Of Jane Porter and John Shephard
In this exhibit, I shall present a look at the correspondence between Scottish novelist Jane Porter and, who I assume to be her lawyer of sorts, John Shephard. The letters displayed offer a small look into the side of legal agreements, especially concerning Porter's works. I consider this to be of interest given that Porter hardly made much income from her works, and this was because the rights were held by her various publishers.
The digitized letters are sourced from the New York Public Library; there are more letters that I was not able to transcribe, but could likely fill the gaps between the letters I worked on.
Letter from Jane Porter to John Shephard (Oct 30, 1844)
Description of letter
This letter was written by Jane Porter and addressed to John Shephard. The date it was written reads as Wednesday, October 30, 1844.
Only the pages are shown in the NYPL. There is no stamp or final signature of Porter’s; rather, she includes the date written at the top of the first page. The writing is done in thick lines at times, whereas some others grow thin (presumably where Porter ran out of ink and had to get more for her pen).
Analysis of letter
The contents of this letter are a little hard to sort out, given the amount of names that one must keep track of. From what I gather, Porter is writing to her lawyer, John Shephard (and I draw this conclusion of his profession based on his upcoming letters). Porter speaks of an agreement for the “proposed rights of in the three works of [hers],” namely Thaddeus of Warsaw, The Scottish Chiefs, and The Pastor’s Fireside.
This agreement appears to have been drawn up by Mr. Alfred Turner between Porter and Mr. Bentley. Porter relays all of this to Mr. Shephard; she also mentions that the offer for her copyright would have been higher (as told by Mr. Virtue, of whom I found no additional information) “had not [her] property in those works been so strangely involved.” I’m unsure as to what that means, but I suspect that Porter possibly felt disgruntled or disappointed with this knowledge, given the fact that she hardly made much off of her works during her lifetime. However, based on this, it seems that this agreement is about the sale of her books’ copyright, perhaps to print more editions.
In addition, Porter mentions “Messrs. Longman,” whom I believe to be the Longman family publishers. Their name is mentioned in the Women’s Print History Project as the publishers of Porter’s The Scottish Chiefs (1810) and The Pastor’s Fireside (1817), including both titles’ editions after the initial publication. As for Thaddeus of Warsaw, the Longman publishers were involved up to the eleventh edition, it seems (which was published in 1826). Given that Thaddeus had around 80 editions, it is difficult to tell how long the Longman publishers stuck by it.
Diplomatic Transcription
At Dr. Porter’s – Bristol. – Wednesday: Oct 30th _1844
Dear Mr. Shephard,
Your letter of the 28th: was gladly welcomed by me
this morning; for it brings me accounts of the happy
health of your dear wife, and of her precious little
ones, and of your own progress towards as renovated a
state, before you and your physician part early
next month, for your return to Kensington and
London! –
I am also greatly obliged by your communication res-
pecting the papers sent to you, by discretion of Mr. Virtue
concerning my commencing literary agreement
with him. Two or three days ago, he wrote to me
proposing that such a paper drawn up by his solicitor
should be laid before you on my behalf. – I re-
plied to him and he will receive my letter today:
that I was not aware of your arrival in town;
and therefore requested him to enquire in God knows what(?),
and to do me the favour of letting me know. But
I also expressed a wish, that he should lend me
a sight of his rough draft of the agreement that
I might peruse it, ere you and he might
meet to settle the affair – Probably I shall
have an answer from him [inserted above]in a day or two either sending me
the rough draft, or referring me to a sight
of the one now with you. And if the latter,
I shall then ask your goodness to enclose it to me here.
[page break]
It cannot be a very long one: the matter to arrange
between us, being very simple. – Nevertheless,
for his sake as well as my own, it is right
I should know exactly what it is. –
He wrote to me at the wish of his solicitor,
a copy of the agreement, for which
Mr. Alfred(?) Turner had drawn up between
Mr. Bentley and me; and I sent him
a copy I immediately made with my
own hand. – Which he would receive today.
Alas! My dear good friend, I cannot
forbear mentioning to you, entre nous
(for I do not wish to spread or to cherish in
my own remembrance, painful
flames!) but when Mr. Virtue, in personal
conversation with me, (a little time before
I left town,) agreed to give me £300
for his proposed rights in the three
works of mine, named in his proposal
(that is, £250 – for “Thaddeus of Warsaw” and
“The Pastor’s Fire-side” – and £50, for the
value of my (?) privilege over
“The Scottish Chiefs”) – He had paid me
£210 for the reverted copyright for my
life(?), of that work, in the year 1841. – When
he published its Multiple Editions –
– He told me, in the conversation I refer to
– that had not my property in those works
been so strangely involved, by the sale of
Messrs: Longman, as to have produced the
late agreement between me and Mr.
Bentley – "He (Mr. Virtue) would have given
"me £700 – for the property of those
"three works; for which he was then
"engaging to pay me only £300." –
Letter from John Shephard to Jane Porter (Nov 16, 1844)
Description of letter
This letter was written by John Shephard and addressed to Jane Porter. The date it was written reads as November 16, 1844. The paper is ivory and appears to be folded in half, with “page 1” being on the back half, “page 2” on the inner first half, “page 3” on the adjoining half, and “page 4” on the final back half. I cannot see how the letter was folded so that the reader would know which direction to follow.
