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The Letters of the Duke of Wellington to Miss J. 1834-1851
The Letters of the Duke of Wellington to Miss J. 1834-1851
Edited by Extracts from the Diary of the Latter
Book Excerpt
stance from London, and he will be detained at Walmer Castle by business in this part of the county for more than a fortnight.
Miss J. will probably write to the Duke again, and will let him know whether she will be in London in a fortnight or three weeks from this time.
This was followed by a note, dated November 8, renewing the expressions of the Duke's desire to meet one who took such an interest in his welfare, and informing Miss J. of his intention to call upon her the twelfth of the month. She was then with her friend Mrs. L. in lodgings in London, and here the Duke presented himself.
The interview was most curious, and is fully described in Miss J.'s Diary. It seems to furnish the key to this correspondence, that lasted over seventeen years. Even the pietistic phrases with which Miss J.'s account is thickly interspersed are of value as demonstrating the woman's real character, and making plain how completely all that concerned her was subordinated to her conception of what constitu
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This is a crazy crazy crazy book, a bit like reading the emails of some modern and titanic war hero (I can not think of the equivalent modern person) to a woman forty five years his junior who had memorised the Bible in order to save his soul.
Because I like the Iron Duke and have been all over Britain and photographed statues of him for my series of city guides I had to take a trip into this and I read it in bed on my iPhone in four hours.
Most of the Duke's letters over the seventeen year period are the same and follow this template :
'The Duke thanks Miss J for her letter of the (date) and wishes her to know that he did not mean any offence but as he does not understand what she means because her handwriting is almost illegible would she please please please stop writing to him'.
So why did I finish it? Because there are some amusing sections that show how Britain's greatest warrior finally realised he was being an old fool. It is therefore a warning about keeping love letters and possibly… emails from your secret admirer. The only problem in this day and age being — you can not burn emails.
Because I like the Iron Duke and have been all over Britain and photographed statues of him for my series of city guides I had to take a trip into this and I read it in bed on my iPhone in four hours.
Most of the Duke's letters over the seventeen year period are the same and follow this template :
'The Duke thanks Miss J for her letter of the (date) and wishes her to know that he did not mean any offence but as he does not understand what she means because her handwriting is almost illegible would she please please please stop writing to him'.
So why did I finish it? Because there are some amusing sections that show how Britain's greatest warrior finally realised he was being an old fool. It is therefore a warning about keeping love letters and possibly… emails from your secret admirer. The only problem in this day and age being — you can not burn emails.
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