Piozzi, Hester Lynch, 1741-1821, Hester Lynch Piozzi Letters to Dr. William Makepeace Thackeray, 1795-1816
- Call Number:
- MSS 29
- Creator:
- Piozzi, Hester Lynch, 1741-1821
- Title(s):
- Hester Lynch Piozzi Letters to Dr. William Makepeace Thackeray
- Date:
- 1795-1816
- Extent:
- 0.2 linear feet
- Classification:
- Archives and Manuscripts
- Abstract:
- The collection comprises 98 autograph letters from Hester Lynch Piozzi to her friend and physician, Dr. William Makepeace Thackeray, dated between April 16, 1795, and September 10, 1816, compiled and bound together in a single album.
- Provenance:
- Paul Mellon Collection.
- Conditions Governing Access:
- The materials are open for research.
- Conditions Governing Use:
- Copyright UndeterminedThe collection is the physical property of the Yale Center for British Art. Literary rights, including copyright, belong to the authors or their legal heirs and assigns. For further information, consult the Archives Department.
- Biographical/Historical:
- <emph render="boldsmcaps">Hester Lynch Piozzi (née Salusbury; other married name Thrale), 1741-1821</emph>, was a prominent diarist, author, and patron of the arts in late 18th century Britain. She is also known as a notable friend of Dr. Samuel Johnson. After Johnson's death, she published <title render="italic">Anecdotes of the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D., during the last Twenty Years of his Life</title> (1786) and <title render="italic">Letters to and from the late Samuel Johnson, LL.D</title> (1788). Other notable works by Piozzi include: <title render="italic">Observations and reflections made in the course of a journey through France, Italy, and Germany</title> (1789); <title render="italic">British synonymy, or, An attempt at regulating the choice of words in familiar conversation</title> (1794); and <title render="italic">Retrospection, or, A review of the most striking and important events, characters, situations, and their consequences, which the last eighteen hundred years have presented to the view of mankind </title>(1801). <emph render="boldsmcaps">Dr. William Makepeace Thackeray (1770-1849)</emph> was a notable physician at Chester (in the county of Cheshire) and uncle of the famous novelist of the same name.
- Scope and Content:
- The collection comprises 98 autograph letters from Hester Lynch Piozzi to her friend and physician, Dr. William Makepeace Thackeray, dated between April 16, 1795, and September 10, 1816, compiled and bound together in a single album. The letters cover Mrs. Piozzi's life with her second husband, the musician Gabriel Piozzi, his illness and eventual death in March 1809 from gout, and the subsequent years of widowhood. The letters are chiefly written from Brynbella, Mrs. Piozzi's villa in the Vale of Clwyd. The correspondence includes news of family matters and a detailed record of her husband's lengthy illness, the latter often accompanied by requests for medical advice or professional visits from Thackeray. The letters are frequently interspersed with literary and other allusions and anecdotes, political gossip, and bon mots. They include references to many friends and associates of Mrs. Piozzi, including Dr. Johnson ("Dear Dr. Johnson was not difficult to be imposed on where the heart came in question, but he would not have believed this story about Shakespeare"), David Garrick ("Is not it curious to reflect that the year MY old friend burst upon mankind in the same way, - was marked by contagion: & people called it the Garrick Fever") and Mrs. Siddons, as well as comments on the Napoleonic Wars ("All is gathering fast to a head; Buonaparte has pledged himself to effect our ruin, & they spare us 200,000 men"). Two of the letters consist of original verse: item 82, a poem of 24 lines entitled "A song made in time of the mutiny by desire of some loyalists who dined at the Crown & Anchor Tavern Tune Nancy Dawson"; and item 80, a poem of 7 lines, untitled. Most of the letters are signed either in full or with the initials HLP, but a few are either unsigned or bear the signature "Brynbella," the name of Mrs. Piozzi's villa. Also included in the collection is a letter announcing the death of Mr. Piozzi, written on behalf of Mrs. Piozzi by her friend Mrs. Moore. The letters in the present volume are not included in <title render="italic">The Piozzi letters : correspondence of Hester Lynch Piozzi, 1784-1821 (formerly Mrs. Thrale)</title>, edited by Edward A. Bloom and Lillian D. Bloom (1989-1993).
- Arrangement:
- The letters are bound in chronological order, with undated material bound at the end.
- Genre:
- Correspondence and Letters
- Subject Terms:
- Authors, EnglishFirst Coalition, War of the, 1792-1797GoutMedicineNapoleonic Wars, 1800-1815PhysiciansPolitics and government
- Subject Period:
- 1789-182018th century
- Associated Places:
- Great Britain
- Associated People/Groups:
- Abercorn, James Hamilton, Duke of, 1811-1885Broster, John, -1816Chappelow, WilliamDore, MariaGarrick, David, 1717-1779Hoare, Henry Merrick, 1770-1856Hoare, Sophia Thrale, 1771-1824Hodgkins, SamuelJohnson, Samuel, 1709-1784Keith, Hester Maria Elphinstone, Viscountess, 1764-1857Leak, Alexander, 1776-1816Moore, John, 1752-1820Mostyn, Cecilia Margaretta Thrale, 1777-1857Mostyn, John, 1775-1807Napoleon, Emperor of the French, I, 1769-1821Parry, Caleb Hillier, 1755-1822Pepys, Lucas, Sir, 1742-1830Piozzi, Gabriele Mario, 1740-1809Piozzi, John SalusburySiddons, Sarah, 1755-1831Streatham Park (London, England)Thackeray, Elizabeth, approximately 1780-Thackeray, Martin, 1783-1864Thackeray, Selina Martha, 1806-1835Thackeray, William Makepeace, 1770-1849
- Finding Aid Title:
- Hester Lynch Piozzi Letters to Dr. William Makepeace Thackeray
- Collection PDF:
- https://ead-pdfs.library.yale.edu/16.pdf
- Archival Object:
- https://archives.yale.edu/repositories/3/resources/16
- Metadata Cloud URL:
- https://metadata-api.library.yale.edu/metadatacloud/api/aspace/repositories/3/resources/16?mediaType=json&include-notes=1&include-all-subjects=1