People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Lett C.284 f.11
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A detailed discussion of Judith’s emotions and feelings towards Martin that appears to have been grounded in a misunderstanding – she was not sure what to think of his behaviour yesterday, and appears unsure whether the engagement will proceed. She feels she must write to vent her thoughts which have kept her awake for much of the night. Discussion of the heart and the pain it can feel, and wishes as originating in the soul. She will visit her Father this afternoon.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.16
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Courtship letter – Cowper’s father appears to have agreed to the engagement – he has visited her and everything is settled. Cowper says she has never seen a man worth caring about until she saw Madan. She talks about her happiness and feeling – she’ll be home all day, and wishes that he will visit as soon as he can.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.129
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Further discussion of courtship and feelings, with emotions rooted in the body, including the heart. Madan has just left her, and she wonders why he did not wish to stay longer. Had he received bad news by the post, and if so, why did he not confide in her? She described his as the only man who has managed to cause her pain.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.21
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: She had not gone to church in order to read the letter he had promised her. A discussion of an odd evening the night before – Mrs Howe looked very unhappy and Cowper thinks it is owing to her having feelings for Madan. She hopes he will visit her this afternoon, she has lots of things she would like to say to him.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Lett C.284 f.2
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A courtship letter from Judith Cowper to Martin Madan, dated 1723, shortly before their marriage, and annotated with the note ‘never to be sent’. Very detailed in terms of her emotions, passions and love for Madan which are often rooted in bodily sensation e.g. the effect that he has upon her heart and soul, descriptions of the pain of their separation, and the difficulty of not having him before her eyes. A detailed description of Madan’s disposition and ‘whole person’, and the qualities that make him unparalleled amongst his sex.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Lett C.284 f.5
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A courtship letter from Judith Cowper to Martin Madan, shortly before their marriage in 1723. They are all grieving because of the recent death of her grandfather. She does not remember ever feeling so melancholy, and feels this sentiment may be particularly acute because she has largely been happy recently. Lady Sally is particularly distressed by the death, and Judith is taking on the role of providing consolation to the rest of her family. Contains a discussion of the degree of familiarity they use in their letters to each other.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.23
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith and her mother will be at home all afternoon if Madan wishes to visit them. Her mother is visiting Lady Cowper’s, but will be back for dinner. Judith has only just woken up, and describes herself as half awake.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Lett C.284 f.26
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Discussion of a misunderstanding or falling out between them – it appears they had a disagreement about an opera and he had left her company early. This has affected her greatly: she talks in great detail about her feelings and emotions, which are closely rooted in the body: the heart, soul, and self. Her doubt about whether he still loves her is causing her pain. She feels she will never return to being as happy as she once was, and won’t be able to sleep tonight.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Lett C.284 f.29
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A further response to the misunderstanding in which Madan apparently left Cowper’s company early to go the opera. She implies that having seen she was very happy in his company, he had decided to act in such a way to cause her pain. She restates her feelings and love for him, and suggests that she will punish her heart for daring to fall in love with him. She was ill over night but feels much better and hopes to see him at Bond Street later that day. She suggests that her peace and happiness depends on his behaviour towards her.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284, f.31
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Cowper reassures Madan that her heart belongs entirely to him, and that her feelings for him are true. She resents his accusation that she was hesitant to accept his proposal. She believes that she will be true to him until her death.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Lett C.284 f.33
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A short love poem, sent to Madan, which discusses how Madan should respond should she ever fall in love or find happiness with anyone other than him. Discussion of emotion and mind, and of her image appearing in his ‘breast’.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.93
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: She hopes the delay in her letter has not made him too concerned, and hopes to hear that he is well soon. She gives her heart and soul to him entirely, which are transmitted along with her hand. She describes her thoughts as originating in her soul, and tries to ignore negative thoughts that he no longer cares for her. She is looking forward to taking him in her arms and kissing his lips.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.77
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith discusses the pain she felt upon being separated from Martin, who she describes as the delight of her eyes. Her heart will feel uneasy until she receives an assurance that he is well and happy – she feels their souls are in sympathy with one another. She imagines that their separation would have been a relief for other, unhappy couples. She longs to hear from him soon and to hear confirmation that he is good health.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.133
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith wishes that someone else could have written to her to inform her that Martin was ill and accordingly unable to write. She expects Martin did not want to worry her, but his silence caused her greater concern – she is pleased to hear he is now well. She wishes she could communicate the impatience in her heart – she is happiest when reading his letters and writing to him. She includes some lines of poetry, reflecting upon marriage, and describing it as a union of hearts, souls, and minds, rather than just hands. Judith reports some business or ‘dull stuff’ including discussion of paying servants and purchasing property. Ashley is disappointed in the loss of this property –...

