ROBERT WILLIAMS BUCHANAN (1841 - 1901)

ROBERT BUCHANAN’S LETTERS TO CHATTO & WINDUS

2. 1883 - 1885.

33. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 16th January [1883].

36 Craven Street
Strand
Jan. 16

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   I have given Messrs Chatto & Windus as a reference to a lady from whom I am taking a tenement. When she writes, will you kindly let her know that I am not a Ticket of Leave Man?

                   Truly yours
                   R. Buchanan.

Andrew Chatto Esq
Messrs Chatto & Windus.

[Collection page no. 219.
Written on black-edged notepaper.
‘Messrs’ crossed out and ‘Andrew’ written above, before ‘Chatto Esq’.

I have only come across this address in a letter to Theophilus Marzials, which also has no year. However, further information has recently (November, 2014) come to light and I’m now fairly certain that this was written in 1883. The reason for this is given in the notes to the Marzials letter.]

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34. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 11th March [1883].

62 York Terrace
Regents Park
March 11

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   Two stalls for Wednesday, with my kindest regards. The performance would indeed be incomplete with you, who first took my bantling under your protecting wing – Everybody seems to expect a big success, & putting the construction & effects out of the question as my own work, I think you will find the scenic effects superb.
         Will you come round to Box 2 & shake hands?

                   Ever yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

A. Chatto Esq.

[Collection page no. 53.

An invitation to the first night (14th March) of Buchanan’s play, Storm-Beaten (based on his novel, God and the Man) at the Adelphi Theatre. Obviously the ‘incomplete with you’ is a mistake.
Storm-Beaten ran for three months at the Adelphi, followed by a provincial tour. On 11th April, Lady Clare, Buchanan’s adaptation of George Ohnet’s Le Maître de Forges, opened at the Globe Theatre, and with these two plays Buchanan’s reputation as a dramatist improved considerably. He managed to sell both plays to American theatre managers and thus laid the groundwork for the visit to the States in August 1884.]

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35. Postcard to Chatto & Windus. 22nd May, 1883.

62 York Terrace Mansions, W.

Kindly read enclosed M.S. of short tale—‘A Daughter of the Deep’—and let me know if it will do for either for your magazines. It is written by a person in whom I am interested, M^r Haddow.

                   Robert Buchanan.

[Collection page no. 54.
On the bottom of the postcard is written diagonally, in another hand, ‘ret^d. 28 May 83’.
On the reverse, the postcard is addressed to ‘Messrs Chatto & Windus / Publishers / Piccadilly W’ and is postmarked May 22nd, 1883.]

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36. Letter to Andrew Chatto. Tuesday [1883].

11 Park Road
Regents Park
         N. W.
Tuesday

Dear Chatto,

                   I think I shall be able to serialize the story. I did not find M^r Watt but I have heard something from another source.
         I will call upon you to-morrow, & bring with me A Modern Musician.

                   Yours truly
                   Robert Buchanan.

Andrew Chatto Esq.

[Collection page no. 55.
A word is crossed out between ‘but I’ and ‘have heard’.

With no further information (I have no idea about ‘A Modern Musician’) I thought this item might as well be placed in its original position in the collection.]

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37. Letter to Chatto & Windus. 27th June [1883].

11 Park Road
Regents Park
         N. W.
June 27.

Dear Sirs,

                   I would infinitely prefer to publish Annan Water in Sept^br , if possible. I have mislaid some of the sheets & am waiting for them; and I am revising as fast as possible. But cannot the publication be delayed, for several reasons?
         Annan Water, Sept^br ; New Abelard, November. Wouldn’t that do?
         By an oversight of the house keeper at York Terrace, proofs of last no New Abelard did not reach me here till 4 or 5 days after being sent by you, & after I had concluded you had sent them to press without revises. However, I have looked through the sheets, & there are no serious blunders.
         I have the Poems nearly ready for delivery. M^r Shepherd made some useful discoveries.
         I should have called upon you last week, but have had an unpleasant attack of illness—which alarmed me for the time being, & necessitated a visit to the seaside.

                   Faithfully yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

Messrs Chatto & Windus.

[Collection page no. 57 and 58.
The first page has a black border.
‘but’ is crossed out and ‘and’ written above, before ‘I am revising’.
‘at York Terrace,’ is inserted between ‘house keeper’ and ‘proofs of last’.
‘here’ inserted between ‘reach me’ and ‘till 4’.
‘meant’ crossed out and ‘had sent’ written above, after ‘I had concluded you’.

