| AdminHistory | Lorina Hannah Liddell (1826-1910) née Reeve, the sixth and last child of James Reeve (1795-1870) and Lorina Farr (1794-1879). Lorina was the niece of Lady Pleasance Smith (1773-1877) née Reeve (James's sister), an English letter writer and literary editor, who, in 1796, married Sir James Edward Smith (1759-1828), the founder of the Linnean Society.
In Suffolk on 2 July 1846, Lorina married Henry George Liddell (1811-98), a scholar who was the Headmaster of Westminster School (1846-1855) and the Personal Domestic Chaplain of Prince Albert (appointed in 1846), and later became the Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. Lorina and Henry had ten children: five daughters - Alice Pleasance, Lorina Charlotte, Edith Mary, Rhoda Caroline Anne, and Violet Constance - and five sons - Edward Henry, James Arthur Charles, Albert Edward Arthur, Frederick Francis, and Lionel Charles. The character Alice from Lewis Carroll's (real name Charles Dodgson) novel "Alice's Adventures in Wonderland" (1865) is believed to be based on their daughter Alice, and Carroll wrote the book for three of the Liddell daughters, Alice, Edith, and Lorina. Carroll was a close family acquintance of the Liddells from 1856, regularly going on outings with the family and spending much leisure time with the children. For instance, he took them to watch the rowing in Oxford, went on walks with the three girls accompanied by their governess, and assisted household staff in watching over them when their parents were away (such as in the winter of 1856 when Lorina and Henry went to Madeira due to the belief that the heat would help Henry recover from an illness). Although Lorina was still corresponding with Carroll as late as 1891, the relationship between the two was reportedly uneasy (and the relationship between Carroll and the wider Liddell family soured in 1863), with Lorina forbidding the mention of Carroll and his books in H. L. Thompson's biography of Henry, and Alice recalling later in life that Lorina ripped up her letters from Carroll when she was a child.
Lorina was learned and interested in cultural affairs, with her commonplace book filled with extracts from "The Athenaeum Journal of Literature, Science, and the Fine Arts" and quotes from works of Shakespeare, Locke, and Dante, alongside less well known figures such as the Swiss historian Jean Charles Léonard de Sismondi. Henry's high-ranking position in society meant she engaged with notable figures of the day, including royalty - in a letter from Prince Leopold following the death of Lorina and Henry's infant son Arthur, Leopold especially extends his sympathy to Lorina and looks back fondly on his time with the Liddells. She treasured a short letter she received from William Makepeace Thackeray (a good friend of the Liddells), mentioning it in her will.
Just like her husband, Lorina was thought of as an imposing presence, and was included in the doggerels about her husband, such as one by an Oxford student (written c.1880) that read: "I am the Dean, this is Mrs Liddell. She plays first, I, second fiddle".
Whilst not a fellow or a botanist, she is linked to the Linnean through her close relationship with her aunt Lady Pleasance Smith, with whom she regularly corresponded and cared for as she got older, including helping her write letters and writing to the wider family about her health.
Lorina and Henry were married for 52 years, until Henry's death in 1898. Lorina died in 1910. |
| Description | Commonplace book belonging to Lorina Reeve. The pages in the volume consist primarily of pasted extracts (mainly poems) from The Athenaeum Journal, as well as parts of published poems and quotes from notable cultural figures and works, these handwritten by Lorina.
Pages have been numbered by the Archivist 1-184. From page 165 to page 182, Lorina writes in reverse (i.e. the book is turned upside down, with page 182 being the first page of this section), however the content is the same, with poems, quotes, and varied extracts from The Athenaeum. The contents of these pages are detailed below.
There are a large quantity of inserts in the volume, with most being loose single and multiple sheets but also some inserts directly pasted in the book. They are varied in content, including poems by published authors and her family (with some by James Edward Smith and Lady Pleasance), correspondence from Lady Pleasance, Bible quotes, prayers and hymns, and miscellaneous notes and musings. See MS/392/1 for details of the inserts.
