"Her writing a religion" Read the full letter
Letter Reference | Edward Carpenter 359/93 |
Archive | Sheffield Archives, Archives & Local Studies, Sheffield |
Epistolary Type | Letter |
Letter Date | 24 April 1907 |
Address From | Hanover, Northern Cape |
Address To | |
Who To | Edward Carpenter |
Other Versions | |
Permissions | Please 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.
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1
Hanover
2 April 24th 1907
3
4 Dear Edward,
5
6 My thought seem always turning to you now-a-days, or rather, you
7always seem to be coming into them. It has made me feel quite restless
8& anxious about you. But a letter I got from Isabella Ford last week
9said that when last she heard you were quite well. I’ve had
10curiously many letters lately from friends about your books. One of my
11closest women friends, the woman with whom I perhaps feel most
12akinness in the world wrote me a long letter some weeks ago about
13loves Coming of Age & what one passage in the book had meant for her.
14Curious how we find our own in this world, & find the food we need,
15when we need it often. She is a daughter of Lytton (Owen Merideth) &
16to me the loveliest completest soul woman’s soul there is on earth.
17We’ve hardly seen eachother for 16 years but our friendship always
18keeps on growing.
19
20 //I had a great surprise & joy a week ago in a long, long letter Lene
21"Bob’s" wife. It made me so glad I could have cried for joy, because
22I find she’s finding & seeing our "Bob" as we always saw him. I’d
23like to see their little children.
24
25 I am still living here alone with my dog & three meerkats. I think I
26told you Cron sold his business here, & has gone to live at De Aar a
27Railway camp about 36 miles from this. I went & lived there with him
28for a month, but I very nearly died; so I’ve come back here for the
29present. He comes over to see me every fortnight from Saturday to
30Monday if he can. I’m feeling much better just now & am writing hard
31at my book so of course I’m never lonely.
32
33 It is a very cold snowy rainy night, & nearly eleven, so I’ll go to
34bed to get warm. Curious that people think it is always hot in all
35parts of South Africa. They forget it’s a continent almost as large
36& quite as varied as Europe. I hope you are well & nothing is
37troubling you.
38
39 Olive
40
41 ^Its grand how the women are fighting now. I wish I were with them. We
42are starting a little society here - But here it’s hard work to
43rouse people.^
44
2 April 24th 1907
3
4 Dear Edward,
5
6 My thought seem always turning to you now-a-days, or rather, you
7always seem to be coming into them. It has made me feel quite restless
8& anxious about you. But a letter I got from Isabella Ford last week
9said that when last she heard you were quite well. I’ve had
10curiously many letters lately from friends about your books. One of my
11closest women friends, the woman with whom I perhaps feel most
12akinness in the world wrote me a long letter some weeks ago about
13loves Coming of Age & what one passage in the book had meant for her.
14Curious how we find our own in this world, & find the food we need,
15when we need it often. She is a daughter of Lytton (Owen Merideth) &
16to me the loveliest completest soul woman’s soul there is on earth.
17We’ve hardly seen eachother for 16 years but our friendship always
18keeps on growing.
19
20 //I had a great surprise & joy a week ago in a long, long letter Lene
21"Bob’s" wife. It made me so glad I could have cried for joy, because
22I find she’s finding & seeing our "Bob" as we always saw him. I’d
23like to see their little children.
24
25 I am still living here alone with my dog & three meerkats. I think I
26told you Cron sold his business here, & has gone to live at De Aar a
27Railway camp about 36 miles from this. I went & lived there with him
28for a month, but I very nearly died; so I’ve come back here for the
29present. He comes over to see me every fortnight from Saturday to
30Monday if he can. I’m feeling much better just now & am writing hard
31at my book so of course I’m never lonely.
32
33 It is a very cold snowy rainy night, & nearly eleven, so I’ll go to
34bed to get warm. Curious that people think it is always hot in all
35parts of South Africa. They forget it’s a continent almost as large
36& quite as varied as Europe. I hope you are well & nothing is
37troubling you.
38
39 Olive
40
41 ^Its grand how the women are fighting now. I wish I were with them. We
42are starting a little society here - But here it’s hard work to
43rouse people.^
44
Notation
Schreiner was 'writing hard at' From Man to Man. The book referred to is: Edward Carpenter (1896) Love’s Coming-of-Age Manchester: Labour Press.
Schreiner was 'writing hard at' From Man to Man. The book referred to is: Edward Carpenter (1896) Love’s Coming-of-Age Manchester: Labour Press.