maroon colored leather bound with gold embossed letters on the front, back, and spine.

Did I fail to mention what makes this edition of Ode to Wellington so important? Tennyson gave it as a gift to his good friend and neighbor on the Isle of Wight, Julia Margaret Cameron! That's right.  When you open it, the first page on the top going across the page in  penciled handwriting is Mrs. Cameron's words, 'Hardinge Hay Cameron from his mother January 12, 48 (1848). Then down below it on the right side in dark ink reads, 

'Julia Cameron

from 

ATennyson'

Alfred Tennyson's inscription directly below Julia Margaret Camerons' there together as if it were the most natural thing in the world. I almost couldn't breathe and I turned page after page thinking, Mrs. Cameron held this book, treasured this book, passed it on to her son and it's inscribed by her dear friend, Alfred Lord Tennyson and I'm sitting in my hometown and not in Lincolnshire, England or on the Isle of Wight either!  

The next item I reserved was the notebook which looked very similar to the one posted above. It was a manuscript notebook hardbound in red leather with gold lettering on the side only reading, 'Tennyson Poems and Letters.'  There it was an item I had only read about in his numerous biographies both nineteenth-century and modern ones - one of Alfred Tennyson's own notebooks and inside it were ten pages of his poem Northern Farmer and one page containing a paragraph from Idylls of the King!  Also, a prominent item was the 'Dedication to Queen Victoria of The Laureate' published in Tennyson's Works.

1)  As I flipped through the pages of Tennyson's handwriting, one letter was included written to a man named Palgrave on plain paper and undated. A short but interesting letter:

 Friday

My dear Palgrave,

I am for some days at Burlington House; if you can, you will come and see me.

Yours,

ATennyson

2)  Another letter Tennyson wrote to his publisher, Edward Moxon was on the following notebook page just staring out at me undated on plain paper:

My dear Moxon,

I left a corrected sheet with greening which he does not seem to have acted upon, however I have put down in these the two or three lines I intended to insert 'sdeath' in side be printed not  'S deaths. 

I have written one or two papers for the greater clarinels twice over: don't let them print these twice over in their stupidity. surely I may depend on you or your brother without having the sheets resent to me. I see the old misprint of marbled stained is changed.  Yet I feel quite sure I corrected it. You shall have the poems in a day or two.

Ever yours,

A Tennyson

3)  Another letter in the notebook Tennyson wrote to a man named G.J. Whittier from his home Aldworth on same letterhead: 

Aldworth

Haslemere

Surrey

Dear Mr. Whittier,

Your request has been forwarded to me and I herein send you an epitaph for Gordon in our Westminster Abbey i.e. for the cenotaph.

Warrin of God, man's friend-not here below, point somewhere dead for in the waste handon, Thou givest in all hearts, for all men know this earth has borne no simpler nobler man.

With best wishes

Yours very faithfully

May 4th 85  -  Tennyson

Alfred Tennyson's letter to Sir John Everett Millais, Pre-Raphaelite Painter and good friend of his. Here is a brief letter from Tennyson to Millais on Farringford House stationery: 

Farringford

Freshwater

Isle of Wight

My dear Millais,

Very good of you to remember me. 

What splendidly - rambunctious kids! 

Tennyson

Nov. 17th - 89

Sir John Everett Millais  --->

The envelope was addressed to J.E. Millais:

Sir John E. Millais
Birnam Hall
Birnam, Perthshire, N.B.

This letter stands out to me because it was written by Hallam Tennyson; eldest son of Alfred and Emily Tennyson. In it he discusses Millais now famous portrait of his father. It is written on Farringford stationery:

Farringford

Freshwater

Isle of Wight

May 17/81

Dear Mr. Millais,

Very many thanks for the letter. The testimony on all orders to the excellence of the portrait delights us. To tell you my secret I am sorry that it has not been purchased for a great public gallery of pictures, so that it might have become  a possession of or the nation. Indeed, I wish I had known the facts of its being repurchasable while we were in london, tho perhaps this sounds rather ungracious to the present purchaser whose signifigance in the purchase I fully admit. We are glad that it is probably to be engraved by Barlow, so that we can all hope to have so fine  a work.