1. The inside front cover of the book.
2. Lorina has written "Lorina J. Reeve. Oct[ober] 12th 1[8]65". Beneath that is written "Presented [to the Linnean Society] by the Rev. A.J. Fellowes. 1927".
The pasted extracts from the Athenaeum are on the following pages. Any names, dates, and notable extracts are listed below. On page 3, Lorina has written 'Extracts from the Athenaeum', and accordingly on the following pages are pasted extracts from the Journal, usually between 2-4 extracts to a page, although sometimes there are up to 8 when the extracts are shorter. The extracts are of a diverse nature in content, ranging from gossip and current affairs to poems and songs (although poems are the most numerous).
4. "Mr Tennyson's 'Welcome' is the best", consisting of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem "A Welcome to Alexandra", dated (by Lorina) 10 March 1863; "Marriage Odes", consisting of Walter Scott's song 'A Danish Maid for Me', dated (in print) 17 March, 1863.
6. Short quote from Samuel Taylor Coleridge.
8. Excerpts from William Cowper's English translation of Homer's 'The Iliad'.
10. "Love Under Difficulties", by a "Mr Irwin" [perhaps the poet Eyles Irwin].
12. Excerpt from a poem by [the Swedish poet Esaias] Tegnér and Lady John Manners' translation of Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's poem "Meeresstille" [translated as "calm sea"].
14. "The Quaker Widow" by [the American poet] Bayard Taylor.
16. "Never to Know" by Craig [the Scottish poet, novelist, and editor Isa Knox (née Craig)].
18. "The Music of Childhood" by Miss Ingelow [the English poet and novelist Jean Ingelow].
20. Multiple poems by Isa Craig, including "Martin and Kate" and "Duchess Agnes, &c".
22. "Poet Andrew" and "Lord Ronald's Wife" perhaps by "John Andrews, BA".
24. "A Midsummer Night's Dream" by Miss Parkes [the English poet and women's rights campaigner Elizabeth Rayner Belloc?]; "A Child's Garden" by Miss Greenwell [the English poet Dora Greenwell]; 'The Rosebud' by 'Mr Matson', [probably poet and hymn writer William Tidd Matson]; an excerpt from "Day is Breaking" by "Mr Banks".
26. "Wayside Warbles" by [the English poet] Edward Capern; a version of German lyric poet Johann Ludwig Wilhelm Müller's "Vineta".
28. Excerpts from "Jephthah's daughter" [by the Canadian poet Charles Heavysege].
30. Part of "The Lady of the Lake" by Sir W. Scott [Walter Scott]; excerpt of an unnamed poem by [English poet] Augusta Webster; excerpt from an unnamed poem by "Mr Cartwright".
32. Part of [Scottish poet and novelist] Robert Buchanan's book "Undertones".
34. Excerpts from William Barnes' "Poems of Rural Life in the Dorset Dialect"; "God Help the Poor" by [the English writer and radical] Samuel Bamford.
36. Excerpt from [Walter] Scott's "The Ballad of Sir Patrick Spens".
38."'The Sunken Town" by F.L. Hoedt; excerpt from "Gythia, a Tale of the Lower Empire" by [the British poet] Sir Francis Hastings Doyle.
40. English translation of part of the 16th-century Spanish playwright Lope de Vega's "Castelvines y Monteses" [translated as "Capulets and Montagues"], with the initials "F.W.C" printed underneath [perhaps meaning it was translated by the British poet Francis Charles Weedon].
44. Excerpt from "Delay has Dangers" from [the English poet and clergyman George Crabbe's] book "Tales of the Hall".
46. "The Guest" by [the American poet and hymnwriter] Harriet McEwen Kimball; "Late Snowdrops" by Weedon.
48. "Hurrah! For our Riflemen!" by [the British poet] Eliza Cook, and an excerpt from "Oor Location" by the Scottish poet Janet Hamilton, alongside other miscellaneous writings by her.
50. Excerpts from "The Emigrant's Adieu to Ballyshannon" and "Southwell Park" by Mr Allingham [the Irish poet William Allingham].
