The Life and Correspondence of Robert Southey
Robert Southey to Ebenezer Elliott, 13 October 1808
“A recommendation to the booksellers to look at a
manuscript is of no use whatever. In the way of business they glance at every
thing which is offered them; and no persons know better what is likely to
answer their purpose. Poetry is the worst article in the market;—out of
fifty volumes which may be published in the course of a year, not five pay the
expense of publication: and this is a piece of knowledge which authors in
general purchase dearly, for in most cases these volumes are printed at their
risk.
“From that specimen of your productions which is now
in my writing desk, I have no doubt that you possess the feeling of a poet, and
may distinguish yourself; but I am sure that premature publication would
eventually discourage you. You have an example in Kirke White;—his Clifton Grove sold only to the extent of
the subscription he obtained for it; and the treatment which it experienced
drove him, by his own account, almost to madness. My advice to you is, to go on
improving yourself, without hazarding any thing: you cannot practise without
improvement. Feel your way before you with ![]()
| 174 | LIFE AND CORRESPONDENCE | Ætat. 34. |
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the public,
as Montgomery did. He sent his verses to
the newspapers; and when they were copied from one to another it was a sure
sign they had succeeded. He then communicated them, as they were copied from
the papers, to the Poetical
Register; the Reviews selected them for praise; and thus, when he
published them in a collected form, he did nothing more than claim, in his own
character, the praise which had been bestowed upon him under a fictitious name.
Try the newspapers. Send what you think one of your best short poems (that is,
any thing short of 100 lines) to the Courier or the Globe. If
it is inserted send others, with any imaginary signature. If they please
nobody, and nobody notices them for praise, nobody will for censure, and you
will escape all criticism. If, on the contrary, they attract attention, the
editor will be glad to pay you for more,—and they still remain your
property, to be collected and reprinted in whatever manner you may think best
hereafter.
“If, however, you are bent upon trying your fortune
with the Soldier’s Love, can you not try it by
subscription? 250 names will indemnify you for the same number of copies. I
will give you a fair opinion of your manuscript if you will direct Longman to forward it to me, and will
willingly be of what little use I can. But be assured that the best and wisest
plan you can pursue is, to try your strength in the London newspapers.
Believe me,
With the best wishes for your welfare and
success,
Yours sincerely,
Robert Southey.”
Thomas Norton Longman (1771-1842)
A leading London publisher whose authors included Southey, Wordsworth, Scott, and
Moore.
James Montgomery (1771-1854)
English poet and editor of the
Sheffield Iris (1795-1825); author
of
The Wanderer of Switzerland (1806) and
The
World before the Flood (1813).
Henry Kirke White (1785-1806)
Originally a stocking-weaver; trained for the law at Cambridge where he was a
contemporary of Byron; after his early death his poetical
Remains
were edited by Robert Southey (2 vols, 1807) with a biography that made the poet
famous.
The Courier. (1792-1842). A London evening newspaper; the original proprietor was James Perry; Daniel Stuart, Peter
Street, and William Mudford were editors; among the contributors were Samuel Taylor
Coleridge and John Galt.
The Globe. (1803-1922). London evening newspaper; the original proprietor was Sir Richard Phillips; George Lane
was among its later editors.