Annan Water was published by Chatto & Windus in December, 1883. The New Abelard appeared in April, 1884, and Foxglove Manor in September of that year.]

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38. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 30th October, 1883.

11^a Park Road,
Regents’ Park
         N.W.
30^th. Oct. 1883.

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   I have just ready for publication the annexed, both of which I think should command a liberal sale. The latter especially, including such poems as Justinian &c, will, I think, make a stir.
         Will you advance me £105 on these two books? I could either take it in the old way, or make it a portion of the royalty on the sale—ie. should the sale warrant you will pay me more, & should it fall short I will make up the balance by other work—fiction &c.
         I will call upon you to-morrow (Wednesday) forenoon.
         With kind regards

                   Yours truly
                   Robert Buchanan.

A Chatto Esq.

                                                                                 — 7/6                                      by every title

1

A Poet’s Plays
by Robert Buchanan.

— Contents: The Nine Days’ Queen —
Stormbeaten — A Dark Night’s
Bridal — The Night-Watch.

_______________________________________________________________

7/6

2.

The Great Problem:
a new Decameron.
By Robert Buchanan.
–
“And there was a great Earthquake.”
                                             Revelations.

[Collection page no. 59 and 60.
The first page has a black border.
The date is double-underlined.

Chatto & Windus did not take up Buchanan’s offer to publish his plays and he failed to place them elsewhere. The book would have consisted of two full-length plays (The Nine Days’ Queen and Stormbeaten) and two one-act plays. A Dark Night’s Bridal (based on a story by R. L. Stevenson) was performed as a curtain-raiser to Sophia in April 1887. The Night-Watch was not performed until April 1902, when it was part of a programme by the Southend Dramatic Society to raise funds for Buchanan’s memorial.
‘The Great Problem’ was the original title of The Earthquake.]

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39. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 7th November [1883].

11^a Park Road
Regents Park
         N.W.
Nov. 7.

         Private.

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   Had I not been considerably prest for money, I should not have offered the other day to part with the ‘Great Problem’ on such terms, for it is the book into which I have put all my strength & soul. I now find myself so circumstanced, on account of a heavy payment I have to meet, that I am compelled to apply to you once more, in the hope that, as no money has passed between us for so long a time, you will get me out my scrape.
         I want £150 at once, and this is what I propose:
         To write you a new novel for that sum, reserving to myself the right of serial publication in England, & to deliver it to you within 4 months complete. To make it a truly domestic story, discarding, possibly for ever, all my theories and mere philosophizing. (I have a beautiful subject ready).
         Then in the interim, to let you publish the Great Problem, & after its appearance & sale, pay me what you can; nothing, if nothing is warranted.
         I will prepare you the opening portions at once, so that you can if you like be treating for its sale abroad.
         I am making this offer at what I know is a great sacrifice, but indeed it is a matter of life & death to me; for if I dont settle the claim to which I have alluded, it will be disastrous. Should you prefer it, & will let me have the money, I will repay it to you in cash on 15^th December, when a large sum is due to me from M^r Harris; and you can then hold the sum till I deliver you the M.S. complete. (I will show you H’s agreement, so that there can be no doubt on the matter).
         I show what confidence I place in your kindness, by making this offer almost ad misericordiam. Honestly, I shall never forget the obligation, if you will play the friend in need. If you fail me, I really dont know what I shall do.
         I shall call upon you this afternoon, & persuade you, I trust, to comply with my request. Believe me with kind regards

                   Faithfully yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

Andrew Chatto Esq.

         P. S. I do hope you will make a little stir with Annan Water, for I feel certain it should be the most popular book I have written, and course, if it succeeds as well as I hope, it will greatly raise the value of the other works in your possession.

                   R. B.

[Collection page no. 61 - 63.
‘Private’ written diagonally, opposite the address.
A word is crossed out between ‘now find’ and ‘myself so circumstanced’.
‘& sale’ inserted between ‘its appearance’ and ‘, pay me’.
After ‘you can then hold’ ‘it’ has been changed to ‘the’ and ‘sum’ added.]

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40. Agreement with Chatto & Windus. 8th November 1883.

214 Piccadilly,
London, W.
Nov 8 1883

Dear Sirs,

                   In consideration of your discounting my acceptance for £150:0:0 due March 11^th I authorise you to apply to the payment of it the sum of £150:0:0 which M^r Augustus Harris agrees by his letter to pay you on my account on the 50th performance of “A Sailor and his Lass”, and I further undertake to pay the acceptance myself at maturity should M^r Harris’ payment not have been previously made to you.

