"if there is no fatal mistake..."

9 June 2022: "But I am very well, and if there is no fatal mistake, omissions, or transpositions of pages or chapters from my weak memory, I shall be content. The book can’t hurt anybody, and it may be to some like a sprinkle in a dry time—lay the dust for a little while" (qtd. in Gussman xi).

Catharine Maria Sedgwick wrote these words in an 1857 letter, discussing the upcoming publication of her final novel, Married or Single? So, yes, I am in the midst of working on an entry on Sedgwick in general and learning quite a bit. These words made me laugh a bit and feel seen (like has happened many times in this writing process). I mean, they are kind of my wish for my own book. 

Work Cited

Gussman, Deborah. “Editor’s Introduction.” Married or Single? 1857. By Catharine Maria Sedgwick, edited by Deborah Gussman, U of Nebraska P, 2015, pp. ix-xli.