With my kind remembrance I return the letter.

Yours very truly,

Hallam Tennyson 

Part Two will contain four more letters: One from Emily Tennyson and three more from Alfred Tennyson including a discussion about the photograph of himself with his sons taken by Julia Margaret Cameron and more with John Everett Millais...

Tennyson's Poems Illustrated is mine all mine!

There has been one illustrated version of The Poetical Works of Alfred Tennyson that I've wanted for quite some time now. It is available on ebay for under fifty dollars even though several versions were published between 1882-5. So, I don't know if it falls under the 'rare book' category but it is nineteenth-century, so I'm putting it in that category!

Thank you to my friend Gwendolyn for letting me know that in my neighborhood a second hand book store had a hardcover version of Tennyon's Poems Illustrated. Needless to say, I ran over there as soon as I could and in the window stood proudly the 1882 U.S. edition by G.W. Borland and Co.  Some of the illustrations of Tennyson poems include:  Lady of Shalott illustrated by William Holman, Sir Galahad and The Palace of Art illustrated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti and numerous illustrations of Sir John Everett Millais but my very favorite is for the poem Locksley Hall.
I never imagined I would own this edition and my rare book collection is off to a very good start!

The Palace of Art illustration by Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1857

The Lady of Shalott illustrated by William Holman-Hunt 1857

Sir Galahad illustrated by Dante Gabriel Rossetti 1857

 

Locksley Hall by Sir John Everett Millais 1857

The Millers Daughter beautifully illustrated though I don't know by whom! 

just me doing some light reading! 

Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais By Suzanne Fagence Cooper: A Review

Author Suzanne Fagence Cooper reads from her novel Effie Gray.

U.S. Book Cover

Hardcover: 288 pages

Publisher: St. Martin's Press; Reprint edition (June 21, 2011)

Language: English

ISBN-10: 0312581734

ISBN-13: 978-0312581732

UK Cover from 2010. 

I love this cover it's beautiful. 

SYNOPSIS
Effie Gray, a beautiful and intelligent young socialite, rattled the foundations of England's Victorian age. Married at nineteen to John Ruskin, the leading art critic of the time, she found herself trapped in a loveless, unconsummated union after Ruskin rejected her on their wedding night. On a trip to Scotland she met John Everett Millais, Ruskin's protégé, and fell passionately in love with him. In a daring act, Effie left Ruskin, had their marriage annulled and entered into a long, happy marriage with Millais.

Suzanne Fagence Cooper has gained exclusive access to Effie’s extensive and previously unseen letters and diaries to reveal the reality behind this great Victorian love story. A major critical reassessment of the Victorian art world, the book addresses the careers of Ruskin and Millais from a new angle, with Effie emerging as a key figure in the artistic development of both men. Effie, her sisters and daughters appear in many of Millais’ most haunting images, embodying Victorian society’s fears about female sexuality and freedom. 'Effie: The Passionate Lives of Effie Gray, John Ruskin and John Everett Millais' is a compelling portrait of the extraordinary woman behind some of the most beautiful and celebrated pre-Raphaelite paintings.

Effie Gray

What I thoroughly enjoyed about this novel was the fact that the author went to great lengths researching the life of Effie Gray and those around her. What she didn't expect was to be given, by surviving family members, boxes of correspondence of the Gray, Ruskin, and Millais'.
Could you ask for anything better as a writer? As a result, Effie Gray comes to life before your eyes. The reader takes a genuine interest in the life of this young innocent Victorian girl who meets John Ruskin early in young adulthood thinking he is the answer to all of her romantic dreams. How mistaken she was. John Ruskin although fond of young Effie never truly was physically attracted to her. He never truly fell in love with her. So, why he decided Effie was the girl to marry, no one will ever know. The treasure trove of letters only touches upon various moments throughout their six year marriage. The letters give a wonderful glimpse into the mindset of Effie Gray but what provides other clues are the extraordinary Pre-Raphaelite paintings of second husband John Everett Millais whom she called 'Everett'.