                   Yrs faithfully

To Messrs Chatto & Windus
         214 Piccadilly

[Collection page no. 64.
Written by Buchanan on Chatto & Windus notepaper - although the firm’s name is not present, the address is printed (C & W moved to 214 Piccadilly in 1880).
“A Sailor and his Lass” is double-underlined.

This appears to be the agreement for the payment of Buchanan’s loan using the promise of funds from Augustus Harris, which is written on Chatto & Windus notepaper, but is not signed. A Sailor and His Lass, by Buchanan and Augustus Harris, opened at the Drury Lane Theatre on 15th October 1883 and closed on 8th December. According to G. R. Sims, with whom Buchanan collaborated on a series of successful melodramas at the Adelphi in the 1890s, Buchanan would sell his share in the rights to their plays at the earliest opportunity, so this payment from Harris could be for his share in A Sailor and His Lass. According to a letter in The Era (5th January 1884) Buchanan had also sold the provincial touring rights of Lady Clare to Augustus Harris in June 1883.

Although it is impossible to make sense of Buchanan’s finances due to lack of data, one does wonder why Buchanan found himself in this position in November 1883. As well as the provincial rights of Lady Clare, he had also sold the American rights to Storm-Beaten for £600 (although these were later resold for around £2000). However, Buchanan had managed the provincial tour of Storm-Beaten himself and Christopher Murray (in his appendix on the Chatto correspondence in his 1974 thesis) has this footnote:
“In one of his letters, in the present writer’s possession, Buchanan bemoans the fact that he ‘lost fearfully by Stormbeaten, owing to the dreadful expenses.’”]

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41. Letter to Chatto & Windus. 28th November [1883].

51 Apsley Place
Glasgow
Nov. 28

Dear Sirs,

                   I was starting the New Abelard in Edinburgh when I was taken ill again with the old attack I had at Southend and completely prostrated. Work was impossible tho’ I hoped every day to be able to do it & so not disappoint the public; & I have hoped on till it is too late. It is most unfortunate for me, as I have never before broken faith with readers; but this event was unforeseen, and caused partly by great worry.
         I shall as I said in my telegram not delay in completing for book purpose; so that you can publish early in December, finishing the serial in the January part. I rely upon you make a brief announcement of the cause of the non- appearance of the December part.
         I cant say how grieved I am; indeed the trouble in this matter has helped to make me worse.

                   Yours truly ever
                   Robert Buchanan.

Messrs Chatto & Windus

[Collection page no. 49 and 50.
‘RB Nov 29’ is written, diagonally, in another hand, in the top left-hand corner.
‘partly’ inserted between ‘and caused’ and ‘by great worry’.

This letter occurs in the collection following Item 31, in the 1882 section. Item 31 has a Southend address and Buchanan mentions being ill, so presumably this accounts for the misfiling. It should be placed here, since Buchanan is referring to the serialisation of The New Abelard in The Gentleman’s Magazine. The story began in the January 1883 issue and ran till the November issue, then there was a break until the February 1884 issue, and the concluding part appeared in the March issue.]

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42. Letter to Chatto & Windus. 27th December [1883].

11^a Park Road
Regents Park
         N.W.
Dec. 27

Dear Sirs,

                   M^r Robert Haddow, whose letter you enclose in copy, is a person I picked from the gutter, fed, clothed, & made my secretary many months ago. Six weeks ago I discovered he was a drunkard & a thief, & dismissed him from my employment. He thereupon wrote me the enclosed, & I was afterwards foolish enough to assist him further. Finding that there was a limit to my generosity & patience, he resorted to threats—one of which he has carried out by communicating libellously with you.
         The four pages of the ‘New Abelard’ to which this scoundrel alludes were certainly partialy padded out by him, as the result of some inquiries I sent him to make (concerning Rome) at the British Museum. Beyond that he had no concern whatever in their conception, their production, or their expression. The ‘New Abelard’ is in every respect an original work invented and written by me, & I am sorry that the misrepresentations of such a man should for a moment have led you to think otherwise.
         For the rest, this person has not only been paid by me for his labour, but paid generously, had work made for him out of my charity, been saved by me from actual destitution, & has repaid me by the basest treachery & ingratitude.
         I perceive that the copy of letter is dated Dec. 21. Am I to understand that it was posted to you on that date?

                   Faithfully yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

Messrs Chatto & Windus.

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[Copy of letter from Robert Haddow to Robert Buchanan. 16th November, 1883.]

