George Meredith’s Love Letters to His Wife 1823-1836

George Meredith was a pioneer, a former Royal Marine officer, and unafraid to take on powerful interests in his new home, Van Diemen’s Land. He was also a bully and mostly acted in his own interests in colonial affairs. Within the privacy of his estate, he carried on a torrid relationship with his young wife, Mary, which he described and amplified in a series of sometimes graphic letters to her during his frequent absences from his farm. He mixed his passionate prose with cruel criticism of her for her failure to write back to him to his satisfaction.