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 Appendix VI: 

Letter from Thomas Moore to George Oliver, 1833

 At the end of August 1833, just after the last plates had been issued and almost exactly 4 years after initial publication of Issue 1, Thomas Moore returned books to the Rev. George Oliver of Exeter. Oliver was himself a noted historian. From the letter it is clear that not only was he becoming frustrated with the publisher but that the completed work would take quite a lot longer than originally conceived.

                                               London Aug: 29th 1833

Dear Sir

                        I hereby return the books you were so kind as to send me in safety I hope & in the same state as I received them, & I beg you to accept my best thanks for this favour as well as the great kindness & liberality with which you have always replied to my inquiries & the readiness which you have always shown to communicate any part of your valuable stock of information that might be useful to the work in which I have been engaged relative to Devonshire notwithstanding you thought the undertaking rash and presumptuous, an opinion which I found when it was too late to recede had sufficient foundation in fact. This latter circumstance indeed renders my obligation to you the greater.

Very [soon?] after the publication had commenced I deeply repented having any concern in the work when I found what sort of management it was likely from the Proprietors of it but as my name was attached to it I resolved to do everything on my part to render it as valuable as circumstances would allow. This I have done but unfortunately the whole is now unfortunately frustrated & the work is ruined. I had no belief till very lately that the Proprietors would stop the publication without completing the work especially as they continued to the last to promise in their advertisements (with which I had nothing to do) to render it "the most complete History of Devonshire yet published".

However the Proprietors having quarrelled among themselves, lately dissolved partnership & the publication fell into the hands of one of them who happened to be the least qualified for conducting such an undertaking & who is since dead. Before his death he left the whole managment of the work in the hands of his son a youth of 19 years of age who is not better qualified in conducting it than the father who at the same time is under no restraint from any regard to honourable principle & feeling.

It was not until about a month ago that this youth announced his final intention to me not to proceed with the work beyond 50 numbers though the most important & essential parts of it were yet untouched. The 47th number was then printed & in the 48th I accordingly announced the intention of the Proprietor & inserted a vindication of myself as I had a right to do, stating that I was perfectly willing to proceed with the

work that no one could regret more than I did to termination in so unfinished a state & that it was impossible for me to foresee this event which the Proprietor had unexpectedly resolved upon in consequence of the great loss he was sustaining by the publication.

This number was also published. But when the youth abovementioned saw it he ordered the whole to be cancelled & gave the writing of the last three numbers of the work to a person of the name of Ireland who if he had been a respectable writer would not have undertaken the job in such circumstances & in whose hands the remaining nos. will be worth nothing.

The true reason why the above mentioned youth (Roxbrough by name) took this step was that he intended to offer the publication to the public as a complete work & had actually employed this Ireland to write an advertisement to that effect. After all I have no doubt the real cause of the publication being closed is the Proprietor had not capital to carry it on & as he is now dead & his affairs are understood to be in a deranged state, I think it not improbable the stock with the copyright of the publication will have to be sold. Should this be the case & any one would find capital to complete it I should in justice to the subscribers & myself be perfectly willing to go on with it.

It is true that the original prospectus supposed that the work might be completed in 50 numbers; but this was a mere conjecture of the Proprietors & it was very soon found that it was utterly impossible to do justice to the work if confined to that number & the Proprietors had no such intention or they would not have promised to the last to render it complete. I regret now exceedingly that the biography was not deferred to the end of the work & it would have been so deferred if I could have foreseen the events that have  taken place.

I hope Sir you will excuse my troubling you with this detail but it is important to me that the circumstances of the case should be known as much as possible. I remain with sincere gratitude for your kindness dear Sir

 

Yours very respectfully

Thos.Moore

33 John Street

Liverpool Road

Islington

London

 

[To] The Revnd George Oliver

Exeter

Reproduced by kind permission of Devon Archives & Local Studies, WCSL [i.e. West Country Studies Library], Stock No. 12452-53 and transcribed by Ian Maxted.

Documents held at Devon Archives are in copyright. Copying, printing, reproducing or sharing images of them on this website is not permitted.

https://swheritage.org.uk/devon-archives/.


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