52. "Ghost Glen" by Mr Kendall [the Australian author and poet Thomas Henry Kendall].
54. "Venus" by W. Buchanan; excerpts from "Prometheus the Fire-Bringer" by [the British poet] Richard Henry-Horne.
56. Excerpts from "The Agamemnon, Choephori, and Euminides of Aeschylus", translated into English by A. Swanwick.
58. Excerpts from "The Life and Death of Jason: a Poem" by William Morris; 'The Faded Violet' by T.B. Aldridge [the American poet and editor Thomas Bailey Aldrich].
60. Excerpts from a poem by a "Mr. Linton".
62. "Village Pedlar" by Mr Laycock [the British poet Samuel Laycock]; a French poem by "M. de Dieu".
64. "Tales of a Wayside Inn" by [the American poet] Henry Wadsworth Longfellow.
The poems and musings on the following pages are all thought to be written by Lorina herself:
5, 7, 9, and the top of page 11. "[Alexander] Pope's Universal Prayer".
The bottom of page 11, and pages 13, 15, 17, and 19. "A Prayer" by "P. [Pleasance] Smith", dated "13th Nov. 1808".
The bottom of page 19, and page 21. Untitled Christian writings by "R.B."
23. Extract from "Waverly. Vol. II. 96" [Walter Scott's novel "Waverley; or, 'Tis Sixty Years Since"].
25. "An incident at one of Lord Holland's dinner", with "Rush. 137" written at the end.
27. Two miscellaneous quotes. "Thompson" is written beneath the bottom quote.
29 and 31. Four stanzas entitled "Song". At the end is written "Mr Fox. Reign of James II" [suggesting the song is taken from Charles James Fox's "A History of the Early Part of the Reign of James the Second"].
33, 35, 37, 39 and 41. "Aphorisms of art with characters and examples" by [H. Furdi?].
43. Excerpts from "Lockhart's Life of [Walter] Scott. Vol VI. p. 60".
45 and the top of page 47. Excerpts also thought to be from the source above.
The bottom of page 47 and page 49. "Professor Sedgwick's eulogy on Dr Livingstone at Cambridge".
51, 53, and 55. "Howett's Sketches from Miss Bremer's Neighbours - 2. Vol. p.242" [Fredrika Bremer's "The Neighbour's: A Story of Every-day Life", translated from the Swedish into English by Mary Howett].
57. Excerpts from [Thomas] Campbell's "The Life of Mrs. Siddons".
59. "Oral records of the Bards [Barddas?] Theological triades [triads]".
61. "Ethical triades [triads]".
63. "Poetical triades [triads]". At the base of the page is written [Giroldes Camberenses?].
65. 3 short quotes, 2 by [John] Dryden and 1 by [the American essayist Washington] Irving, from his "Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent."
66-70. Tennyson's "Ode on the death of the Duke of Wellington", dated 1852.
71-72. Tennyson's "Charge of the Light Brigade", dated 25 October 1854.
73-74. "Clergy" and other excerpts from William Cowper's book "The Task".
75-the top of page 77. "The Alps" by "L. Rimond - Switzerland".
75a. Blank paper except for "Miss Reeve" written on the reverse [perhaps part of an envelope for a letter [see insert 24 in MS/392/1] that was sent to Lorina].
The bottom of page 77. Extract from Byron's "Childe Harold's Pilgrimage".
77a. "The Sum of Religion" by Sir Matthew Hale, "late Lord Chief Justice of England" dated 6 July 1864, consisting of 3 pages [pasted-in inserts].
78. Two miscellaneous extracts from unknown sources.
79-80. "Of Love" and "Of Nature in Men" from [Sir Francis] Bacon's "Essays".
79a. Copy of "Cowper's Letter to the Revd. John Newton, July 12th 1781", consisting of 4 pages [pasted-in inserts].
81-84. ' To . . . on her change of opinion'. In the bottom right corner of page 84 is a crossed-out note stating "Sent me by L.N. 1867".
