The Life and Letters of Joseph Severn (Classic Reprint)

Excerpt from The Life and Letters of Joseph SevernSeveral years have elapsed since the Severn Mss. consisting of a great mass of letters, journals, reminiscences, and fragmentary records, were placed in the hands of the present writer to be edited at his discretion. One or two editorial considerations, as well as other equally potent causes beyond his control, necessitated delay after delay; but it will suffice to say now, that in the main the original procrastination was due to the constantly recurring discovery of much relative matter (chiefly correspondence) which could not be overlooked, and also to the need, on many points, of difficult inquiries and careful investigation. The book was practically finished, in Borne, by the winter of 1890-91, but since then it has been wholly re-written. The original project was that the Memoirs should be issued in two large volumes, the first of which would practically justify the title'Keats and his Circle,' while the second would for the most part be occupied with Severn's middle period in London(1840 to 1860), his consular life(1861 to 1870) in Rome, and his last years in that city(1871 to 1879). But ultimately it was decided that this biographical scheme should be abandoned in favour of a more concise record. Of course, there is loss of a kind A mass of correspondence of considerable interest has had to be wholly disregarded, and records and diaries covering many years have had to be condensed into even fewer pages.About the PublisherForgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.comThis book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.