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.110
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith knows that letters are not needed to encourage Martin to think of her, but nonetheless wants to write regularly to reiterate that she will never forget him. The places they have visited feel different when Martin is not there – she wonders if even if Hertingfordbury felt like a happy lace purely because of the peace of mind she felt when Martin was there. Young Martin is well and her chief source of pleasure other than telling Martin that she loves him.

People featured: 5
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.109
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith discusses how she has squandered her entire heart on Martin, she is deeply sad when she is parted from him. Their child Martin is well and sends his father a kiss. Molly’s eyes are better than they were – she has taken medicine and had blood let which has made her better. She asks whether she should bring down wine from London, and reports that the apothecary wants paying for medicines in the time of the cook’s and Alex’s sickness.

People featured: 4
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.100
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Her heart was full of pain when they parted – her tears are so heavy as to almost prevent her seeing what she is writing. She wishes she could permanently forget happy memories as in his absence they bring her pain. She is worried about their son Martin, because he is ill with a sickness or stomach disorder. She then describes a very dangerous coach journey – they were thrown about by dangerous roads, and one person, Morange, was killed by being thrown from the coach and under the wheels. This accident causes Judith great anguish, but she thanks God it was not worse. She hopes to send word that little Martin is better soon, and in a postscript notes that indeed he is better and...

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.82
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith is pleased that Martin had also been thinking about their anniversary – it was the happiest day of her life. She describes the heart that he gave her, with a hand that she has kissed so many times. A postscript notes that a couple of posts have come and she has not heard from him, but she will not be too uneasy. She asks that even if he is busy, that he find time to write a brief note to inform her he is well.

People featured: 4
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.122
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith had been hoping to hear from Martin – in her heart she has a thousand fond wishes for him. She knows he will be as anxious for her happiness as she is for his. A love as intense as theirs means to feel no afflictions but those that affect each other. Little Martin is presently out of order with a fever, but Judith hopes that this is just caused by him eating too much fruit. Judith is dedicated to caring for him, and will let Martin know how he does regularly. She hopes to God he will feel better soon: she will not be able to relax at all until he is. In a postscript she notes that the horse’s eyes are better, and she asks after the prisoners confined to ‘the box’.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.54
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith discusses in detail her intense feelings for Martin and her deep sorrow at being parted from him. Although she is with her family and enjoys their company, his absence causes her to feel deeply melancholy. She does not want her mother to see how sad she is without him, lest she worry that Judith dislikes being at home. Her discussion of their love and separation is rooted in embodied language, their hearts and souls speaking to one another, her continued weeping at his being absent.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.111
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Her letter gave him great joy – he would have replied sooner, but has not had a moment to himself. The town he is in is much less pleasurable than it had been when he was there with Judith – he can never be happy without her and will return to her as soon as he can.

People featured: 6
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.125
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Discussion of settling a matter of business with Sir William. Judith begs Martin to write soon and confirm that she has done the right thing – she feels very miserable when she feels she has done something to displease him. She reports the news of Lady Longvill’s death. Judith includes a few lines of poetry which involves a discussion of heart and soul, and Judith’s desire to be in Martin’s arms and lean on his breast. She grows increasingly more stupid in her absence from him. Their family and children are all well.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Lett C.284 f.35
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A letter written over several days - Judith and Martin have not been married for long and Judith repeatedly emphasises her love for Martin, her delight at being newly married, and the difficulty of being separated from him. Filled with embodied language of heart and soul, and of kissing his hand and the page of the letter. She has been thinking of him constantly, and re-reading passages that she has recalled made him smile when they were last together. She recalls a time when Judith had received news of a misfortune, and Martin had cried with her. She wonders if he has been thinking of her while they have been separated. Death worries her not because it signals the end of...

