Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T07:42:48.122Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

39 - To Joseph Cradock, [London, 16 February 1772]

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 December 2024

Michael Griffin
Affiliation:
University of Limerick
David O'Shaughnessy
Affiliation:
Trinity College Dublin
Get access

Summary

In Cradock's Memoirs, he did not remember to what performance the letter below referred, but noted that it ‘seems to refer to one of his earlier productions’ (I: 224). The production can be identified as Threnodia Augustalis, written to be performed in commemoration of Augusta, the Princess Dowager of Wales and mother of George III, who died on 8 February 1772. The identification is possible from a letter from William Woodfall to Goldsmith: Woodfall was acting on behalf of Teresa Cornelys (1723?–97) who put on various entertainments at Carlisle House, and he commissioned Goldsmith to write the piece on behalf of Cornelys and Goldsmith had agreed, provided his anonymity was preserved. Woodfall wanted Goldsmith to collaborate with an Italian composer, Matthias Vento (1735–76), and wrote on 16 February to remind him of his appointment with Vento. This letter provoked this hastily written note to Cradock, postponing their engagement. Goldsmith's authorship of the Threnodia Augustalis's libretto, a piece of which he was not proud, was not known until it appeared in Chalmers's 1810 edition of his works. Goldsmith's apologetic advertisement refers to it as a ‘Compilation’ rather than a poem and makes clear it was written in haste. A printed version was advertised for sale at the door of the performance for 1s (Public Advertiser, 20 February 1772).

We can be reasonably certain of the date offered here. The Princess Dowager died on Saturday 8 February. Goldsmith could not have written this letter the day after so it must have been written on Sunday 16 February before the performance of the Threnodia Augustalis, on Thursday 20 February.

The copy-text is a facsimile of the manuscript in the Rosenbach of the Free Library of Philadelphia. The location of the original manuscript is unknown. It was first published in Cradock's Literary and Miscellaneous Memoirs in 1826. Balderston records, based on access to the original owned by A. S. W. Rosenbach, that it was addressed ‘To J. Craddock Esqr at the Hotel in Pall Mall’. There is no address visible on the facsimile.

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2018

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×