Description
This collection includes letters from Susanna Beever (-1893),
a friend of English artist John Ruskin. The letters, which chiefly date from 1889 to 1893, are mainly about Susanna Beever's
friends, good works, and garden but the letters also have several references to
Ruskin.
Background
Susanna Beever (1805-1893) was born November 27, 1805 in the north of England. She
lived almost her entire life in the Lake District town of Coniston, in a cottage
called the Thwaite. The Beever family became known for being authorities on local
botany and, as well, Susanna Beever was interested in poetry, drawing, and painting;
in 1870 she published:A Book of Reference to Remarkable Passages in
Shakespeare. She met John Ruskin in 1873 and they became close friends,
writing each other almost every day about their shared interests in nature, art and
a love for animals; and in 1887, Albert Fleming edited and published a selection of
these letters. They remained close friends in spite of Ruskin's health problems
until Susanna Beever's death, at the age of 88, in Oct. 1893. Close friends in death
as they were in life, John Ruskin and Susanna Beever are buried near each other in
Coniston, Cumbria, England.
Extent
84 items in 2 boxes
Restrictions
The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to
quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such
activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is
one, and obtaining necessary permissions rests with the researcher.
Availability
Open to qualified researchers by prior application through the Reader Services
Department. For more information, contact Reader Services.