Copy

26 Great Castle St
16. Nov. 1883

Dear Sir,

                   I beg to apologise to the utmost for so far forgetting myself on Wednesday night, & pray you to forgive me. I assure you it shall never occur again. As I wired you this afternoon, I am without food & penniless, & for my poor wife’s sake & the sake of my boys, do not cast me off. Do forgive me, & believe me I will do all I can to wipe out my error.

                   Faithfully yours
                   Robert Haddow.

R. Buchanan Esq.

[Collection page no. 84 - 86.
‘RB 28 Dec’ is written, diagonally, in another hand, in the top left-hand corner.
Word crossed out and ‘Six’ inserted above, before ‘weeks ago’.
‘only’ inserted between ‘this person has not’ and ‘been paid’.
‘to’ inserted between ‘Am I’ and ‘understand’.

This letter occurs in the collection around the end of the 1884 sequence, where there is some confusion due to Buchanan’s American trip. It should be placed here. The copy of Robert Haddow’s letter (which is in Buchanan’s hand) is dated 16th November 1883, and Buchanan in referring to the letter, and the incident, says it occurred six weeks ago.
Buchanan was noted for his generosity, especially to impoverished writers (which, judging by Item 34 in this collection, Robert Haddow was), but his efforts to help sometimes went wrong - as here, and in the case of David Heggie.]

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43. Letter to Chatto & Windus. 14th January [1884].

11^a Park Road
Jan. 14.

         Private.

Dear Sirs,

                   I only read your note on Friday, but was unable to reply to it by hand, Miss Jay being out. I am still in bed, tho’ much better.
         I send you herewith the bulk of City of Dream. Miss Jay has kindly promised to copy the remainder under my direction, & to let you have it at once. Finish of N. Abelard I hope to have ready on Wednesday, though it is painful work for me in my condition.
         Do pray reconsider the matter & advance me the £100, £50 by cheque & £50 in a bill. The smaller sum wont leave me a farthing to quit Town. I will let you have a one vol. story, for which I have a capital subject, without delay, & if you like, you can easily dispose of it for a summer or Xmas number. I wrote Love me for Ever in a week, & got £120 from the Illus. News alone.
         I would not pester you, but for the rush just upon me. Do grant my request. Send me the £50 by Miss Jay to-day, & the bill on Wednesday, when you get the N. Abelard. The delay is causing me great annoyance & expence.
         With kind regards

                   Yours always
                   Rob^t Buchanan.

Messrs Chatto & Windus.

[Collection page no. 65 and 66.
‘Private’ written diagonally, opposite the address.
A word is crossed out between ‘Do’ and ‘grant my request’.

Love Me For Ever had been published by Chatto & Windus in February, 1883.]

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44. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 21st January [1884].

11^a Park Road
         N.W.
Jan 21.

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   I send you herewith finish of N. Abelard (of which be sure to send me a proof) and the rest of the City of Dream. Kindly on their receipt hand Miss Jay your cheque according to promise.
         With regard to the C. of D., pray reconsider your wish to publish it with my name. Works of this sort lose half their effect when there is no curiosity as to authorship. I more especially suggest anonymity as I want to issue almost simultaneously The Great Problem, containing ‘Justinian’ & other similar pieces; and this work I shall have ready in a very few days.
         Perhaps the best plan is not to decide as the name on C. of D. till I can see you & talk the matter over. Of course I will be guided by your advice, but we must use our best discretion so as to ensure success.
         Excuse scrawl—I write still in bed, & am shaky to-day

                   Yours truly
                   Rob^t Buchanan.

A Chatto Esq

         Pray take great care of M.S., as a large portion of it is my only copy. It is all right for the Printer, but I hope you’ll see that it is safe. —
         Please make cheque payable to Miss Jay—for which this is your authority

[Collection page no. 67 and 68.
A word is crossed out after ‘it is safe. —’.

‘Justinian’ did not appear in the first part of The Earthquake (aka The Great Problem), which Chatto & Windus published in December, 1885. It was included in Buchanan’s last volume of poetry, The New Rome.]

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45. Letter to Chatto & Windus. 28th January [1884].

11^a Park Road
         N.W
Jan. 28

Dear Sirs,

                   Proofs enclosed. I have been worse since you last heard from me, & this is my first day ‘up.’
         Pray send me the proofs of book as rapidly as you like, & I will return each by following post. But please advertize ‘Abelard’ separately, instead of bracketing it with others;–as it is not exactly an ordinary ‘novel.’