The Gray Family and John Everett Millais at St Andrews, studio photograph, 1855.
From left to right: George Gray Jnr. with John and Albert, Sophia Gray (Effie's mother), Jeannie with baby Everett, George Gray snr. (Effie's father) with Alice and Sophy, Melville, Effie and Everett Millais sitting and standing together far right. Private Collection.

The love story truly begins in Scotland during a working vacation for The Ruskin's when John asks Millais to come along. In a tiny cottage in The Trossachs of the Highlands in Scotland, a young, still virginal, married Effie Gray falls in love with a young handsome painter Everett. Everett pays attention to her, enjoys spending time with her and their friendship gives her the confidence and courage to divorce John Ruskin. As a woman during the Victorian age, this was unheard of and legally could not have occurred without the support of biological family members of the long suffering wife as well as other factors.

John Ruskin

I never truly understood the reasons why John Ruskin made most of his life decisions. Although, he seemed to be ruled by religion and his medieval themed love of nature and art. This took precedence over marriage and any type of physical and sexual relationship.

The author uses Millais' Pre-Raphaelite paintings, of which Effie modeled for most of them, to bring their love story to life, as well as, providing a fundamental understanding for the depth of their love for each other.

This might have been my favorite aspect of the novel and something which has not happened to me before. Being able to look at paintings that you've known and loved for years with 'fresh eyes'. Having read the letters between Effie and her parents she provides background anecdotal information as to the how, why, and where the paintings might have taken place shining a fresh light on its surroundings and reasons for being!

King's Bedroom, Knole, Sevenoaks, Kent, England

Effie's correspondence tells us that after they were married Everett took Effie to Knole in Kent and painted her standing in the middle of the King's bedroom: "In the autumn of 1862 Everett returned to a subject that brought to mind the early days of their love. He wanted to paint a new version of The Eve of St. Agnes. Sending the children away to her parents, Effie and Everett were free to begin work on the picture. Everett had found the ideal background, the King's Room in the great house at Knole in Kent. Dominated by a shadowy curtained bed, this would be Madeline's chamber. In his poem Keats described a young woman dreamily disrobing, unaware that her lover Porphyro was watching her, unseen. Everett puts his audience in Porphyro's hiding place. He offers a glimpse of Madeline 'loosening her fragrant bodice', with her shimmering skirts sliding from her hips. The blue and silver of her gown glints in the moonlight. She thinks she is alone in the vast room. She is bare shouldered in white linen and lace" ( P.151) Effie Gray US Edition Hardcover.

If you are curious or just want to learn a bit more about the lives of John Ruskin, Effie Gray, and John Everett Millais, I urge you to pick up this novel. If you love Pre-Raphaelite art then this is a no brainer, buy it!

Please feel free to leave any questions or comments,

Happy Birthday Sir John Everett Millais 8 June 1829 – 13 August 1896

Sir John Everett Millais

Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet, PRA was an English painter and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. His prodigious artistic talent won him a place at the Royal Academy schools at the unprecedented age of eleven. While there, he met William Holman Hunt and Dante Gabriel Rossetti with whom he formed the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (known as the "PRB") in September 1848 in his family home on Gower Street, off Bedford Square.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti Self-Portrait

 by George Frederic Watts

William Holman Hunt in his Eastern dress 

Photo taken by Julia Margaret Cameron

Millais' Christ In The House Of His Parents (1850) was highly controversial because of its realistic portrayal of a working class Holy Family labouring in a messy carpentry workshop. Later works were also controversial, though less so. Millais achieved popular success with A Huguenot (1852), which depicts a young couple about to be separated because of religious conflicts. He repeated this theme in many later works. All these early works were painted with great attention to detail, often concentrating on the beauty and complexity of the natural world. In paintings such as Ophelia (1852) Millais created dense and elaborate pictorial surfaces based on the integration of naturalistic elements. This approach has been described as a kind of "pictorial eco-system".
This style was promoted by the critic John Ruskin, who had defended the Pre-Raphaelites against their critics. Millais' friendship with Ruskin introduced him to Ruskin's wife Effie. Soon after they met she modelled for his painting The Order of Release. As Millais painted Effie they fell in love. Despite having been married to Ruskin for several years, Effie was still a virgin. Her parents realized something was wrong and she filed for an annulment. In 1855, after her marriage to Ruskin was annulled, Effie and John Millais married. He and Effie eventually had eight children: Everett, born in 1856; George, born in 1857; Effie, born in 1858; Mary, born in 1860; Alice, born in 1862; Geoffroy, born in 1863; John in 1865; and Sophie in 1868. Their youngest son, John Guille Millais, became a notable naturalist and wildlife artist. Effie's younger sister Sophy Gray sat for several pictures by Millais, prompting some speculation about the nature of their apparently fond relationship.

