Call Number:

F0509

Repository:

University of Delaware Library Special Collections

Extent:

18 item

Language:

English

Preferred Citation:

MSS 0099, F0509, Thomas Agar Holland letters to George Reid, Special Collections, University of Delaware Library, Newark, Delaware.

Date:

1845-1847 (inclusive)

Creator:

Holland, Thomas Agar, 1803-1888

Form:

Letters (correspondence), Poems, and Essays

Abstract:

Letters of British poet and clergyman Thomas Agar Holland to George Reid. Enclosed with the letters are two autograph poems, a printed supplement of poems, and an essay.

British poet and clergyman Thomas Agar Holland was born on January 16, 1803. He was educated at Westminster School and Worcester College, Oxford University, receiving Bachelor of Arts (1825) and Master of Arts (1828) degrees. Before succeeding his father as the rector of Poynings, Sussex, in 1846, he was vicar of Oving, Sussex, and then rector of Greatham, Hampshire.

One of Holland's early poems, "Dryburgh Abbey," which was the title poem of his first published collection,

Dryburgh Abbey and Other Poems (1826), received a supportive commendation from Sir Walter Scott. A popular collection, Dryburgh Abbey and Other Poems was reissued in a second edition in 1845 and a much-revised third edition in 1884.

Holland was also the author of published sermons, pamphlets, and a complete history of Poynings, Sussex. Thomas Agar Holland died on October 18, 1888 in Poynings.

Stephen, Leslie, Sir and Sir Sidney Lee. The Dictionary of National Biography. Volume IX. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1973. pp. 1053-1054.

These fifteen letters of British poet Thomas Agar Holland were written from Greatham, Hampshire, and Poynings, Sussex, where Holland served as rector, to George Reid who lived in Glasgow. Enclosed with the letters, written between 1845 and 1847, are two autograph poems, a printed supplement of poems, and an essay.

Holland's letters began in 1845 with his acknowledgment of Reid's praise for

Dryburgh Abbey and Other Poems, which had just been reprinted. Holland also inquired about Reid and his writing, fulfilled Reid's request for autograph manuscripts of his poems, and thanked Reid for sending reviews of Dryburgh Abbey and for promoting his book with local newspaper editors.

In addition to commenting on his own writing, Holland discussed his objections to Lord Tennyson's poems, reflected on the famines in Ireland and Scotland, requested information on friends with whom he had lost contact, and noted the issues of

Church of England Magazine in which his sermons appeared.

Enclosed in his letters are inscribed autograph copies of Holland's poems, "Morning" and "Poesy," as well as a copy of

Supplement to Dryburgh Abbey and Other Poems, which includes his poems, "The Waterfall Glen at Poynings" and "The Bard."

An untitled essay on the sun, written by an unidentified person, completes the collection. Holland mentioned in one of his letters that he had sent Reid some writings by his father, Dr. Samuel Holland. It is possible that the elder Holland was the author of the essay.