The Charles Dickens Letters Project

Period: 
1861-1870
Theme(s): 
The Mystery of Edwin Drood
copyright

To WILLIAM HENRY FRENCH,1 17 MARCH 1870

MS University of Rhode Island Library, Special Collections.

GAD’S HILL PLACE, | HIGHAM BY ROCHESTER, KENT.

Thursday Seventeenth March 1870

Sir

(a) In reply to your obliging letter, I beg to inform you that I have already conceded the sole copyright of my new book for translation in Germany, to Dr. Lehmann of Hamburg.(a)2

William Henry French Esqre.

Faithfully Yours

 CHARLES DICKENS

  • 1. William Henry French (1842-99), owner of the publishing company Johann Friedrich Hartknoch (1868-79); son of the artist and engraver William French (1815-98), who worked for the Leipzig publisher and engraver Albert Henry Payne.
  • 2. CD had agreed in Nov 1869 with Emil Lehmann the right of translating Edwin Drood into German (Pilgrim Letters 12, p. 441); it was published by Tauchnitz, who also published the English language edition for sale on the Continent only (Pilgrim Letters 12, p. 492).