1841—
Reading Notes, 1841
p19excerpted · analyzed · quoted · read
“From J.W.”
Fuller, Margaret. "Reading Notes, 1841." Houghton Library, Harvard University; bMS Am 1221 (Caroline Sturgis Tappan papers, 1838–1921).
Author
John Westland Marston(1819–1890)
John Westland Marston is documented in Fuller’s letters, books, published essays, and manuscripts (1841–1847). 3 distinct works are named, most often in Letter to J. Westland Marston, and the most intensive engagement recorded is “excerpted”.
- Engagement
- ExcerptedAnalyzedQuotedReadMentioned
- Present in
- Letters · Books · Essays · Manuscripts
- Documented
- 1841–1847
Additional passages preserved in the Memoirs (1852)
Totals count documented engagements, once at the earliest witness. How we count →
Reprints, Memoirs passages, and repeat notes within a single manuscript are shown but never counted twice. Evidence for this author is selective, not exhaustive. Methodology →
In Fuller’s words
“One of the plays at the head of this notice also comes in here, The Patrician's Daughter, which, though a failure as a tragedy, from an improbability in the plot, and a want of power to touch the secret springs of passion, yet has the merits of genteel comedy in the unstrained and flowing dialogue, and dignity in the conception of character.”
When Fuller engaged with John Westland Marston
This page brings together documented engagements currently identified within the Fuller Reading Worlds catalog.
Marston in Fuller’s reading world
Documentary evidence
Selected passages from Fuller’s own writings, in chronological order.
1843—
Letter to Ralph Waldo Emerson
p159analyzed · read
“It was a good idea to send me the other plays. [Hudspeth fn. 1: Emerson had sent copies of William Henry Smith's Athelwold (London, 1842), J.W.”
Fuller, Margaret. The Letters of Margaret Fuller. Edited by Robert N. Hudspeth. Vol. III. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1986.
Hudspeth identified J.W.
1846—
Papers on Literature and Art
p114analyzed · read
“One of the plays at the head of this notice also comes in here, The Patrician's Daughter, which, though a failure as a tragedy, from an improbability in the plot, and a want of power to touch the secret springs of passion, yet has the merits of genteel comedy in the unstrained and flowing dialogue, and dignity in the conception of character.”
Fuller, Margaret. Papers on Literature and Art. New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1846.
1846—
The Modern Drama
“The Modern Drama”mentioned
“The Patrician's Daughter, a tragedy, in five acts, by J. Westland Marstcn: London: C. Mitchel, Red Lion Court, Fleet Street, 1841.”
Fuller, Margaret. Papers on Literature and Art. New York: Wiley and Putnam, 1846. · p109
Also printed in Art, Literature, and the Drama (1869), p109; page given is to the 1869 reprint.
1847—
Letter to J. Westland Marston
p285analyzed · read2 selected passages
“I spoke of "The Patrician's Daughter" in the terms it merits, and a warm wish was expressed by those present to read it.”
“I heard in London you were writing another play and perhaps, if that is now published, you would like to have that also come into the Italian sunshine.”
Inferred Hudspeth identified this second play as The Heart and the World (1847), which "was a failure on the stage." Fuller does not name the play explicitly in her letter, but clearly knows of it and is requesting it, establishing her reading interest and likely prior knowledge. Hudspeth identified the title.
Fuller, Margaret. The Letters of Margaret Fuller. Edited by Robert N. Hudspeth. Vol. IV. Ithaca: Cornell University Press, 1987.
1847—
Things and Thoughts in Europe . . . X.
“Things and Thoughts in Europe . . . X.”analyzed · read
“At Sadler’s Wells I saw a play which I had much admired in reading it, but found still better in actual representation; indeed, it seems to me there can be no better acting play; this is ‘The Patrician’s Daughter’ by J.W.”
Fuller, Margaret. "Things and Thoughts in Europe . . . X." New-York Daily Tribune, 3 March 1847. · 3 March 1847
Preserved in the Memoirs (1852)
Passages surviving only in the posthumous Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli, compiled by Emerson, Channing, and Clarke.
1841—
Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli
p190analyzed · read
“Marston I saw several times, and found him full of talent. [...] I went to see his "Patrician's Daughter." It is an admirable play for the stage.”
Emerson, Ralph Waldo, William Henry Channing, and James Freeman Clarke, eds. Memoirs of Margaret Fuller Ossoli. 2 vols. Boston: Phillips, Sampson and Company, 1852.
Inferred Margaret Fuller chronicled her attendance at a performance of John Westland Marston's 1841 drama, The Patrician's Daughter, deeming it an "admirable play for the stage." Her direct observation, coupled with her critical assessment of its dramatic qualities, suggests engagement beyond mere viewership of the theatrical production.