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.38
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A detailed letter written in the first year of their marriage. Judith has written it over several days while Martin is in Northamptonshire, she talks of looking forward to taking up her pen to continue the letter the next day and continue ‘conversing’ with him. Without him she has lost some of the pleasure of life – she no longer enjoys looking at the view from her window. The letter is filled with embodied language: she hates being separated from him and his dear hand, she described him as her dear soul and says that writing gives relief to her heart. She is jealous of the letter because it will get to touch his hand, and perhaps be held to his bosom, much sooner than she will...

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Lett C.284 f.40
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Another detailed letter written by Judith in their first year of marriage, in which she articulates her distress at being parted from him. It contains a detailed discussion of her feelings for him, who she has give her whole soul to, and who delights her heart. He has stayed away for longer than he initially said. She misses hearing his voice and looking into his eyes. He had left her abruptly, apparently because she had been acting overly emotional – she wonders if he would have been so abrupt had he known how long he would be away.

People featured: 4
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.43
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A love letter rooted in embodied language, and discussions of body and soul. She greatly misses him and longs for his letters. Equates death, and the parting of body and soul at the moment of death, to the painful separation between them. She has kissed his letter multiple times and waits for the day when she can kiss him.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.45
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith misses Martin greatly, emphasising her love for him and describing their love and separation in embodied terms. She discusses their hearts, the sensation of losing him as akin to separating soul from body, and the fact that their souls are united. She recalls the moment when they parted, apparently both crying. She describes missing his eyes, which she had often kissed, and the fact of their marriage makes her the ‘happiest creature Breathing’. She spends every moment thinking of him.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.55
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: She lay in bed longer than usual, so that the arrival of his letter would be the first thing she would see upon waking. She thanks her ‘dearest soul’, who makes her happier than anyone in the world, and his letters bring him even closer to her heart. It’s been nearly two weeks since her eyes beheld his face, and she has hopes of his return soon.

People featured: 4
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.79
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith has sat down to write after a night of very little sleep. She does not mind her insomnia, as it has permitted her time to reflect and to think about him – the part of his heart that belongs to her will already have sensed this. His continual health and happiness is the only wish of her soul. He thinks that there is nothing about him that could change to make her love him more – she would not want him to be taller of shorter or change disposition. In a note at the end of the letters she notes that her sister Cowper has recently given birth.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.84
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Waiting for Martin’s letter has kept Judith awake for much of the night – sometimes she wakes in the early hours thinking of him and having intrusive thoughts that he may be ill. Her emotional state is dependent on the place she has in his heart, and she asks for further evidence that he loves her. Sometimes she is envious of what she presumes is his happiness and good company away from her – she writes to remind him of her existence. Their boy is well and will be visiting soon (he is an infant at this point – is he at a wet nurse?)

People featured: 5
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.112
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith was saddened not to hear from Martin for so long, and constructed many excuses in her own mind. She reflects on their several years of love, and is happy to receive his assurances that he loves her. All her happiness is derived from his letters. She has been worried about Spencer, who has had measles, but is now recovering. Martin and Molly are well – Molly’s eyes and ‘temper’ are mending. The letter ends with a few lines of verse, where Judith muses on whether their souls will ever be parted, whether she will ever be permanently separated from his bosom.

People featured: 8
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.137
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: The arrival of Martin’s letter alleviates some of the disappointment Judith had felt the previous Sunday. Discussion of their love for each other and each other’s dispositions, and the place they have in each other’s hearts. Discussion of purchasing a house. Little Martin has been wearing two coats because he doesn’t want to wear them out. All are well, but Lady Stapleton had recently miscarried two children. Martin has asked Judith to write down all the thoughts she has had of him – she responds that it would take less time if he wrote down all the thoughts she has had that weren’t about him. Judith includes a few lines of verse, entitled ‘Ashley on the death of his son”.

