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Letter ReferenceEdward Carpenter 359/84
ArchiveSheffield Archives, Archives & Local Studies, Sheffield
Epistolary TypeLetter
Letter Date26 July 1899
Address From2 Primrose Terrace, Berea, Johannesburg, Transvaal
Address To
Who ToEdward Carpenter
Other VersionsRive 1987: 370-1
PermissionsPlease read before using or citing this transcription
Legend
The Project is grateful to the Sheffield Archives, Sheffield Libraries, Archives and Information Services, for kindly allowing us to transcribe this Olive Schreiner letter, which is part of its Archive Collections. The year has been written on this letter in an unknown hand. Schreiner was resident in Johannesburg from December 1898 to late August 1899.
1 July 26th
2
3 Dear Ed
4
5 Thanks for 12 copies of Towards Dem ^Englands Ideal.^ They will be very
6useful for me to give out in this place. Tell Sonensheim to send the
7account for them to Dr B Dr Brown Stockbridge House Padiham Lancashire
8who has four pounds of mine will pay it. I wish I was well enough to
9write you a long letter; things here would interest you to hear about.
10What put it in your head that Cron had anything to do with ?my the
11paper? Did you think the style was unlike mine? No human being but
12myself saw it till it was in print & it doesn’t even express
13Cron’s views as he is much more anti-English than I am. I don’t
14wish to see our relation with England broken, if only she will act
15properly. But if she wants to oppress us into the dust & back the
16capitalist of course we must fight. It’s worth coming out here to
17see what Capitalism can be. We have an awful fight before us here for
18the next fifteen years. I often wonder if the Capitalist question is
19first going to come to ahead in South Africa after all!
20
21 Good bye dear old man. Love to all my friends, more especially dear
22old Mat. Thank him for his letter. I am ill or would write.
23
24 Olive
25
26 ^A man to whom I lent England’s Ideal has just got out all your works
27complete. They make a nice little lot. Towards Dem is perhaps the best,
28 but I love England’s Ideal best.^
29
30
31
Notation
The paper which Schreiner comments Cronwright-Schreiner had nothing to do with is An English South African’s View of the Situation, originally published in the South African News over three successive days; see 'Words in Season. An English South African's View of the Situation' South African News 1 June 1899 (p.8), 2 June 1899 (p.8) and 3 June 1899 (also p.8). It was also reprinted in a number of other newspapers. It then was published as a pamphlet, then as a book. A second edition of the book was ready but withdrawn from publication with Hodder and Stoughton by Schreiner when the South African War started in October 1899, so as not to profit from this. The books referred to are: Edward Carpenter (1887) England’s Ideal London: Swann Sonnenschein & Co; Edward Carpenter (1885) Towards Democracy Manchester: John Heywood. Rive's (1987) version omits part of this letter.