"Going to Europe to try treatments, borrowing money from Will Schreiner, payment in copyright; writing plans" Read the full letter

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Erilda Cawood (nee Buckley)

Erilda Louisa Elizabeth Cawood nee Buckley (1842 - 1903) was born near Fort Beaufort and married Richard Cawood (1839 - 1919), a pioneering Eastern Cape farmer, in 1862. The Cawoods lived at the farm Ganna Hoek in the Cradock district. Schreiner frequently visited them when she was employed as a governess on an adjacent farm in the later 1870s, and she became a fascinating teller of stories to the Cawood children. Erilda Cawood and Schreiner became very close. However, Cawood suddenly sent her an impassioned letter rejecting her friendship because she was irreligious, with Schreiner's reply as quoted by Cronwright-Schreiner a model of good sense and restraint in the face of this. There was a later reconciliation, and it was Erilda Cawood who introduced Schreiner to the then Samuel 'Cron' Cronwright. A flavour of their friendship is gained from Schreiner's letters to Erilda Cawood, although as these now exist only in versions produced by Cronwright-Schreiner, they are likely to contain inaccuracies as well as major omissions.

For more information see
Karel Schoeman (1991) Olive Schreiner: A Woman in South Africa 1855-1881 Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball
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recipient icon Recipient Of
collection icon National English Literary Museum, Grahamstown: The National English Literary Museum is the leading location for collections pertaining to the imaginative and creative writi... Show/Hide Collection Letters
collection icon SCCS Edited Extracts: Four groups of edited extracts from Olive Schreiner's letters can be accessed from here, made by her estranged husband Cronwr... Show/Hide Collection Letters
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mentioned icon Mentioned In
collection icon National English Literary Museum, Grahamstown: The National English Literary Museum is the leading location for collections pertaining to the imaginative and creative writi... Show/Hide Collection Letters
collection icon SCCS Edited Extracts: Four groups of edited extracts from Olive Schreiner's letters can be accessed from here, made by her estranged husband Cronwr... Show/Hide Collection Letters
collection icon National Library of South Africa, Cape Town: Special Collections at the NLSA provide one of the leading locations for archival papers across many periods, organisations a... Show/Hide Collection Letters
collection icon University of Cape Town, Historical Manuscripts: Manuscripts & Archives at the University of Cape Town is a leading location for accessing archival papers across many per... Show/Hide Collection Letters
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