Letter from Lucy Aikin to Elizabeth Benger
By Tamanna Tamanna
Introduction
Lucy Aikin (1781-1864) writes this letter to her friend and famous biographer and poet, Elizabeth Benger. Aikin sends Benger the letter on a Thursday night, sometime before 1820, to discuss the inclusion of Mr. Burrel to Benger's book about John Tobin. In the letter, Aikin is encouraging Benger about John Tobin; Benger did write a book about Tobin in 1820. Jon Tobin was a dramatist and a British playwright (John Tobin, 2021), and Benger’s book is called Memoirs of Mr. John Tobin, Author of The Honey-Moon. With a Selection from his unpublished writings. By Miss Benger, Author of Memoirs of Mrs. Elizabeth Hamilton. (Aikin, 138).
Notes about the letter
The letter, while not dated, appears to be written on a Thursday night, either in or a bit before 1820, which is when Benger wrote the book about John Tobin. It is likely that the letter wa hand-delivered to Benger.
The letter seems to be wrriten in a clean writing, apart from a black scribbled ink on the first front page, whose imprint can be slightly noted on the other side as well. There is one fold in the middle of the page, which can indicate that the letter was loosely folded, perhaps to indicate that it was not a highly important letter.
The letter reveals a lot about Aikin and Benger's friendship. It also gives the reader an insight into Aikin's nature towards others. By attempting to assist her dear friend Elizabeth about the book she is writing, it unveils her attachment to Benger as well as her helpful nature. Her personality can be marked by her eagerness to be there for her friend and also host those close to her in her home.
Analysis
The letter indicates Aikin’s support for Benger in a professional setting. She also invites her to dinner and calls her “Benger”, which highlights their personal relationship and deep friendship. The letter also mentions a Mrs. Fletcher, which is Eliza Fletcher to whom Aikin’s aunt Anna Laetitia Barbauld and Aikin herself were associated with. Aikin edited Letters to Mrs. Fletcher (138) in 1874. The letter peels more layers of Aikin’s personality, as she is celebrated as a feminist writer, and the letter shows her supportive and concern for her friend. It can also be assumed that perhaps Benger was asking Aikin for advice about writing the book in a previous letter, and this particular letter would be a reply to it. This letter also shows how Aikin attempts to encourage a “Mr. Burrel” to join Benger in writing John Tobin’s book . The letter is written in an informal tone as Aikin also converses about their friend Anne and her newborn baby. Anne could be Anne Wakefield, Aikin’s dear friend who she writes the Epistles to. She confesses to Benger that she believes Anne would not be good company with the baby. Her disfavour towards Anne’s company due to her having a child shows her feelings about children as she says “her poor little squalling baby will not allow her to be good company to any body at present.” Benger and Aikin were both unmarried, so the fact that Aikin writes about Anne’s baby to Benger could mean that they share the same sentiments about having children. In the last line of the letter, Aikin says that she wishes Benger would come to see her and have dinner with them and Edmund, likely her brother Edmund Aikin, an English architect (“Edmund Aikin”, 2020). It appears that Benger and Edmund Aikin were friends or at the very least acquainted, as Lucy Aikin mentions that Benger should visit at the time the letter was written because Edmund is also visiting.
Transcription of the letter :
I want to hear about you my dear Benger,
& I have also something to tell you.
I have been on a visit at the Carrs;
there was Mr. Burrel, just returned
from Italy & I took the opportunity
to mention to him your plan. He
approved it highly; said you would
do it very well, & that remains of
John T. would be sure to sell. I then
requested for you his assistance in the
way of anecdotes &of his friend. He
[illegible deleted words] does not love writing,
but I hope I have persuaded him to
think about the matter on his circuit,
& on his return, in October, if not too
later, I think you may apply to him
with a fair prospect of receiving some
thing worth having.
This dear Mrs. Fletcher! How I long
to see her and hers. Have you as yet any
[page break]
certain account when they come
It is vexatious enough that Anne will
just miss her; but in fact her poor
little squalling baby will not allow
her to be good company to any body at
present. I wish her journey with
such an encumbrance may answer in
pleasure, but I much doubt it.
Write to me & tell me when you will
come & see us. I wish you would come
now Edmund is with us. You always
suited.
Yours
LA
Thursday night
References
Aikin, Lucy, editor. “Letters to Mrs. Fletcher.” The Works of Anna Laetitia Barbauld: With a Memoir, by Anna Laetitia Barbauld, vol. 2, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, 2014, pp. 138-145. Cambridge Library Collection – Literary Studies.
"Benger, Elizabeth Ogilvy" The Women's Print History Project, 2019, Person ID 631 https://womensprinthistoryproject.com/person/631. Accessed 2021-09-27.
“Edmund Aikin”. Wikipedia, 16 November 2020. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmund_Aikin