LETTERS: 15 ALS and 2 PCS to Major George and Mrs. Lloyd-Verney.
To Her ‘Nephew’ and ‘Niece’
Nightingale, Florence. Fifteen Autograph Letters Signed, and two Autograph Postcards (Florence Nightingale, F. Nightingale, F.N. and Aunt Florence), to Major and Mrs. George Lloyd-Verney. November 6, 1886 – December 9, 1893.
56 pp; 8vo.; six letters in pencil; nine in black ink; eleven on mourning stationary (with Claydon Park and South Street addresses); six with envelopes; one letter with words underlined in red and blue pencil. In a specially made cloth slipcase.
A collection of unpublished letters to George Verney, the stepson of Nightingale’s sister Parthenope, the second wife of Sir Harry Verney. Sir Harry, as he is referred to in several of the letters, was a Member of Parliament and a Baronet who had proposed marriage to Nightingale in 1857. After she declined his offer, he asked her sister to marry him; they were wed in 1858. There are eight letters to George Verney, and nine to his wife, Morfy. Nightingale was clearly devoted to the Verneys; she familiarly – yet reservedly – addresses the pair by their given names, often putting parentheses next to her greetings, saying: “(if I may call you so)”; she similarly closes one letter: “(If I may call myself so) ‘Aunt Florence.’”
The most remarkable feature throughout these fifteen letters is that while their content is almost exclusively family-related, Nightingale never completely sheds her nursing persona; she is warm yet brisk throughout. In the earliest letter of this collection (November 6, 1886), Nightingale writes to George Verney, “I was so very sorry for the operation you have had to endure. I know that you have been ‘good,’ & have obeyed your surgeon; and I do most earnestly hope that by this time you are recovering fast.” She acts as “nurse” to the Verney family, regularly inquiring about their health and is nearly obsessed about that of Sir Harry; she often begins her letters by asking about him or reporting to George and Morfy how he is doing. In speaking about his health, she reveals her true feelings for him. She begins one letter (Dec. 12, 1890): “Thank God that dear Harry is going on so well, & that the accident is less serious than was feared. We cannot be too thankful.” She continues, “It was a fiery furnace, but the angel of God was in it with him. I think that is the case with all fiery furnaces when we do not turn away from who will deliver us out of the fire.” Nightingale claims she was called by God at age seventeen to do work for Him; it was not until she began nursing that she was able to answer that call.
In addition to her role as family nurse, Nightingale’s genuine affection for Sir Harry and his family is evidenced here. Even before the death of her sister in 1890, Nightingale took care of Sir Harry, and several letters concern the acquisition of several natural wool flannel suits for him; by way of explanation, she claims, “He is never warm.” Because of her legendary reclusive side, Nightingale also used the Verney’s to fulfill innocuous personal and professional requests, mostly relating to Sir Harry’s health or the Nightingale School for Nurses, which she established in 1860 at St. Thomas Hospital.
Nightingale was a frequent visitor to the Verney’s Buckinghamshire home; her visits, however, often took the backseat to her nursing duties. In the seven-year period in which these letters were written, Nightingale was in her mid-60s and early 70s, and still maintained a regular work schedule at the Nightingale School for Nurses, which she established in 1860 at St. Thomas Hospital. In the summer of 1887, Nightingale was thrilled that the Verneys offered to host the nurses at an annual tea luncheon that Nightingale formerly held; she was thrilled by their generosity. She explains that the night nurses especially would welcome a group outing, and advises Verney to organize the outing with their Matron, Mrs. Wardroper. In keeping with her reclusive tendencies, she insists she is in no way able
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