81a. ''Extracts from Moir's Poetical Literature of the Past Half Century" by [David Macbeth] Moir, consisting of 2 blue pages [pasted-in inserts].
85. An extract of a work by J.J. [Jean-Jacques] Rousseau, written in French.
85a. "Prayer" by Sir William Jones, written 1 January 1782 and "An Epitaph" by Jones, consisting of 4 pages [pasted-in inserts].
86-92. "Extracts from "Julie" Vol. 3' by Rousseau [written in English].
87a. "Prayer" by James Montgomery, consisting of 1 pink page [pasted-in inserts].
89a. "Prayer", consisting of 1 page [pasted-in inserts]. 91a. "Extract from a letter of Dr Bootts to Lady Smith, London, April 29, 1850", consisting of 2 pages [pasted-in inserts].
93. "A passage from the Introduction of Quentin Durward", [a novel by Sir Walter Scott].
93a. Miscellaneous notes on poetry [citing Wordsworth, Campbell, Coleridge, Crabbe, Rogers] by "J. H. R" [perhaps Lorina's father James Reeve]. It consists of 6 pages [pasted-in inserts].
94-the top of page 95. "Definition of Friendship by Jeremy Taylor, Bishop of Dromore".
Bottom of page 95. Miscellaneous quote by "Mr [Damer]".
95a. "Extracts from Memoirs & Correspondence of Sir J. Smith by P [Pleasance] Smith", consisting of 12 blue pages [pasted-in inserts, although some have come loose].
96-98. "Night" poem by Montgomerie [James Montgomery].
97a. The first page contains "On Poetry" from [Jean Charles Léonard de] Sismondi's "Historical View of the Literature of the South of Europe", dated 11 June 1860. On the second page is an untitled poem by James Edward Smith; an extract from the Memoirs of Gibbon, and a short quote by C. [Cerain?].
99-the top of page 100. "Speak no ill" by the "Great Mr Cobbold".
99a. "The two Vanities Fable", consisting of 2 pages [pasted-in inserts].
Bottom of page 100. "Of Milton's Prose Writings" from page 59 of Macaulay's "Essay on Milton".
101-102. Excerpt from Act I, Scene III of Shakespeare's "Richard II".
101a. "In Memory of H. R. H. The Prince Consort who died Dec.ber [December] 14th 1861 written on the front of a printed note entitled "The Poet Laureate and the Late Prince Consort", detailing the dedication (a poem) for the new edition of Alfred Lord Tennyson's poem the "Idylls of the King". It was printed by "Henry W. Stacy, Printer, Haymarket, Norwich". It is the same as insert 41. [Pasted-in inserts].
103. Extract from Macaulay's "Essay on Machiavelli", which Lorina has entitled "Of Machiavelli".
103a. Extracts from an unknown source, consisting of 7 pages. The content relates to Machiavelli and early Renaissance Italy, so it may be from the same work by Macaulay that Lorina quotes from on page 103. At the end of the insert is written "I hope this little summary will edify & benefit you dear" [pasted in inserts].
104. Short extract on virtue entitled "Montaigne", [suggesting it comes from a work by Michel de Montaigne], and a quote by W [William] Roscoe.
105-the top of page 106. "The Sturdy Rock" poem by an unknown author.
105a. "A Sketch of Vanity" and "Dying for Love" poems by Lady Northampton, consisting of 2 pages [pasted-in insert].
The bottom of page 106. 2 quotes on Napoleon, one from "Lord Holland's Remains" and one by Lady Pleasance.
107-the top of page 108. "Extracts from Lord Bacon's Essays", namely excerpts from his essays "On Studies" and "Of Truth".
The bottom of page 108. 2 quotes on the immorality of war, 1 by Lord Brougham and the other by [the British writer] Soame Jenyns.
109-the top of page 112. "Copy of a letter from Dr Booth [to Lady Pleasance] on the death of Lord Macaulay", dated 16 January 1860.
The bottom of page 112-121. Copy of a letter from Dr Booth to Lady Pleasance on the same subject as above, dated 21 January 1860.