People featured: 5
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.136
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: She has been thinking about him greatly and was concerned to think about his journey – she could not resist writing to him. She thinks they must always share with each other their emotions - their hearts and souls are united. Little Martin is well, and Judith was pleased to leave everyone in such good health. Little Pen is very pretty, and being away from her is hard.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.104
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith chastises Martin – it has been a week and since he left and she has not had a letter from him, either to inform her that he is alive, or to inform her that he continues to love her. All her happiness proceeds from knowing that he is well, and she feels foolish for making her emotional state dependent on another person. Silence from him is enough to make her deeply unhappy. She believes that no other heart could feel as much passion as she does for him. She reflects on the past five yeas together, in which he has grown closer to his heart – she cares more about his wellbeing than her own. She sends him a thousand kisses in the post.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.149
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith is so happy to receive letters from Martin that even bad news is not unwelcome. She asks that they continue their affection for each other, and submit to the will of God – then they will be unbothered by worldly misfortunes. The news of Martin’s happiness will always bring her joy. In the final line of the letter, she expresses her hope that his leg is well.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.76
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith expresses her love for Martin and her desire to always be with him – he is the author of her happiness. She describes the days she spends away from him as tedious and painful. Her greatest desire is that there will always be a place for her in his heart – she recalls the look in his eyes when he has looked at her with love, and when he has said loving words to her.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.105
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: This letter is a poem on the nature of Judith’s love for Martin, which contains several examples of embodied language. She hopes that no sad thought will ever bring tears to his eyes, she hopes to be comforted by the sound of his voice, she hopes to recline her head, which aches with grief, upon his bosom.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Lett C.284 f.36
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Martin has apparently only been away from Judith for 3 days, but to her it feels more like 3 months. She went to see sketch of him at Lemens, and was disappointed in its likeness – she hoped to see his eyes, but he looked very different to the image of him that is drawn upon her soul. She hopes she can repay his goodness to her by the fact that her heart will always belong to him. She is well, and hopes to hear by the next post that he is well also.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.90
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith finds herself unable to enjoy anything that is unrelated to Martin – his letters and expressions of his feelings for her are her chief source of happiness in his absence. She knows he is aware of every thought in her heart. From the first moment she saw him she had a good impression of his character, which has been confirmed the longer she has known him. She had meant to write to him earlier in the week, but had such a bad headache and ‘disorder of spirits’, that she opted to miss a post rather than send him a letter that would have reflected her poor state of health. She advises him not to dwell on thoughts that bring him pain, but to focus on happier things.

People featured: 4
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.146
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith can’t wait until the sight of Martin will again bless her eyes, her heart will not be satisfied until then. Her letters give her some joy, because she knows she will soon have the opportunity to embrace him in her arms. To love as intensely as Judith does is to experience pain. She is glad that Martin is well, Pen is also well, and sends several kisses to Martin – Judith is delighted that Pen’s lips looks so much like Martin’s.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.72
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A further detailed discussion of Judith’s love for Martin, which is framed in embodied terms of heart and soul – her happiness and peace are entirely dependent on Martin’s assurances of his love for her. She cannot sympathise with Captain Hunt’s grief following the mortal sickness of Mrs Hunt – she knows that their love was nowhere near as profound as Judith and Martin’s. Judith cannot bring herself to foresee a time when Judith and Martin are separated by death – her soul would more easily leave her body than it would leave Martin. She looks forward to setting her eyes upon him, they will then communicate what she sees directly to her heart. She acknowledges that he does not...