                   Faithfully yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

Messrs Chatto & Windus.

[Collection page no. 69.]

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46. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 4th February [1884].

11^a Park Road
Regents Park
         N.W.
Feb. 4

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   I send you herewith the two London library books. Could you send for the others while the Bearer waits? In case you have mislaid the Telegram, they are:
         1. Cornish Provincial Dialect, by Treenoodle, with Glossary.
         2. Cornwall, its Mines, Miners, & Scenery.
Could you at the same time spare me a copy of Mallock’s ‘New Republic’?
         Please carefully note what follows:

New Abelard (book)

         Sheets K & L. just received; but the 3 or 4 previous sheets have never been sent to me. Why this oversight?

City of Dream.

         For goodness’ sake alter the form & type. It would save so much trouble if, in cases like this, you first sent me a specimen page. I consider it simple ruin to the book to have those old-fashioned S’s—e.g.

The coming & the going of the fun.

I cant bear it, & most readers are of my way of thinking. And I would rather have had a larger page, tho’ that is of less consequence.
         In any case, I must protest against the old-fashioned letters.
         With kind regards

                   Yours always
                   Rob^t Buchanan.

A. Chatto Esq.

[Collection page no. 70 and 71.
A letter is crossed out before ‘S’s’.

The books about Cornwall were presumably research for Buchanan’s novel, The Master of the Mine, published in December 1885 by Richard Bentley and Son, with a new edition by Chatto & Windus in 1887.]

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47. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 13th February [1884].

11^a Park Road
Regents’ Park
         N.W.
Feb. 13

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   Can you find room for enclosed, next number, in either Belgravia or G. M? The suggestion has at least the merit of oddity & boldness, & may cause some amusement.

                   Truly yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

Andrew Chatto Esq.

         I should prefer Belgravia.

[Collection page no. 72.

The item referred to is the poem ‘A Canine Suggestion’, which was published in the April 1884 edition of Belgravia (the poem itself is dated ‘February 9, 1884’), and is available on this site.]

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48. Letter to Arthur Locker. 19th February [1884].

11^a Park Road
Regents Park
         N.W.
Feb. 19

Dear M^r Locker,

                   I send you herewith the one vol. story. Kindly look it thro’ as soon as you can, & let me know your ideas.
         For the Illus News Xmas No I rec^d £120, reserving all book rights of reproduction. Shall we say the same for this tale, with the same reservation?

                   Truly yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

Arthur Locker Esq.

[Collection page no. 73.
‘the same’ inserted after ‘Shall we say’ and above a crossed-out word.

Arthur Locker was the editor of The Graphic and the story referred to in this letter is presumably Matt: A Story of a Caravan, which was serialised in The Graphic from 3rd January to 14th February, 1885.
Chatto & Windus published Matt in March, 1885 and this is presumably the “one vol. story” mentioned in Item 42.]

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49. Chatto & Windus. 5th March [1884].

11^a Park Road
Regents Park
March 5.

Dear Sirs,

                   Enclosed is the Song omitted by an oversight from proof of C. of D. last sent. Kindly forward it to printer.
         He had better, I think, continue to send me the poem in slips.
         I have not rec^d the M.S. I wanted. Please ask printer, therefore, to return me the copy complete, & I will return it immediately. He does not seem to have understood at all what I want.

                   Faithfully yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

Messrs. Chatto & Windus.

[Collection page no. 74.
‘immediately’ is double-underlined.]

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50. Letter to Chatto & Windus. 7th March [1884].

11^a Park Road
         N.W.
March 7.

Dear Sirs,

                   Proofs enclosed. I particularly want my other works adv^d in New Abelard, & shall be therefore be much obliged if you will announce them as marked facing title page of Vol I.—Your general list can appear in the other vols.
         I will send you back proofs of ‘City of Dream’, to reach first post Monday morn^g.

                   Truly always
                   Rob^t Buchanan.

Messrs Chatto & Windus.

[Collection page no. 75.]

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51. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 25th March [1884].

11^a Park Road
         N.W.
March 25.

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   Your messenger sent me up for signature the list of copies of New. A to be sent to papers—which is fortunate, for I want you to revise it, thus:
         Do not send to Truth or World, but send instead to Illus. News and Alfred Sutton Esq, County Gentleman. The latter will give it in a good strong pos^t., no doubt. You have, I see, omitted Spectator.
         Will you kindly at the same time send a copy to D^r Benson, Archbishop of Canterbury, to whom I am writing, and to W. E. Gladstone—both “with the author’s comp^ts & regards.”