Christ In The House Of His Parents (1850)

A Huguenot (1852), 

Ophelia (1852) 

The Order of Release, 1746 (Effie) (1853)

After his marriage, Millais began to paint in a broader style, which was condemned by Ruskin as "a catastrophe". It has been argued that this change of style resulted from Millais' need to increase his output to support his growing family. Unsympathetic critics such as William Morris accused him of "selling out" to achieve popularity and wealth. His admirers, in contrast, pointed to the artist's connections with Whistler and Albert Moore, and influence on John Singer Sargent. Millais himself argued that as he grew more confident as an artist, he could paint with greater boldness. Paintings such as The Eve of St. Agnes and The Somnambulist clearly show an ongoing dialogue between the artist and Whistler, whose work Millais strongly supported. Other paintings of the late 1850s and 1860s can be interpreted as anticipating aspects of the Aesthetic Movement.

Later works, from the 1870s onwards demonstrate Millais' reverence for old masters such as Joshua Reynolds and Velázquez. Many of these paintings were of an historical theme and were further examples of Millais' talent. Notable among these are: The Two Princes Edward and Richard in the Tower (1878) depicting the Princes in the Tower, The Northwest Passage (1874) and the Boyhood of Raleigh (1871). Such paintings indicate Millais' interest in subjects connected to Britain's history and expanding empire. His last project (1896) was to be a painting entitled The Last Trek. Based on his illustration for his son's book, it depicted a white hunter lying dead in the African veldt, his body contemplated by two Africans.

The Eve of St. Agnes (1863)

The Somnambulist AKA (The Woman In White) 1871

The Two Princes Edward and Richard in the Tower, 1483 (1878) 

Millais was also very successful as a book illustrator, notably for the works of Anthony Trollope and the poems of Tennyson. His complex illustrations of the parables of Jesus were published in 1864. His father-in-law commissioned stained-glass windows based on them for Kinnoull parish church, Perth. He also provided illustrations for magazines such as Good Words. In 1869 he was recruited as an artist for the newly founded weekly newspaper The Graphic.

Millais was elected as an associate member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1853, and was soon elected as a full member of the Academy, in which he was a prominent and active participant. He was granted a baronetcy in 1885, the first artist to be honoured with a hereditary title. After the death of The Lord Leighton in 1896, Millais was elected President of the Royal Academy, but he died later in the same year from throat cancer. He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.

When Millais died in 1896, the Prince of Wales (later to become King Edward VII) chaired a memorial committee, which commissioned a statue of the artist. This was installed at the front of the National Gallery of British Art (now Tate Britain) in the garden on the east side in 1905. On 23 November that year, the Pall Mall Gazette called it "a breezy statue, representing the man in the characteristic attitude in which we all knew him".
In 1953, Tate Director, Sir Norman Reid, attempted to have it replaced by Auguste Rodin's John the Baptist, and in 1962 again proposed its removal, calling its presence "positively harmful". His efforts were frustrated by the statue's owner, the Ministry of Works. Ownership was transferred from the Ministry to English Heritage in 1996, and by them in turn to the Tate. In 2000, under Stephen Deuchar's directorship, the statue was removed to the rear of the building.

Millais' relationship with Ruskin and Effie has been the subject of several dramas, beginning with the silent film The Love of John Ruskin from 1912. There have also been stage and radio plays and an opera. The PRB as a whole have been the subjects of two BBC period dramas. The first, entitled The Love School, was shown in 1975, starring Peter Egan as Millais. The second was Desperate Romantics, in which Millais is played by Samuel Barnett. It was first broadcast on BBC 2 Tuesday, 21 July 2009.

Please feel free to leave any comments or questions,