Analysis of letter
This letter is a reply to another that Porter sent, which is not included here, but still concerns the agreement mentioned in the Oct 1844 letter. In his reply, Mr. Shepherd admits to having misunderstood Porter’s words and intentions, apologizes, and makes the necessary amendments. He writes that he will send the agreement to her for her perusal; he has made a few notes, which suggests that the agreement has not yet been finalized.
Mr. Shephard also mentions his family; from his comments, it appears that Porter has met them in person on previous occasions.
Diplomatic Transcription
7 Square, Kensington
16 Nov, 1844
Dear Miss Porter,
Now having heard from
you I am afraid I have
misconstrued your letter of
the 30th (?) with reference
to the transmission of
agreements. – You say
– “if Mr. Virtue refer me
"to a sight of the one his
"solicitor has sent to have,
"I shall ask ? to enclose
"it to me here” – by this
I inferred that I was not
to send the agreement
[page break]
until I heard from you
again, but upon receiving
your letter this morning
I now conclude you must
have intended me to transmit(?)
it at once, and if am right
in this, I am duly sorry
you should have been
subjected to the delay from
my stupidity for which
I now make amends by
enclosing it for your
perusal. – I have made a
few marginal notes for
your consideration. –
We all reached home
safe and well this day
week, and are now quietly
[page break]
and comfortably established
in our (?) quarters. –
– Previous to our leaving
Brighton, we met Mr.
and Mrs. Skinner when
were spending a few
days there for the benefits
of her Health. – She had
been suffering from influenza
and looked poorly. – They
enquired most kindly
after you. – I hope
you are more reconciled
to your present place
and that you do not
find the climate affects
[page break]
your Health – whenever
your movements ar
directed London-wards. –
I need not assure you
how much gratified we
should be to see you
and my dear wife would
be proud to show you
the improved + flourishing
condition of your (?)
little (?) – she
writes in kindest remem-
brances with
Dear Miss Porter
Yours most truly
Mr. Shephard
Letter from John Shephard to Jane Porter (Dec 12, 1844)
Description of letter
This letter was written by John Shephard and addressed to Jane Porter. The date it was written reads as December 12, 1844. The paper is ivory and follows the previous letter’s formatting, though this one uses more than one piece of paper.
Analysis of letter
As before, there appears to be a gap in the correspondence as documented; I’m not sure if this agreement is the same one mentioned in the previous letters. It seems that there is a negotiation of pay dates happening here, and Porter is due to sign the final document with a witness.
Mr. Shepherd goes on to mention a conflict in the Church. It could very well be that he is referring to the Disruption of 1843, in which “450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland (Wikipedia). From what I understand, the issue was whether the Church was ruled by Christ as opposed to a human monarch or Parliament.
Diplomatic Transcription
Doctors Commons
12 Dec, 1844
My dear Miss Porter
I now send you
the instrument to be
executed by you. – You
will find that most of
the objections made have
been attended to, and only
those clauses have been
left in, the omission of
which I could not
properly contend for
[page break]
amongst others thus with
reference to your executors
which, altho’ the contingency
of its ever coming into
operation is so remote
that it may virtually be
considered as improbable
yet no professional man
would be justified in
allowing his client to
accept an assignment
without such a provision.
– You will find it stated
that the bills are to be
[page break]
for 4, 8 + 12 months
such I have since arranged
with the solicitor that
they shall be for 3, 7 +
11 months, and upon my
handing to him the
assignments, he will find(?)
me in possession of the
three bills for the last
mentioned Dates, so that
no alteration need be made
in the assignment – You
will observe it is to be
signed by you in two
[page break]
places in the presence of
a Witness who must sign
his or her name also
where you will find a final A:B:. – In case of
any (?) it may be
as well that you should
send me an authority(?)
of the form enclosed
for receiving the Bills
on your behalf, and I
would suggest whether
they had not better be
lodged at your Bankers
[page break]
by me as soon as they
come into my possession.
I hope you do not
suffer from this very
severe and early visit of
Winter – the (?) yesterday
at Col: and Mrs. Layton
with a very agreeable
party – they were quite
well. – I doubt not
you lament in common(?)
with all well wishes
to the Church
(?) alarming
[page break]
symptoms of alienation
between the laity and
many of the Clergy.
– With all my respects
for the latter, I cannot
but attach a considerate
portion of the Blame
to them. – I trust our
venerable priorate(?) will
ere long interfere to
heal the breach before
it be too late. –
My dear wife
[page break]
described her kindest regards
to which you will hold those of
Dear Miss Porter
Yours very truly
Mr. Shephard
Letter from William Ogilvie Porter to John Shephard (May 26, 1850)
Description of letter
This letter was written by William Ogilvie Porter (1774 - 1850) and addressed to John Shephard. The paper is vertically lined, but it is very faint. The paper itself appears to be rectangular length-wise and is folded in half with only one half-written on. For that reason, I believe it is possibly a hand-written note.
Analysis of letter
The date and contents of this letter indicate that this was written two days after Porter died (her recorded death is May 24, 1850). The writer is William Ogilvie Porter (1774-1850), Jane Porter’s eldest brother, who would later die in the same year as her.
Due to the mention of Porter’s will, I have come to the conclusion that John Shephard is a lawyer of sorts, or at least someone who deals in official documents (“agreements,” as it were).
Diplomatic Transcription
Dr. Porter’s compliments
to Mr. Shephard, and will
thank him to appoint a
time to meet Mr. Heaven,
Dr. Porter’s solicitor, on the
subject of the late Miss. Porter’s
Will. –
29 Portland Square,
Bristol, 26th May 1850