                   Always yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

A. Chatto Esq.

[Collection page no. 76.]

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52. Letter to Chatto & Windus. 22nd July [1884].

11^a Park Road
         N.W.
July 22

Dear Sirs,

                   All proofs of City of Dream & Collected Poems are now returned—ie. all proofs on hand. I have enclosed memo for each printer.
         To-morrow you shall have complete revise of Foxglove Manor

                   Truly ever
                   Rob^t Buchanan.

Messrs Chatto & Windus

[Collection page no. 78.

The ‘Collected Poems’ were published by Chatto and Windus in December, 1884, under the title: The Poetical Works of Robert Buchanan.]

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53. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 30th July [1884].

11^a Park Road
Regents Park
July 30

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   In the latter sheets of ‘City of Dream’ set of proofs sent me by Printer, at my request, the corrections are not made, yet I have had the revises returned. This makes me somewhat anxious. Will you kindly see what it means? It will be disastrous if the corrections are overlooked. To make certain, please let the Printer send me another set—with all the corrections made.

                   Faithfully yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

A. Chatto Esq.

[Collection page no. 79.
‘RB July 31.’ is written, diagonally, in another hand, in the top left-hand corner.
‘latter sheets of’ inserted between ‘In the’ and ‘‘City of Dream’’.
‘had’ inserted between ‘I have’ and ‘the revises’.
‘a’ crossed out and ‘another’ written above, between ‘send me’ and ‘set’.]

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54. Chatto & Windus card. Undated.

CHATTO & WINDUS,
Publishers,
214 PICCADILLY,
LONDON, W.

Foxglove Manor

now appearing in American paper

[Collection page no. 88.
Printed letterhead.
This card, not written by Buchanan, appears in the collection just prior to the Customs letter of 15th January 1885 referring to the copyright of God and the Man. I believe the question of copyright led to its placing here and I would suggest it should be placed earlier in the 1884 sequence.

I haven’t come across any serialisation of Foxglove Manor in the archives of American newspapers currently on the internet, however, I did find the following advert in The New York Times of 16th March, 1884.

Unfortunately the archives of the New York Sunday Mercury are not online, so I can’t check whether The Rector’s Temptation is an alternate title for Foxglove Manor (the title does not occur anywhere else in Buchanan’s work). Although Chatto & Windus did not publish Foxglove Manor until September, 1884, it had been serialised in the Glasgow Weekly Herald, commencing on 23rd February, according to this advert in the Glasgow Herald of 11th February, 1884.]

55. Letter to Chatto & Windus from E. Goodwyn. 15th January, 1885.

     In reply to this letter the
following Number should be
quoted:—

No.   674
         1885

Custom House, London.
15^th. January, 1885.

Gentlemen –

                   I am desired to inform you that it does not appear that the Board of Customs have ever received a notice in writing, duly declared, of the subsistence in the United Kingdom of the copyright in the Book entitled “God and the Man” mentioned in your letter of the 12^th. Instant; and that in the absence of such notice and declaration, under Sec. 42 of the Act 39 and 40 Vic. C. 36 (Customs Consolidation Act, 1876) the importation of the work which may be printed or re-printed in any other country is not prohibited.

         I am, Gentlemen,
                   Your obedient Servant,
                   E. Goodwyn
                             ——
                             Abs Sig

Mess^rs Chatto and Windus,
         214 Piccadilly,
                   W.

[Collection page no. 89 and 90.
‘Buchanan’ is written, in pencil, in another hand, in the top left-hand corner of the first page.
The address and the reply instructions are printed.
‘Act’ is written at the bottom of the first page, presumably to indicate the first word on the next page.
On the left-hand side of the second page, next to ‘prohibited’ there is written, in another hand and another pen, an indecipherable mark which could be initials (perhaps A. C.).
The signature and the abbreviation beneath appear to be written in another pen, so I’m assuming the abbreviation stands for ‘signed in absentia’.]

_____

56. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 3rd February [1885]

Dont fail to
answer by return.

