An Audience of One: Dorothy Osborne's Letters to Sir William Temple, 1652-1654

by Carrie Hintz

When first published in 1888, the letters of Dorothy Osborne to William Temple - written between 1652 and 1654 - created a kind of cult phenomenon in the Victorian period. Osborne and Temple, both in their early twenties, shared a romance that was opposed by their families, and Osborne herself was almost constantly under surveillance. Osborne's letters provide a rare glimpse into an early modern woman's life at a pivotal point, as she tried to find a way to marry for love as well as fulfil her obligations to her family. Combining historical and biographical research with feminist theory, Carrie Hintz considers Osborne's vision of letter writing, her literary achievement, and her literary influences. Osborne has long been overlooked as a writer, making a comprehensive and thorough analysis long overdue. While the nineteenth-century reception of the letters is testament to the enduring public fascination with restrained love narratives, Osborne's eloquent and outspoken articulation of her expectations and desires also makes her letters compelling in our own time.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Classics, Biography, British Literature, 17th Century

280 pages, Hardcover

First published March 26, 1963

Reviews

[Georgie-who-is-Sarah-Drew · Rating 5 out of 5]

'Tis but an hour since you went, and I am writing to you already; is not this kind?

Dorothy Osborne (born in 1627) was the daughter of an impecunious Royalist family, who fell in love with Sir William Temple, when the pair were both about nineteen years old. Both families opposed the match, but the lovers remained constant, and carried out a clandestine correspondence for the next seven years. They were finally married in 1654, a marriage that lasted till Dorothy's death in 1695.

I know historians like these letters for the insight they offer into the times, but I love them because Dorothy is real. In spite of some C17th turns of phrase, this letter - describing how she had given up on hearing from William - is lively, heartfelt and almost contemporary in content.

SIR,–Your last letter came like a pardon to one upon the block. I have given over the hopes on't, having received my letters by the other carrier, who uses always to be last. The loss put me hugely out of order, and you would both have pitied and laughed at me if you could have seen how woodenly I entertained the widow, who came hither the day before, and surprised me very much. Not being able to say anything, I got her to cards, and there with a great deal of patience lost my money to her–or rather I gave it as my ransom. In the midst of our play, in comes my blessed boy with your letter, and, in earnest, I was not able to disguise the joy it gave me, though one was by that is not much your friend, and took notice of a blush that for my life I could not keep back. I put up the letter in my pocket, and made what haste I could to lose the money I had left, that I might take occasion to go fetch some more; but I did not make such haste back again, I can assure you. I took time enough to have coined myself some money if I had had the art on't, and left my brother enough to make all his addresses to her if he were so disposed. I know not whether he was pleased or not, but I am sure I was.

[Jenny · Rating 4 out of 5]

A lovely collection of letters from a young woman in Cromwell's England to the man who would eventually become her husband. I am incredibly grateful for Alan Jacobs bringing them to my attention in his book Breaking Bread with the Dead. He compares her to Jane Austen, which I think entirely fair. Dorothy Osborne is delightfully witty and a whole lot of fun to read, and I wonder what she might have produced if she'd ever turned her hand to something besides letters. That said, it's not an easy collection to get through--spelling in the 1650s was not standardized, so there's a fair bit of puzzling out that's necessary, and a whole lot of flipping back and forth to the notes to figure out the people and events she's talking about.

Unfortunately, my local library didn't have this one, so the copy I read was an interlibrary loan and needed to go back to it's home library before I was able to get through all the letters. Hopefully I'll be able to get my hands on a copy for my personal library before too long!

Favorite quote:

"For by what I had heard of the Gentleman I guessed hee expected a better fortune then myne, and it proved soe, yet hee prottested hee liked mee soe well, that hee was very angry my Father would not bee perswaded to give a 1000 more with me, and I him soe ill, that I vowed, if I had had 1000 less I should have thought it too much for him, and soe wee parted".

[Angeliki Lagiou · Rating 3 out of 5]

Read this for my ww module (which I kinda hate)

[Tabitha · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a labour of love. Ask me again when I've finished.

And now, I have finished and it remained a labour of love for Dorothy and William and I.

My work here is done.