Two autograph letters, signed by Lady Dorothy Stanley, to American author, William Henry Rideing, regarding her husband, noted explorer, Sir Henry Morton Stanley. Ten pages (three sheets, folded to form twelve pages, with writing on ten sides). 12mo. LADY STANLEY'S DETAILED REMINISCENCES OF HER HUSBAND, EXPLORER SIR HENRY STANLEY (14 PAGES/ TWO LETTERS). Dorothy Tennant (1855-1926) was born in Wales. She gained fame as a neoclassical artist; in 1890 she married noted journalist and explorer, Sir Henry Morton Stanley (1841-1904), and she became known as Lady Stanley. She edited Stanley's autobiography, and the two letters present here, reflect an intense interest in what was written about her husband's life. The recipient, William Henry Rideing, was an American journalist, editor and world traveler, with strong connections to England, and had corresponded with Henry Stanley (in the 1890's). Rideing wrote his own reminiscences of Lord Stanley, resulting in this correspondence with Lady Dorothy Stanley. She edited her husband's posthumous autobiography, 'The Autobiography of Henry M. Stanley' (published in 1909). The two letters to William Rideing, entirely devoted to personal information about her husband, Sir Henry Stanley, were written in early 1910, soon after publication of the Stanley's Autobiography, and William Rideing subsequent article about Henry Stanley. For the two(2) letters about Sir Henry Stanley: [STANLEY, Sir Henry Morton]. TWO AUTOGRAPH LETTERS, SIGNED BY LADY DOROTHY STANLEY [nee Dorothy Tennant], TO WILLIAM HENRY RIDEING, ABOUT HER HUSBAND, EXPLORER SIR HENRY STANLEY. Two autograph letters, signed by Lady Dorothy Stanley, to American author, William Henry Rideing, regarding her husband, noted explorer, Sir Henry Morton Stanley. The letters, from Lady Dorothy Stanley, English painter, and wife of noted explorer, Henry Morton Stanley, written to American author, William Henry Rideing. The letters include much personal information about her explorer husband, including her own reminiscences of him, and she tries to clear up misconceptions about Henry Stanley, which had appeared in the press. The two(2) letters are: ALS, twelvemo, ten pages (three sheets, folded to form twelve pages, with writing on ten sides), London February 7, 1910, embossed letterhead ("2, Whitehall Court, S. W."). The letter begins by thanking William Henry Rideing for the copy of McClure's Magazine, containing an essay by Rideing, about her husband, Henry Stanley, noting, "you have certainly hit the mark, when you describe Stanley as very shy- but in any public assemblage. he quickly overcame that feeling of bashfulness and spoke with ease and power. I think your memory played you a trick when you say that one of his officers told you that they feared Stanley more than they loved him, but love was deep and lasting. [he] was not the stern relentless, somber man, without fun or humour, so often imagined, he was bubbling over with fun & boyish spirit when the occasion allowed of it, though of course, in Africa, he probably had to repress himself. the passage in which you describe him with his rifle or his Bible always in his hand, as a fact, he never carried either, his boy Saleh carried his rifle, and Stanley always held a tall nob stick about four feet high. When he came home in 1890, his right hand was burnt almost black, where it was curved over the rounded nob of the stick. Stanley never read the Bible in the presence of his officers, and he never spoke of his religious convictions.". She continues to contradict his observations about Stanley, and closes, "I hope you have read his autobiography [which Lady Stanley edited], you will then realize how tender, gentle & loving he was. Yours sincerely, Dorothy Stanley (I have not changed my name)." The letter includes a six-page "Postscript," "[quoting] from a long review on the Autobiography, written by Sir George Goldie, Founder & Governor (at one time) of Nigeria. A close friend for twenty ye