42 East 23^rd Street
Feb. 3^rd

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   My friend M^r Thorndyke Rice, of the North American Review, has just established a syndicate of newspapers, for the printing every Sunday morning of contributions from eminent authors. M^r Gladstone, Gen. Porter, Mark Twain, Hobart Pasha, Stone Pasha, & many others have already contributed.
         I have suggested to him that it would quite fall within his scheme to open up business with you (1) for securing advance sheets of any important short articles to appear in your magazines, & simultaneously here; and (2) for brief extracts of about a column from any forthcoming book of importance. Thus, if Ouida had a novel to appear on April 1, and you would post him an extract complete in itself to appear on that date, he would pay you liberally for it. Do I make myself understood? What he wants is matter from first-class & well-known writers, the lighter the better, for prior or simultaneous publication.
         By the way, he particularly wants a short sketch from Ouida. If you have anything of hers forthcoming in the mags. will you let me know? or can you arrange with her at once for something, & share the cost with him?
         Your reply by next mail will much oblige. I expected to have been home long ere this, or would have written on my own business; this I will do in a private letter. Meantime, will you send me a copy or two of Collected Poems; and if you have not arranged anything, why not forward stereos for use here? A publisher would pay the cost, & ten per cent on all retail sales, which we could divide. Qu’en dites vous?

                   Yours always
                   Robert Buchanan.

A. Chatto Esq

         It is well worth your while to help M^r Rice’s views about the newspapers. An extract from any given book would be an adv. to two million readers. Articles should not exceed 3000 words.

[Collection page no. 91 and 92.
‘RB 18 Feb ’85’ is written, diagonally, in another hand, in the top left-hand corner. Beneath this, also diagonally, but in Buchanan’s hand is written ‘Dont fail to answer by return.’
After ‘Feb.’ another date has been crossed out.
‘ly’ crossed off end of ‘simultaneous’ before ‘publication’.
‘of hers’ inserted between ‘anything’ and ‘forthcoming’.
‘in the mags.’ inserted between ‘forthcoming’ and ‘will you let’.
‘him’ crossed out and ‘me’ written above between ‘will you let’ and ‘know?’

Robert Buchanan and Harriett Jay went to America in early August, 1884 and stayed there until sometime in the summer of 1885. This is the only letter in the collection with an American address. More information about Buchanan’s American trip is available here.]

_____

57. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 22nd June [1885].

Westward Ho
Southend-on-Sea
Essex
June 22

My dear M^r Chatto,

                   I have been too deep in domestic trouble to write to you before. At last, however, I can do so with an easier & lighter heart.
         The City of Dream is quite ready, & the remaining pages shall be forwarded forthwith. What is printed is of course quite incomplete. Do you still incline to its publication under my name? If so, I will ponder it again, & decide. How did “Matt” do with you? I have always thought it a mistake not to have issued it in the first place at a low price for the bookstalls. It is so suited for that purpose.

                   Yours very truly
                   Rob^t Buchanan.

A. Chatto Esq.

[Collection page no. 77.
‘RB 24 June’ is written, diagonally, in another hand, in the top left-hand corner.
A letter or short word has been crossed out after ‘purpose.’

This letter occurs in the collection following Item 50, in the 1884 sequence. However, since it mentions the novel, Matt, which was not published by Chatto & Windus until March 1885, I believe it should be placed here, following Buchanan’s return from America. Although I have been unable to find the exact date of Buchanan’s return, the Edinburgh Evening News of 30th July, 1885 reported that “Mr Robert Buchanan, who has lately returned from a successful trip to the States, is lying ill at Southend.”]

_____

58. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 17th November [1885].

11^a Park Road
Regents Park
         N.W.
Nov. 17

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   M^r Furniss cant undertake my work for some months. Could you kindly recommend any one else? I have decided to have some half dozen pictures for the new poems, Songs of the Cities, as well as a frontispiece to City of Dream.
         Reverting to our conversation. I am most unwilling to publish anything elsewhere, and particularly any poetry; but as I have my crotchet & whim on this subject, perhaps you would have no objection to issue the new book on percentage, I taking all risks & recouping you if there is any loss. In this case we shall still be together, & my blood will be on my own head!—My idea then will be to issue the work, with the pictures, at (say) 3/6, which would leave some margin for profit; & if it is as successful as I hope, of course my other books in your possession will reap a benefit. Qu’en dites vous, mon ami? In any case, will you help me at once with your kind advice about an artist—good, & not too dear? He should be elegant, & versatile.

                   Faithfully yours
                   Robert Buchanan.

Andrew Chatto Esq.

         Following will convey some idea of Sort of subjects wanted:

(1) Death of Young Man in view of Swiss mountains, old man of science kneeling by him. (You remember Justinian?)
(2) Poet writing in an attic, pretty girl peeping in, & naked Cupid cuddled up on hearthrug, asleep.
(3) Frontispiece. A young man & elegantly drest girl standing looking at the Sphynx on the Embankment. Night.
(4) Heine asleep in his sick-room, Paris. Elves & fairies streaming in through window—his own face a likeness, but elfin-like.
         &c. &c.