122. "Cupid & Campaspe" poem by [the British writer and parliamentarian] John Lilye [John Lyly], dated 1591.
123-128. "Wishes for a supposed admirer after Crashaw" by Clara Ranke [the Irish poet "Clara [Clarissa] von Ranke" [wife of the German historian Leopold von Ranke]]. "Berlin 1862" is written at the bottom of page 128.
129-the top of page 130. "The Shepherd's Resolution", [taken from the poem "Shall I wasting in despair" by the British poet and satirist George Wither].
The bottom of page 130. "The Sweet Neglect" [poem by Ben Jonson], taken from Act I, Scene I of Jonson's "The Silent Woman" (which Lorina notes was first acted in 1609).
131. A play on words which Lorina has prefaced by stating: "The different pronunciations - of the termination "ough" - are set forth, humourously, in the following lines". There is also a short extract from the book "A Fairy Tale in Two Acts Taken from Shakespeare" (1763).
132-133. "The Fairy Queen", from "A Fairy Tale in Two Acts Taken from Shakespeare".
134. "From Dean Stanley's 1st Sermon", dated 10 January 1864.
From pages 135-158 runs the section "Epigrams", all taken from the book "The Epigrammatists", by the Reverend H. P. Dodd.
135. "The Forest Couch" from "Sapphonis Fragments", a poem dated "BC 330", and two lines which Lorina has termed 'the best Prayer' (name next to it).
136. Poem by the ancient Greek poet "Leonidas of Tarentum", dated "BC 280", and a quote about Shakespeare by "Akenside" [likely referring to the British poet Mark Akenside].
137. Extract from Shakespeare's "Troilus and Cressida", which Lorina has entitled "The Chase", and an excerpt from the poem "Cato's Soliloquy" by the British writer and politician Joseph Addison.
138. An excerpt from Shakespeare's "Hamlet"; an excerpt from the play "The Maid of Honour" by [the British dramatist Philip] Massinger, and 'The Mother and Child" by an unnamed author.
139. "The Great Contention" written in the second century, and an excerpt from Shakespeare's "Alls Well That Ends Well" which Lorina has entitled "Virtue and Rank".
140. "Unfading Beauty" poem by the British poet Thomas Carew [which Lorina notes was written during the reign of Charles I] and part of an untitled poem by Opitz [continued on the next page].
141. End of the extract from the untitled poem by Opitz, extract from Shakespeare's "Romeo and Juliet", and "Anticipation of Evils" (dated 1516) and "On Nicolaus an Inghorant [ignorant?] Physician" both by "Ed. Basil".
142. Continuation of Basil's "On Nicolaus" which Lorina notes was "Translated from the French by Rev. W. Shepherd"; miscellaneous quote from "R. Heath", dated 1650, and "On Silence" by a French author [name] dated 1615.
143. "Loss in Delay" poem by [the British priest] Robert Southwell; an excerpt from Shakespeare's "Henry IV" which Lorina has entitled "A Contented Mind", and "Farewell to Jolly" poem by "Robert Preece [?]".
144. Extract from Shakespeare's "Richard II", and an extract entitled "Good & Evil Actions" [likely taken from the British poet George Herbert's "The church-port" poem].
145. Extract from "[The] Captivity" by "[Oliver] Goldsmith", which Lorina has entitled "Afflictions Beneficial", and an extract from an untitled work by "Henry Delaune", which Lorina has entitled "Thought & Speech".
146. "Learning & Dress" and "Love & Jealousy" by an unknown author, and excerpt from a work by "Dr [...] Ridley".
147. Extract from Shakespeare's "Twelfth Night" and "Modesty" by an unknown author.
148. Epigrams attributed to Walter Raleigh and Lord George Lyttelton, and an excerpt from Cowper's "The Task" [continued on the next page].
149. Excerpt from Samuel Johnson's book "The History of Rasselas, Prince of Abissinia" and an extract from Shakespeare's "Henry IV", which Lorina has entitled "Invocation to Sleep".
