Letters of William Napier to John Murray II and John Murray III.

Letters of William Napier to John Murray II. The letters concern the negotiations over the copyright for, and the preparation and publication of, the first volume of Napier’s “History of the war in the Peninsula and in the south of France from the year 1807 to the year 1814” (1828).

The letters are arranged chronologically.

1827-1828, 1831: folios 1-30.

Letters of William Napier to John Murray III. Also included are letters of Caroline Amelia Napier [Note 7], on behalf of her husband, William, to John Murray III. The letters concern mostly the preparation and publication of Napier’s account of the life of his eldest brother, Charles: “The life and opinions of General Sir Charles James Napier, G.C.B.” (1857).

The letters are arranged chronologically.

1855: folios 31-34 [Note 1];

1856: folios 35-85 [Note 2-5];

1857: folios 86-134;

1858: folios 135-154 [Note 6];

1859: folios 155-156.

Undated letters, ?1856-?1857: folios 157-179.

Notes.

[Note 1.] Folios 31-32. Letter, 17 May 1855, of C.F. (Caroline) Napier, written on behalf of her father, William, to John Murray III acknowledging the receipt of twelve copies of Napier’s “English battles and Sieges in the Peninsula”.

[Note 2.] Folios 41-42. Letter, 12 May 1856, of William Napier to David Seton concerning the memory of Seton’s brother, Alexander, and the loss of the “Birkenhead”. The letter has been annotated by David Seton.

[Note 3.] Folio 61. Letter, 30 August 1856, of G. Hepworth, printer, to Robert Cooke.

[Note 4.] Folio 66. Marked proof of an advertisement, [1856], for “The life and opinions of the late General Sir Charles Napier”. The proof has been marked by William Napier. The advertisement was sent as an enclosure to Napier’s letter to John Murray III, 6 October 1856 (folios 64-65).

[Note 5.] Folio 75. Marked proof, [1856], of the opening paragraph to volume one of “The life and opinions of the late General Sir Charles Napier”. The proof was enclosed with Napier’s letter to John Murray III, 15 November 1856 (folios 73-74).

[Note 6.] Folios 150-151. Letter, 14 April 1858, of Woodfall and Kinder to John Murray III concerning William Napier. The letter was returned to Murray as an enclosure to Caroline Napier’s letter to him, 17 April 1858 (folios 148-149).

[Note 7.] Letters of Caroline Amelia Napier. Folios 78-79 (12 December 1856); 82-83 (24 December 1856); 86-87 (7 January 1857); 88-89 (3 February [?1857]); 92-93 ([?early April 1857]);120-121 (4 September 1857); 142-143 (27 February 1858); 144-145 (3 March 1858); 148-149 (17 April 1858); 152-153 (21 April 1858); 154 (22 August 1858); 155-156 (25 August 1859); 178-179 (undated).