[Collection page no. 80 and 81.
‘RB Nov 19’ is written, diagonally, in another hand, in the top left-hand corner.
‘at once’ is inserted between ‘help me’ and ‘with your’.
After the list of proposed illustrations a word has been crossed out.

‘Mr. Furniss’ is the illustrator, Harry Furniss.
Songs of the Cities was never published. Going by the list of illustrations, 1 is ‘Justinian’, 3 is ‘The Sphinx’ and 4 is ‘The Gnome’, which were all included in Buchanan’s final book of poetry, The New Rome.]

_____

59. Letter to Andrew Chatto. 2nd December [1885].

11^a Park Road
Regents Park
Dec. 2

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   Enclosed please find revises of all but the last sheet of City of Dream.
         I hope you will give The Earthquake special prominence this week & put it at the head of your list. It wants a good push-off, & if it gets it, I think it will go.

                   Yours ever
                   Robert Buchanan.

A. Chatto Esq.

         Enclosed is a sort of sample advertisement.
                                                                                                                                             (over

[Collection page no. 87.
‘Messrs’ is crossed out and ‘A.’ written above, before ‘Chatto Esq.’
Although the ‘over’ indicates something on the reverse, I don’t have that copy.]

_____

60. Letter to Andrew Chatto. Undated.

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   Kindly substitute the enclosed for former adv.

                   Rob^t Buchanan.

M^r Buchanan’s New Poem.
——

Now ready, flcp 8vo, Price 6/

The Earthquake;
                                   or, Six Days & a Sabbath

by

Robert Buchanan

author of “London Poems,” “God & the Man” &c.
——

The Man about Town, in the County Gentleman, says: “The Earthquake is certainly the most ambitious & the most interesting book of the season. It is quite a thought-of-the-age work . . . Among the guests I fancy I recognise the Prelate & Cardinal Newman, M^r Herbert Spencer, M^r Ruskin, Professor Tyndall, M^r Leslie Stephen, M^r Mallock, Walt Whitman, & the late Norman Macleod. “Bishop Eglantine” must be Newman.”

——

[Collection page no. 93.
Above ‘The Man about Town’, a phrase (possibly ‘Among the press’) has been crossed out.

This item is undated and there is no address. Although it occurs a little later in the collection, I have placed it here since it refers to a new advert for The Earthquake (which was published in December, 1885) and is therefore connected to the previous item.]

_____

61. Letter to Chatto & Windus. 17th December [1885].

Westward Ho
Southend
Dec. 17

Dear Sirs,

                   I did not ask you to make a proposal for the Songs of the Cities! I merely expressed my regret that I might have to publish my poetry elsewhere,—a compliment to you, which surely did not entitle me to a discourteous retort.
         With regard to Under the Spell, I regret that you decline to oblige me in so small a matter. The am^t paid or payable was hardly anything in excess of the cost of the stereos & printing, & I feel quite sure that the story would sell as well or better without my name. So certain do I feel of this, that I would gladly undertake to recoup you—if at the end of the first year there were any loss.

                   Yours truly
                   Rob^t Buchanan.

Messrs Chatto & Windus.

[Collection page no. 82 and 83.
‘RB Dec 20’ is written, diagonally, in another hand, in the top left-hand corner.
The notepaper has a printed address of ‘11^a Park Road, Regent’s Park, N.W.’ which is crossed through.

I have, so far, not come across any story or novel by Buchanan with the title ‘Under the Spell’.]

_____

62. Letter to Andrew Chatto. Undated.

ROYAL OLYMPIC THEATRE,
Wych Street, Strand,
                   W.C.

LESSEE & MANAGERESS,
MRS. ANNA CONOVER.

Dear M^r Chatto,

                   Will you kindly give Bearer a copy of “Ballads of Life, Love, & Humour”? & greatly oblige

                   Yours ever
                   Rob^t Buchanan.

A. Chatto Esq

[Collection page no. 51.
Printed letterhead.
A line is drawn vertically through the text.

This item occurs earlier in the collection but the Olympic Theatre notepaper (with Anna Conover’s name as manageress) would indicate that this was written during the run of Alone In London, between 2nd November, 1885 and 20th February, 1886 (or, given Buchanan’s involvement in the production, slightly earlier or later).]

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The Chatto & Windus Letters - continued

3. 1887 - 1892.

Robert Buchanan’s Letters to Chatto & Windus - contents