150. Miscellaneous quote from an unknown source and "To Miss - " [continued on the next page] by "Bryan Edwards".
151. Excerpts from poems by "Joseph [Scaliger]" and "Thomas Tusser" [the latter continued on next page].
152. Extract from a work by [the Scottish poet] Robert Fergusson and "On Elphinstone's Translation of Martial's Epigrams" by "R [Robert] Burns".
153. "The Science of Politics", with three extracts of Friedrich Schiller's writings.
154. Two epigrams from an unknown source, and an extract from Robert Burton's "Anatomy of Melancholy" dated 1600 by Lorina [the book was however first published in 1621].
155: 'Scorn not the least" from "Southwell - [a] Jesuit in Queen Elizabeth [I] reign"; an excerpt from Wordsworth's "Tintern Abbey", and an extract from an unknown source.
156. "A Distinguishing Characteristic", dated 1797, and an extract from an unknown source.
157. "To a lady upon seeing her blush" by "The Khaliph [Khalif] Radhi Bellah"; an extract from an unknown source, and an epigram by Samuel Bishop (continued on the next page), dated 1796.
158. Extract from Alexander Pope's "Ode on St. Cecilia's Day"; an excerpt from Edmund Spenser's "The Faerie Queene", and an epigram by an ancient author.
159-160. A song and a quote from "Ben Johnson's [Jonson] The Sad Shepherd".
161-the top of page 163. "Love will find out the way" poem by an unnamed author.
The bottom of page 163-part of 164. Excerpt from Sir John Suckling's poem "Why So Pale and Wan, Fond Lover?"
N.B. For pages 165-184, Lorina wrote from the reverse of the volume. The pages have been numbered 1-184 by the archivist. The descriptions of the pages below are written in the order that Lorina wrote them and therefore the page numbers run backwards from 184-165.
The pasted extracts from the Athenaeum are on the following pages. Any names, dates, and otherwise notable extracts are listed below.
179. Extract on the death of [the British poet] Philip Stanhope Worsley.
177. Review of the book "Violins and Violin-makers" by Joseph Pearce, with adjacent extracts on musical themes, including one featuring a discussion on Sir Charles Hallé, the Anglo-German pianist and conductor.
175. Discussion of the popular letters from Algeria written by the British author and journalist George Augustus Sala, and an extract on the British explorer and naturalist Sir Samuel White Baker. There is also an extract on the French artist Rosa Bonheur's encounter with Empress Eugénie, and one on Prince Alfred's attendance at the Social Science Congress in Edinburgh.
173. Discussion of the work of the British master builder Thomas Cubitt and the photographer Caroline Bertolacci. There is also an extract featuring a poem from George Borrow's book "The Bible in Spain".
171. Discussion of the affairs of the British royal family and the French imperial court.
169. Reference to Cowper, whose writings feature in the commonplace and poetry books.
167. Extract on the death of Admiral Robert Fitzroy.
165. Review of the book "Sketches of Scripture Characters" by the Reverend Andrew Thomson, and praise for a book by "Mr Mitchell" for its information on the sprat (a type of fish).
164. Excerpt from the book "Tara: a Mahratta Tale" by [the British colonial officer and novelist] Colonel Philip Meadows Taylor.
All of the below are handwritten directly in the volume on the pages inbetween the pasted extracts listed above.
182-181. "Hymn written in the Valley of Chamouni before Sunrise" by Coleridge.
180. "To my books" by Lord Kenyon.
178 and the top half of page 176. Excerpt from a letter from "[Edmund] Burke to Barry", [the latter name likely referring to the British painter James Barry].
The bottom of page 176. A short quote from a work by "Thompson".
174. The inscription "written under the bust of Charles James Fox", with "W[illiam] Roscoe" written beneath. An extract from an unknown source praising Fox's character is below, and continues on page 172.
172. A short quote attributed to the "Archbishop of [Cambray]" [likely referring to Cambrai, France].
Bottom of page 172, page 170, and page 168. Extract from letters from the Archbishop of Cambrai to one of his great-nephews.
166. "Extracts from Pope's Essay on Man". |