"War, shadow, little book" Read the full letter
| Letter Reference | Letters/222 |
| Archive | |
| Epistolary Type | |
| Letter Date | 30 March 1887 |
| Address From | Grand Hotel, Alassio, Italy |
| Address To | |
| Who To | Havelock Ellis |
| Other Versions | Cronwright-Schreiner 1924: 112-3 |
| Permissions | Please read before using or citing this transcription |
| Legend |
When Cronwright-Schreiner prepared The Letters of Olive Schreiner, with few exceptions he then destroyed her originals. However, some people gave him copies and kept the originals or demanded the return of these; and when actual Schreiner letters can be compared with his versions, his have omissions, distortions and bowdlerisations. Where Schreiner originals have survived, these will be found in the relevant collections across the OSLO website. There is however a residue of some 587 items in The Letters for which no originals are extant. They are included here for sake of completeness. However, their relationship to Schreiners actual letters cannot now be gauged, and so they should be read with caution for the reasons given.
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1To Havelock Ellis.
2Grand Hotel, Alassio, 30th March.
3
4What is the matter that I am getting weaker and weaker every day? It
5seems to me sometimes that I am bleeding to death. Changes of place do
6me no good. There came to me yesterday such a beautiful new scene for
7my book. It helped me so; but I have no strength to write it. It's
8where Rebekah says: "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those that
9trespass against us.” Oh, Harry, just for one year's health to work in!
10 This is a very sad place. I am going back to Switzerland in May. I
11don’t want you or anyone. I want to be alone. … Do you know Browning’s
12poem “Old Pictures in Florence”? I like the 21st and 22nd verses so
13much, and the 17th. Browning is the only poet I seem to have any
14sympathy with now. He is so impersonal.
15
2Grand Hotel, Alassio, 30th March.
3
4What is the matter that I am getting weaker and weaker every day? It
5seems to me sometimes that I am bleeding to death. Changes of place do
6me no good. There came to me yesterday such a beautiful new scene for
7my book. It helped me so; but I have no strength to write it. It's
8where Rebekah says: "Forgive us our sins as we forgive those that
9trespass against us.” Oh, Harry, just for one year's health to work in!
10 This is a very sad place. I am going back to Switzerland in May. I
11don’t want you or anyone. I want to be alone. … Do you know Browning’s
12poem “Old Pictures in Florence”? I like the 21st and 22nd verses so
13much, and the 17th. Browning is the only poet I seem to have any
14sympathy with now. He is so impersonal.
15
Notation
Rebekah is a character in From Man to Man.
Rebekah is a character in From Man to Man.