is furious; he is convinced the ongoing costs of upkeep will now jeopardise any chance of selling Stonehenge. I am, on the other hand, enormously happy!
Nobel was relieved. The vast majority of the correspondence he received was what he would refer to as ‘begging letters’ – individuals in difficult personal circumstances, funding campaigns to raise statues, and so on. It was therefore with genuine pleasure and interest that Nobel read Florence’s letter and the enclosures it contained: a small packet of poems, six in all, and a short piece of pastoral prose detailing the sun’s passage through the stones.
Nobel’s letter of response, written in English, arrived in mid-July, just over two months later.
San Remo
15 July 1894
Dear Miss fn25 Antrobus,
I most certainly remember our meeting at Stonehenge. Your charming tour made a great impression upon me and my thoughts have returned on more than one occasion to the delightful time we spent together. I was fortunate indeed to have such a well-informed guide.
And now to receive your wonderful poetry and prose. Thank you for entrusting me with it. I am far from a worthy critic, but I read all you enclosed with interest and admiration. I must again encourage you to publish your work one day. Your talents must not be wasted only on me!
And now a request of you. Though I first regretted my failure to acquire Stonehenge, I am now relieved I have not deprived you of your muse. However I believe the Inspector is correct; it was also my impression that the taller stones are in imminent danger of falling. Would you and your family do me the honour of accepting a contribution towards the costs incurred by the ‘Preservation Order’? As I wish to see the stones again one day – and their gracious docent – it is in MY selfish interest that this offer be accepted.
My warmest greetings to your husband and the Baronet. I remain,
A. Nobel
Florence replied immediately, thanking Nobel for his generous words. She hoped, of course, that Nobel would indeed visit again, perhaps in the fall, when he might experience ‘the wild, tempestuous autumnal gales that usually sweep across the Plain in October’. She was firm, however, on declining any financial support for Stonehenge. As she conveyed to Nobel, the baronet, a proud man, would simply hear of no such assistance.
Although they would not, in fact, meet again, Florence continued to write to Nobel at regular intervals. In between descriptions of life at Amesbury Abbey, there began to appear more personal asides, including a diffident sharing of her husband’s prolonged absences and the growing burden of her loneliness. Most often, however, Florence wrote about Stonehenge. Emboldened by Nobel’s praise, she soon divulged that she had decided to write a ‘sentimental’ guide to Stonehenge, one that she hoped a traveller to Stonehenge might find ‘pleasure in reading’. It would contain her ‘poetical and picturesque’ impressions of Stonehenge, such as found in the following letter:
Amesbury Abbey
3 April 1895
Dear Mr Alfred Nobel,
Late this morning I walked to Stonehenge. Though I have visited the exquisitely-coloured stones a thousand times before, I have never failed to be moved by their startling, sudden presence. For even from the banks of the nearby River Avon, the old stones are at first nowhere to be seen. Yet as one moves determinedly through the crackling grass and up the winding valley with the turquoise spring flowers signalling the traveller’s way, the tallest of the stones suddenly appear! Those nearest join together in a large outer circle – as if each was holding another’s hands – and together the ancient stones stand in defiant solidarity against the onslaught of time.
I stayed until evening. The sense of peace and tranquillity are with me still.
Ever sincerely,
Florence Antrobus
Though not as prolific a correspondent as Florence, Nobel’s responses were always courteous and gracious. He was genuinely admiring of Florence’s ‘poetical’ powers of observation. But Nobel’s intrinsic inquisitiveness and pragmatism also led to more prosaic questions.
Björkborn Manor
13 July 1895
Dear Florence, (I trust I may name you so?)
Thank you for your recent letters. It is particularly exciting to hear news of your intention to publish a ‘sentimental’ guide to Stonehenge. I can think of no better wordsmith to capture the varying moods and colours of the ‘great relic’. But might your ‘sentimental’ guide also be a ‘practical’ one – a compilation of the facts and considerations of learned authorities on the subject of Stonehenge? From where did the stones arise? What purpose lay behind this ancient structure? Who were the people who built these circles? I still recall with pleasure your entertaining account of such matters during my visit to Stonehenge. Might you now explore these questions in a more methodical and scholarly way? It is my view that true knowledge emerges only by careful and detached study, preferably by examining the words and works of those who are cleverer than one self.
But no more preaching! I have news that may interest you. I am now settled at Björkborn Manor and have shared your interest in Stonehenge with the local antiquarians. It appears there is a place in southern Sweden where many larger boulders also stand – but in the shape of an ancient ship. It is known as the Ales Stenar.
Perhaps one day I will have the pleasure of providing you with a tour of our country’s Stonehenge?
Sincerely,
A. N.
P.S. Please accept my gift of a Remington typewriter. It is a selfish gesture on my part as I take such delight in reading your tidings of Stonehenge.
Florence was pleased to learn of Ales Stenar. She was even more delighted to receive the typewriter. Taking Nobel’s suggestions seriously, she began to gather and read all existing accounts that touched upon Stonehenge, forwarding to Nobel facts of particular interest. In response, Nobel’s next gift was a camera.fn26 He was now encouraging Florence to document the general appearance of Stonehenge, not only by providing descriptions of the individual stones, but by including relevant illustrations and photographs. In thanking Nobel, Florence included not only photographs of Stonehenge but also a keepsake of her own likeness.
Nobel was, of course, deeply touched by Florence’s personal photo and her appreciation. However, it would be some time before he would write again. After the summer at Björkborn Manor, Nobel had travelled south to Paris. That fall, he began to experience bouts of severe chest pain. Nobel was hospitalised against his protestations and then spent two months confined to his Paris mansion. It was a contemplative Nobel who wrote Florence from Paris in November 1895.
Figure 12. Florence Antrobus.
5 November 1895
Paris
Dear Florence,
I’m afraid my delay in writing is by Doctor’s orders. My heart troubles are severe and I have been ordered to bed. The