1894-01-12 to the Editor of the Daily Chronicle

Printed letter signed, Daily Chronicle (London, 12 January 1894, page 3), 324 words

[Edited for paragraph breaks, capitalization, spelling and punctuation.]

[Thursday] Jan. 11

Sir,

Certain important facts concerning the Vizetelly prosecution have been overlooked by your correspondents.

1. That an exceedingly indecent pamphlet, entitled The Confessional Unmasked, was printed and published with the approval of the Vigilance Committee. It was owing to several articles in Truth that this detestable pamphlet was withdrawn from sale at the street corner.

2. That Captain Verney, a prominent member of the Vigilance Association, a zealous advocate for the prosecution of Mr. Vizetelly for publishing translations of Zola's works, was himself prosecuted for laying elaborate schemes for the seduction of a young girl, and suffered a year's imprisonment for that offence.

I will do no more than allude to the atrocious Leamington case: two lady members of the said association sought by threats to induce a little girl to confess crimes which she afterwards had to admit she did not know the meaning of, in order to procure a conviction against a little boy of fifteen; and a passing reference to the various railway-carriage episodes which have been proved against the purity party will suffice for the purpose of this letter.

Many reasons prevent me from agreeing with Mr. Crackanthorpe's suggestion for the republication of the translations of Nana and Au Bonheur des Dames. Surely a better choice could be made. Madame Bovary was included in the list of books which the Vigilance Association determined to proceed against. When I wrote to Mr. Stead pointing out that one of the world's masterpieces was indicated as indecent literature, he wrote to say that he had written to Mr. Coote expostulating and that in consequence the charge against Flaubert’s masterpiece had been withdrawn. But Mr. Stead was misinformed on this point. The charge against Madame Bovary was never withdrawn — it was merely adjourned by the magistrate.

I am, yours truly,

GEORGE MOORE