Marie Corelli

Description

Batch of letters, mainly from Marie Corelli but including two from her half-brother, Eric Mackay, to Lady Anna Chandos-Pole, daughter of the fifth earl of Harrington and widow of Edward S. Chandos-Pole. The majority are dated 1895-1896 ( 43 items) and 1906-1907 (37 items). Routinely mentioned on many occasions are her half-brother, Eric Mackay (until his death in 1898), Marie's companion, Bertha Vyver, and 'Margie', presumably Lady Anna's daughter, Margaret. Unlike much of Marie Corelli's correspondence, which is trenchant and opinionated, these largely comprise messages of goodwill, arrangements for hospitality and social chit-chat, all expressed in a deferential manner and confirming, despite her involvement both in local quarrels and national debates on controversial issues, that she attached great importance to being 'well connected'.