| Description | The majority of this correpondence dates from before Joseph Strutt's marriage to Isabella Douglas, and consists of love letters to her. These provide a record of his courtship, and document the course of their relationship. Although they express his feelings of affection for his future wife, several letters also suggest that this affection was not uncritical, containing advice and instructions for her to improve her mind and character by reading works of his choice. Letters written by Joseph Strutt after their marriage largely concern family matters, but several letters written from London in 1794 contain details about a court case, [the trial of John Horne Tooke], in which he gave evidence. The courtship correspondence of Isabella Douglas to Joseph Strutt can be found at MS3101/C/E/5/16 |