People featured: 4
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.124
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: She has kissed his letter multiple times, and hopes to do the same to the hand that wrote it. His absence is a matter of concern for both their hearts, and his letters bring her great happiness. Judith will leave the house tomorrow, and travel as far as Langly with her mother where she intends to dine. Mr Iwin (a medical practitioner?) has been to visit Molly and thinks her ‘speck’ (skin problem?) is diminished. Little Martin is well and very handsome.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.61
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A further letter in which Judith expresses her love for Martin, and her pain at being parted from him – rooted in embodied and emotive language. Discusses their hearts, souls, and heads, and the very tangible pain she has experienced during their time of separation – she could not sleep the other night because she was disappointed he had not returned. She describes Martin as her physician, and equates a letter from him as akin to a cordial that has alleviated her pain. She describes how she passes the day without him - she takes advice of walking regularly and taking the air, but nothing can truly make her happy again except his presence. Each day he grows closer to her heart,...

People featured: 4
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.114
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: She hopes to use the letter to communicate the joy his gave her, and the feeling she has in her heart. His love enhances her happiness, alleviates her sorrow, and relieves her heart. She worries that if her sad reflections on their separation reach him when he is in a good mood that he will laugh at her. Yet because he has a right to know all her thoughts as they occur, she will communicate them to him. Martin is well, and Molly’s eyes have been well for several weeks.

People featured: 4
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.148
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith examined her own heart whilst reading Martin’s letters, and find out that they shared many sentiments. She wishes that she could communicate the expressions of her heart as well as the expressions of her pen. She will travel to him soon, but is unsure when – she needs to wait for the horses to return. His letters keep her company, and the expectation of seeing him soon lifts her spirits. She is sorry that young Martin has a hoarseness, and advises he be given barley water. Pen is very well. Judith wonders if the cook should go and stay with Martin, to help make breakfasts etc.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.66
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Martin is required to make a decision about his work, ostensibly regarding his being sent away for three years. Judith asks that he refuses to be sent away, and is open about her feelings regarding this matter, which come directly from her soul. If he values her he will reject the proposal, as it will be too dangerous – her happiness is intrinsically bound up with his safety. She is glad that the weather is favourable where he is, and though she longs to see him, she does not want this affair to bring him home any earlier than planned.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.92
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: She wonders when she will be able to part from him without a great deal of anguish – she thinks maybe not until she has learned to see him without joy, and that will never happen. He is the joy of her soul and the fondest wish of her heart. She hopes that the next post will bring her news that he has arrived safe and is well. Until that time she will continue thinking of him and his welfare.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.73
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: She hopes that her letter finds him well and happy, and free from all worries, whether real or imagined. She would even allow him to forget her existence altogether if it would mean that it would make him happy. He is the idol of her soul, and she hopes sincerely from her heart that she has a place in his. She wonders what the point of having eyes is if they do not get to gaze upon his face. She feels her last letter was too long, and will convince herself that he is in good health until she hears otherwise from him.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.94
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: She is writing to him today even though she saw him yesterday – her heart contains such a clear image of him that separation from him cannot erase it. All her happiness is bound up in her love for him, and she asks that he never entertain any negative thoughts about her love for him. She regards him as a relief in all matters of body and mind.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.128
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: His letter brought her happiness that could only be surpassed by the sight of him. She describes their love in embodied terms: he is the delight of her eyes, and her heart acknowledges all that is in his mind. The thought of seeing him has disordered her heart, her soul answers to all his feelings, and she knows she will find happiness in his arms. She does not want any ‘letters of form’, and asks that he write to her ‘only as the heart dictates’.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.117
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith has returned home from an engagement feeling sleepy, and is revived by the arrival of Martin’s letter. She describes him as her soul and replies to his letter at the first opportunity. She will let him know with plenty of notice when she is to leave town, so that he can direct his letters accordingly. She reminisces about the happy times they spent together at Hertingfordbury. She does not wish to deprive him of the fun and companionship he is enjoying where he is, but hopes to know when he will return. Just knowing that he is happy makes her happy. She describes her hopes that she will soon hear his voice and see his eyes, but asks that he burn the letter, because she...

