Mackay, Eric, 1851-1898. Eric Mackay letters and manuscripts1885-1889, undated
MSS 099, F875
23 items British poet Eric Mackay (1851-1898) was the son of journalist and poet Charles Mackay (1812-1889) and the half-brother of novelist Mary Mackay (1855-1924), who published under the pseudonym Marie Corelli. The collection consists of nineteen autograph letters from Eric Mackay to American editor of The Independent, John Eliot Bowen, and three undated autograph manuscripts of Mackay's prose and poetry. There is also one letter from Mackay to the unnamed editor of the Century Magazine.
Materials entirely in
English.
University of Delaware Library -
Special Collections
Source Purchase, July 2010.
Access Restrictions
The collection is open for research.
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exceptions provided for in the Fair Use and Educational Use clauses of the U.S.
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required from the copyright holder. Please contact Special Collections
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Citation MSS
099, F875, Eric Mackay letters and manuscripts, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library,
Newark, Delaware.
Shelving Summary
- Box 61, F875: Shelved in SPEC MSS 099 manuscript boxes
Processing
Processed and encoded by Julia Pompetti, September 2010.
Biographical Note British poet Eric Mackay (1851-1898) was the son of journalist and poet Charles Mackay (1812-1889) and the half-brother of novelist Mary Mackay (1855-1924), who published under the pseudonym Marie Corelli. He published several books of poetry in both England and in America, including
Love Letters of a Violinist (1886), A Lover's Litanies (1888) and Song of the Sea (1895), as well as a volume of his father's poetry, Gossamer and Snowdrift: The Posthumous Poems of Charles Mackay (1890).
Mackay also produced an unauthorized play based on Corelli's novel
The Sorrows of Satan, which was a commercial failure. In the final year of his life, Mackay allegedly claimed that he was the true author of Corelli's successful novels. After his death, Corelli circulated a pamphlet refuting his claim of authorship of her work."Mackay, Mary." British Short-Fiction Writers, 1880-1914: The Romantic Tradition. Ed. William F. Naufftus. Dictionary of Literary Biography Vol. 156. Detroit: Gale Research, 1995. (reproduced in Literature Resource Center). http://galenet.galegroup.com/servlet/LitRC (accessed September 14, 2010).
Mullin, Katherine. "Mackay, Mary." Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford University Press, 2009. www.oxforddnb.com (accessed September 14, 2010).
Scope and Content Note The collection consists of nineteen autograph letters from British poet Eric Mackay to American editor of
The Independent, John Eliot Bowen, and three undated autograph manuscripts of Mackay's prose and poetry. There is also one letter from Mackay to the unnamed editor of the Century Magazine.
The correspondence concerns Mackay's efforts to place poems (often referring to enclosures, most of which are not included in the collection) with Bowen and
The Independent and more generally, possible opportunities for American publication of and publicity for his books of poetry. One letter mentions Mackay's assessment of his half-sister Mary Mackay's (pseudonym Marie Corelli) novels Vendetta (1886) and A Romance of Two Worlds (1886). He also mentions the possibility of his poem "Choral Ode to Liberty" being read at the Great Inauguration Ceremony held for the Statue of Liberty held in 1886. Additionally, the collection includes manuscripts with minor revisions of a short prose piece, "Anteros," five poems assembled under the heading "Five Sonnets," and a poem entitled "A Song of Servitude."
Arrangement The letters are arranged in chronological order followed by undated material. The manuscripts are arranged alphabetically by title.
Selected Search Terms
Personal Names
Mackay, Eric, 1851-1898--Correspondence.
Bowen, John Eliot, 1858-1890--Correspondence. Topical Terms
Poets, English--19th century--Correspondence.
Form/Genre Terms
Correspondence.
Manuscripts. Occupation
Poets.
Editors.
Personal Contributors
Bowen, John Eliot, 1858-1890, correspondent.
Detailed Contents List
61
F875
Correspondence
1885-1889 and undated
20 items
Letters from British poet Eric Mackay to American editor John Eliot Bowen arranged chronologically, followed by undated. One letter from Eric Mackay to unnamed editor of the
Century Magazine. 20 pp. 4 envelopes.
Manuscripts
undated
3 items
61
F875
"Anteros"
A prose piece in which the title is crossed out and other minor revisions have been made. 1 p.
61
F875
"Five Sonnets"
Includes sonnets "After Two Days," "Visions," "Dante," "A Thunderstorm at Night," "The Mission of the Bard." 4 p.
61
F875
"A Song of Servitude"
An poem in fourteen sections with minor revisions. 3 p.