Amelia Alderson Opie papers

A collection of manuscripts and correspondence by Amelia Alderson Opie; with related family material which includes manuscripts, correspondence, and ephemera. The Opie material includes two corrected manuscript travel journals, poems, and songs; the correspondence includes letters to various family members. There is also a poem, "To Mrs. Opie," by Sir Edward Denny (1796-1889), the hymnist, and one letter to Opie by James Smith (1775-1839), the writer and humorist. The manuscripts and letters are written by Opie unless otherwise noted. The family-related manuscript material includes fair copies of poems, prose pieces, and excerpts from Jane Austen. The correspondence includes letters from, among others, Elizabeth Alderson Briggs, Henry Perronet Briggs, Hilda Mary Carr, and James Haslewood Carr; many of the letters are addressed to Catharina M. Briggs. Some of these letters date from when Amelia Opie was alive, and a few make brief mention of her, but many of these letters date from after her death. The collection also contains the will of Samuel Dickens (1774) and one folder of ephemera.