작품 상세

DICKENS, CHARLES. (1812-1870). English novelist and one of literature’s best-loved writers; author of A Christmas Carol, David Copperfield and A Tale of Two Cities. ALS. (“Charles Dickens”). 1p. 8vo. London, April 19, 1851. Written on a sheet of mourning stationery to William Dudley (possibly the Birmingham jeweler; 1798-1876), expressing his appreciation for a recent letter while also sharing deeply personal and sorrowful news: “I received your letter at Malvern. Since then I have been in some trouble. The sudden death of a little daughter – she was called Dora, in remembrance of a book you have read – has much afflicted us. But I cannot refrain from thanking you and assuring you that I am truly gratified by your communication...” Dickens’ eight-month-old daughter, Dora Annie Dickens (1850-1851), the third of his three daughters, had died suddenly five days earlier on April 14, 1851. He had named her after Dora Spenlow, a character from David Copperfield who also dies prematurely. While Dickens was spared much of the heartbreak common in an era of high infant mortality—nine of his ten children lived into adulthood—Dora’s death was a crushing loss. Though she had been a frail baby, there was no indication of impending danger. According to his eldest daughter Mary, Dickens spent the day of April 14, 1851 playing with his children at their home in London. Later that evening, dressed for a formal dinner where he was scheduled to speak, he left the house unaware of the tragedy that was unfolding. At the event, his friend and biographer John Forster received word from a family servant that Dora had died suddenly from convulsions. Forster, not wanting to distract or devastate Dickens before his speech, withheld the news until afterward. Dickens returned home to face the unthinkable and, despite his grief, had to compose a letter to his wife Catherine, who was away in Malvern recuperating from an illness. Five days later, he wrote to Dudley. Our letter, brief but emotionally raw, reveals just how shaken he was. Typically reserved and composed in public, Dickens’ admission to a relative stranger that his daughter’s sudden passing had “much affected” the family offers a rare glimpse into his vulnerability during one of the darkest moments of his life. When Catherine Dickens died in 1879, she was buried with Dora. Charles’ remains are in Westminster Abbey. The recipient, William Dudley, remains something of a mystery. He was neither part of Dickens’s inner circle nor a known figure in his broad literary network. Based on the tone and content of the message, it is possible that Dudley was simply a devoted reader who reached out and received a heartfelt reply during a tragic moment in Dickens’ life. Dickens refers to a recent trip to Malvern, where he took his wife in March 1851 to be treated for her prolonged migraines and post-partum depression. Published in full by the Charles Dickens Letters Project (dickensletters.com/letters/william-dudley-19-april-1851). Partially backed, two small perforations at margins, folds weakened, light toning, otherwise fine.