Collection ID: LMC 2008
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Collection context

Summary

Abstract:
The Tennyson, F. mss., 1841-1922, are the papers of Frederick Tennyson, 1807-1898, poet, and his family.
Extent:
1 folio, 1 folio (oversize), and 5 Boxes (3 standard, 2 custom)
Language:
Materials are in English
Preferred citation:

[Item], Tennyson, F. mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

Background

Biographical / Historical:

Frederick Tennyson, 1807-1898, was an English poet who spent much of his life in Italy and Jersey. He is best known for his work The Isles of Greece: Sappho and Alcaeus. He was the eldest brother of Alfred, Lord Tennyson.

Frederick was the oldest surviving child of Reverend George Clayton Tennyson and Elizabeth Fytche Tennyson. He had 10 younger siblings. After the death of his father in 1831, he briefly became the head of his household, negotiating a difficult relationship with his wealthy grandfather to support his mother and 10 siblings. After his grandfather's death in 1835, his inheritance allowed him to live comfortably for the rest of his life.

Interested in spiritualism, Frederick first became an Anglo-Israelite and later joined the Church of New Jerusalem, influenced by the writings of Swedish mystic Emanuel Swedenborg.

See the reference to the Frederick Tennyson mss. in William Robert McMunn, A Critical Edition of the Shorter Poems of Frederick Tennyson edited with a biographical sketch of the poet. Submitted to the faculty of the Graduate School in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in the Department of English, Indiana University, August 1968 (PN7000 .M168).

Scope and Content:

The collection consists of correspondence, writings, photographs, business papers, coat of arms, and Frederick Tennyson's death mask. The letters relate to personal affairs, poets, publishing activities, and legal matters. The correspondence with some members of the family and Mrs. Mary Isabella Irwin (Rees) Brotherton is chiefly concerned with spiritualism and Swedenborgianism. Numerous religious and mystical experiences are cited. A number of letters refer to the political situation both in Great Britain and Europe as well as the politicians of the day. The photographs are primarily of members of the family. Included are also a diary of 1875 and a letter copybook of 1876 of Alfred Tennyson, son of Frederick Tennyson, and an undated memorandum book of Frederick Tennyson.

Among the correspondents are Charles Aldrich, John T. Baron, Hannah Barrett, H. Bates, Mackenzie Bell, John Johnson Bradshaw, Mrs. Matilda (Tennyson) Bradshaw, Alfred Bridges, J.T. Briscoe, Mrs. Mary Isabella Irwin (Rees) Brotherton, Thomas Bruce, J.B. Buss, Minnie Butler, W.W.H. Cameron, Thomas Chalklen, J.T. Chapman, Mrs. Florence (Anderson) Compton, D.F. Cowles, H. George Coxhead, George Lillie Craik, William Heaford Daubney, John Day-Luce, Edith M. Dixon, Henry Ellis, Edward Fitzgerald, Mr. Fontaine, Mrs. Emily (Tennyson) Ford, W.H. Furlonge, J. Lewis Fytche, John Hall Gladstone, George Gresswell, Mrs. Susan I. (Haddelsey) Hannam, Thomas Lake Harris, Louis Higson, C. Jerome Hopkins, Mrs. Julietta Marian (Tennyson) Hopwood, Alexander Hay Japp, Richard Claverhouse Jebb, Arthur Jesse, Eustace Tennyson-d'Eyncourt Jesse, Mrs. Emily (Tennyson) Jesse, Richard Jesse, Henry George Keene, Mrs. Mary (Tennyson) Ker, Walter Charles Alan Ker, John Lane, James Kinnersley Lewis, T. Langton Loekton, Mrs. Cecilia (Tennyson) Lushington, Edmund Law Lushington, Franklin Lushington, W.B. Macleod, Manchester Sheffield and Lincolnshire Railway, Arthur Mountain, Elsa Otway, P. Grey Parke, Mrs. Cecilia Mary (Tennyson) Pope, Mrs. Alice Julia (Argles) Rawnsley, Edward Preston Rawnsley, Clare Reynolds, Rhodes & Sons, Alfred Lord Tennyson, Alfred Tennyson, Arthur Tennyson, Audrey Georgiana Florence (Boyle) Lady Tennyson, Mrs. Catherine (West) Tennyson, Sir Charles Tennyson, Emily Sarah (Sellwood) Lady Tennyson, Mrs. Emma Louisa (Maynard) Tennyson, Frederick Henry Tennyson, Hallam Lord Tennyson, Mrs. Harriet (West) Tennyson, Horatio Tennyson, Julius George Tennyson, Mrs. Maria (Giuliotti) Tennyson, Matilda Tennyson, Mrs. Sophia (Cooper) Tennyson, Sydney Harold Tennyson, Sylvia Marion Beatrice Tennyson, Charles Tennyson-d'Eyncourt, Mrs. Sophia (Yates) Tennyson-d'Eyncourt, Clara E. Tucker, Charles Tennyson Turner, Agnes Grace Weld, John A. West, Withall & Compton, Robert Wood, William Aldis Wright. For a detailed inventory of the collection, see Collins, Rowland L. "The Frederick Tennyson Collection." Victorian Studies, 1963, 56-76.

Acquisition information:
Purchase: 1961
Arrangement:

The collection is arranged into the following series: Correspondence, Photographs, Personal, and Writings.

Physical location:
ALF (Auxiliary Library Facility) - OVFlat; Lilly - Folio; Lilly - Stacks

Access

RESTRICTIONS:

This collection is open for research.

Many collections are housed offsite; retrieval requires advance notice. Please make an appointment a minimum of one week in advance of your visit.

TERMS OF ACCESS:

Photography and digitization may be restricted for some collections. Copyright restrictions may apply. Before publishing, researchers are responsible for securing permission from all applicable rights holders, then filling out the Permission to Publish form.

PREFERRED CITATION:

[Item], Tennyson, F. mss., Lilly Library, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana.

CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
LOCATION OF THIS COLLECTION:
1200 East Seventh Street
Bloomington, Indiana 47405-5500, USA
CAMPUS:
Indiana University Bloomington
CONTACT:
(812) 855-2452
liblilly@indiana.edu