People featured: 4
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.145
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Martin’s letter brought her great happiness. Possessing his heart is her greatest joy in life. She describes his letters as the transcripts of his soul, which she wears upon her own heart like a talisman, and which helps relieve her anxious thoughts. Sometimes at night she is fortunate enough to dream of him. She sends her love with the letter, and her arms and heart look forward to receiving him.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.68
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith states her desire to make her letters more varied, and as such she determines to go the whole letter without telling Martin that she loves him. If he had looked and talked like other men it would have been easier not to love him, but she is forced to love him according to his smile and face. She has been very well since he left, and accordingly she wonders whether in his absence, the pain in her body has been replaced by emotional pain. In a touching postscript, she says she is enclosing kisses for his ‘eye with the brown spot in it’, and other kisses to be used as he wishes.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.47
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Judith described Martin’s letter as a ‘cordial to my heart’ – she reads them repeatedly. She longs to know when she will see his eyes and hear his voice again. He has advised her to take care of herself in his absence, and she returns this advice to him – all her happiness is bound up in his health and wellbeing, so he must look after himself, and be wary of any signs of ill health. She asks whether he reads her letters with the same pleasure with which she reads his, and states that she sends her ‘heart and soul’ along with the letter.

People featured: 2
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.75
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: It as been a few days since Judith has received a reply from Martin – in her last letter she had begged for his assurances that he still loved her and was accordingly distressed not to receive a reply. She was unable to sleep or relax, tormented at the thought that he no longer loved her. He can imagine the pain she was in, and the happiness when it emerged that this delay was due not to his changing feelings, but a problem with the post. His health and his continued love for her are her main concerns in life. She describes an accident in their home – a fire that has caused a great deal of damaged. It greatly frightened her, but thanks be to God, she is now well and happy....

People featured: 6
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.107
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: Being away from Martin causes Judith deep unhappiness – she is stuck in a town where nothing is to her taste. She believes that he is the only thing worth living for, that there is no grief that he cannot alleviate. She writes at length about how her happiness is intrinsically bound with his – she wonders if he will accuse her of gushing, or of being ill of a ‘spleenatick fit’ that is affecting her judgment. Judith reports that the queen and Princess Emilia have been ill. Judith is worried because the cook is currently ill of a fever, and the maid is disordered in both mind and body.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.99
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: She has spent the past three days in boredom – nothing can be of interest to her heart but his presence. No other pastimes – reading or poetry – bring her joy any more, they have been eclipsed by the strength of her feeling for him. Everything she has written recently has been inspired by him. He is of too good a character to cause her heart pain. His love has supported her in her recent time of affliction – it appears that her mother has recently died. What she has lost in that bereavement she has found continued in Madan’s love for her – he is the partner of her heart and soul.

People featured: 7
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.139
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: She begs to know how his health is – knowing he is well with prevent her uneasiness. He has endeared himself to her heart. She expects he will laugh at her for being so anxious about his wellbeing. Mrs Schutz has had rheumatism but is now feeling better. Lady Stapleton is growing worse – she stays in her room and does not speak to anyone. Ashley and the family are all well.

People featured: 3
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.119
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A discussion of Judith’s emotional state, which is rooted in Martin’s assurances of his love for her. She describes him as the partner of her soul. She was not able to write at the last post because she was ill with a fever. She apologises for not mentioning their son Martin in her last, but assures him that was because she was in good health. She would have mentioned if he was unwell, as she feels the two of them must share all misfortunes. Each day she finds new elements of Martin’s disposition are apparent in that of their son’s.

People featured: 4
Collection: Madan Family
Item Number: Eng Letter C.284 f.65
Repository: Bodleian Libraries, University of Oxford
Summary: A distinctly different letter to Judith’s earlier ones – Judith tells Martin that their child (who she ostensibly has recently given birth to, as he is not mentioned in previous letters, and Martin has not apparently met his child) is very sick. He is now much better, thank God, than he had been when she wrote her previous letter, and they believe he is past danger. Judith is still worried about the way he looks – he is very pale in appearance and they hope he will recover his looks if they can get him to recover. Judith hopes that if the boy lives, Martin will love him as much as she does, and if not, that she will never feel the pain and grief that she feels. The second half...