Description:

MARY BAKER EDDY
(1821 - 1910) American founder of the Christian Science Church which emphasizes the spiritual and metaphysical influence of Christianity to heal and cure sickness. Important T.L.S. "Mary Baker Eddy" on her pleasant View letterhead, 2pp. 8vo., Concord, Oct. 9, 1906 to McClure's journalist Burton J. Hendrick. Only a few months before Hendrick and fellow journalists would publish a scathing expose of Eddy and her church, founder Eddy declines an interview. Her letter, dictated and authentically signed, reads in full: "Your kind note, asking for an interview in behalf of McClure's Magazine in connection with a proposed article on Christian Science, has been received. I thank you for your courtesy, and I appreciate your kindness in desiring to present Christian Science fairly to the public. I have, however, from necessity made it my rule not to see the representatives of any magazines, though many have called upon me. Therefore I feel compelled to decline the honor of an interview with you, for should I make an exception in your case, I no longer would have a rule to abide by...". Fine condition, matted with gold fillets and lavender felt, set into a gilt wood frame. "The Life of Mary Baker G. Eddy and the History of Christian Science", the first major examination of Eddy's life and work, was first published in McClure's magazine in 14 installments between January 1907 and June 1908 and became a key primary source for many accounts of the church's early history. The magazine's publisher, S. S. McClure assigned five writers to work on the articles, including the recipient of this letter, Burton J. Hendrick, as well as Willa Cather and Ida Tarbell. Hendrick is said to have written the first installment, which would explain this request for an interview. The criticism of Eddy in the articles is considerable. She is portrayed as deceitful, someone who regularly revised her life story, and who was interested only in making money. The authors reproduce witness statements from Eddy's childhood of her having repeated fainting spells as a way of gaining attention or avoiding punishment, particularly from her father, and say that she developed a habit of appearing to be seriously ill only to recover quickly. The church in turn purchased the original manuscript of the book and there were rumors that the plates had been destroyed. In June 1920 the church also purchased some of McClure's research notes from a New York manuscript dealer. Even into the 1990s the church sought to repress printing of the McClure's articles and the Doubleday book which followed.

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July 9, 2015 10:00 AM EDT
Elkton, MD, US

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