On Sat, 17 Feb 2018 14:37:59 +0000, David Boyd <[log in to unmask]> wrote:

>There is surely though a distinction between literary executors' control
>over the 'publication' of copyright material and the letters being allowed
>to be seen for research etc purposes, which isn't in law 'publication'
>
>Athough the copyright of Eliot's letters to Emily may indeed rest with the
>Eliot Estate, they were / are the property of the recipient and the
>recipient can allow anyone they like to see them.
>
>So long as researchers merely report upon the contents and paraphrase the
>exact words used, they do not 'publish' them, even though they publish a
>book that  reveals the contents of the letters this way

It's amazing what money, influence and threat of legal action can do though.

Miller had every right to see the Verdenal letters that Valerie Eliot had but he
didn't get to see them. There is even a note in the files about Miller being
turned down.

If I were working for the Eliot estate I would be proposing various deals that
could be made between the estate and Princeton.

Regards,
   Rick Parker