The Keepsake
Encyclopedia
The Keepsake was an English literary annual which ran from 1828 to 1857, published each Christmas (beginning with Christmas 1827) for perusal during the year of the title. It was compiled by Charles Heath
, edited by Frederic Mansel Reynolds (later by the Countess of Blessington), and published by Hurst, Chance and Company (1828-31), Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown (1832-47), and David Bogue (1848-57). Foreign editions were sometimes published in Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Leipzig and New York.
The most important from the point of view of literary history was the second, The Keepsake for 1829 (1828). Heath pursued Mary Shelley
, Thomas Moore
, Walter Scott
, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
, William Wordsworth
, Felicia Hemans
, and Robert Southey
, offering enormous fees. He obtained contributions from all, but the experience was discomforting for both sides, and future volumes avoided writers with high reputations.
The annual provided a valuable outlet for female writers throughout its existence. Critics who disparaged literary annuals in general would concede the quality of the illustrations.
. It was published by subscription. The names of the contributors were not listed, but they included Felicia Hemans, Percy Shelley, and Ainsworth himself.
, W. H. Harrison, F. Mansel Reynolds, L. E. L. (Letitia Elizabeth Landon
), and the authors of Frankenstein, The Roué, and The O'Hara Tales.
It includes both "A Scene at Abbotsford" and three short stories by Sir Walter Scott
, now known as The Keepsake Stories
:
Mary Shelley's contributions were "The Sisters of Albano" and "Ferdinando Eboli". Wordsworth's were "The Country Girl", "The Triad", "The Wishing-Gate", and sonnets. Coleridge contributed "The Garden of Boccacio" and some epigrams. Felicia Hemans contributed "The Broken Chain".
Charles Heath
Charles Theodosius Heath was an English engraver, currency and stamp printer, book publisher and illustrator.-Life and work:...
, edited by Frederic Mansel Reynolds (later by the Countess of Blessington), and published by Hurst, Chance and Company (1828-31), Longman, Rees, Orme, Brown (1832-47), and David Bogue (1848-57). Foreign editions were sometimes published in Paris, Frankfurt, Berlin, Leipzig and New York.
The most important from the point of view of literary history was the second, The Keepsake for 1829 (1828). Heath pursued Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley
Mary Shelley was a British novelist, short story writer, dramatist, essayist, biographer, and travel writer, best known for her Gothic novel Frankenstein: or, The Modern Prometheus . She also edited and promoted the works of her husband, the Romantic poet and philosopher Percy Bysshe Shelley...
, Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore
Thomas Moore was an Irish poet, singer, songwriter, and entertainer, now best remembered for the lyrics of The Minstrel Boy and The Last Rose of Summer. He was responsible, with John Murray, for burning Lord Byron's memoirs after his death...
, Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
, Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge
Samuel Taylor Coleridge was an English poet, Romantic, literary critic and philosopher who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake Poets. He is probably best known for his poems The Rime of the Ancient Mariner and Kubla...
, William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth
William Wordsworth was a major English Romantic poet who, with Samuel Taylor Coleridge, helped to launch the Romantic Age in English literature with the 1798 joint publication Lyrical Ballads....
, Felicia Hemans
Felicia Hemans
-Ancestry:Felicia Heman's paternal grandfather was George Browne of Passage, co. Cork, Ireland; her maternal grandparents were Elizabeth Haydock Wagner of Lancashire and Benedict Paul Wagner , wine importer at 9 Wolstenholme Square, Liverpool. Family legend gave the Wagners a Venetian origin;...
, and Robert Southey
Robert Southey
Robert Southey was an English poet of the Romantic school, one of the so-called "Lake Poets", and Poet Laureate for 30 years from 1813 to his death in 1843...
, offering enormous fees. He obtained contributions from all, but the experience was discomforting for both sides, and future volumes avoided writers with high reputations.
The annual provided a valuable outlet for female writers throughout its existence. Critics who disparaged literary annuals in general would concede the quality of the illustrations.
The Keepsake for 1828
The first annual was edited by William Harrison AinsworthWilliam Harrison Ainsworth
William Harrison Ainsworth was an English historical novelist born in Manchester. He trained as a lawyer, but the legal profession held no attraction for him. While completing his legal studies in London he met the publisher John Ebers, at that time manager of the King's Theatre, Haymarket...
. It was published by subscription. The names of the contributors were not listed, but they included Felicia Hemans, Percy Shelley, and Ainsworth himself.
The Keepsake for 1829
The contributors were listed as Sir Walter Scott, Sir James Mackintosh, Thomas Moore, Lord Normanby, Lord Morpeth, Lord Porchester, Lord Holland, Lord F. L. Gower, Lord Nugent, W. Wordsworth, R. Southey, S. T. Coleridge, William Roscoe, Percy Bysshe Shelley, Henry Luttrell, Theodore Hook, J. G. Lockhart, T. Crofton Croker, R. Bernal, MP, Thomas Haynes Bayly, W. Jerdan, Mrs. Hemans, Miss Landon, M. L., Barry St. Leger, James BoadenJames Boaden
-Life:He was the son of William Boaden, a merchant in the Russia trade. He was born at Whitehaven, Cumberland, on 23 May 1762, and at an early age came with his parents to London, where he was educated for commerce...
, W. H. Harrison, F. Mansel Reynolds, L. E. L. (Letitia Elizabeth Landon
Letitia Elizabeth Landon
Letitia Elizabeth Landon , English poet and novelist, better known by her initials L. E. L.- Early life :...
), and the authors of Frankenstein, The Roué, and The O'Hara Tales.
It includes both "A Scene at Abbotsford" and three short stories by Sir Walter Scott
Walter Scott
Sir Walter Scott, 1st Baronet was a Scottish historical novelist, playwright, and poet, popular throughout much of the world during his time....
, now known as The Keepsake Stories
The Keepsake Stories
The Keepsake Stories are the short stories by Sir Walter Scott which appeared in The Keepsake for 1829, a literary annual published for Christmas 1828.They are:*My Aunt Margaret's Mirror*The Tapestried Chamber, or, The Lady in the Sacque...
:
- "The Tapestried Chamber, or, The Lady in the Sacque"
- "Death of the Laird's Jock"
- "The Surgeon's Daughter"
Mary Shelley's contributions were "The Sisters of Albano" and "Ferdinando Eboli". Wordsworth's were "The Country Girl", "The Triad", "The Wishing-Gate", and sonnets. Coleridge contributed "The Garden of Boccacio" and some epigrams. Felicia Hemans contributed "The Broken Chain".
External links
- The Keepsake by Terence Hoagwood and Kathryn Ledbetter, at Romantic Circles, University of MarylandUniversity of MarylandWhen the term "University of Maryland" is used without any qualification, it generally refers to the University of Maryland, College Park.University of Maryland may refer to the following:...