Letter from Sophia Raffles to Maryanne Flint

In Lady Raffles’ letter to her sister in law, Maryanne Flint, the reader is offered a dramatic account of the fire and escape of the Raffles family from the Fame. The letter reports that the children slept soundly, huddled into the tight confines of a small boat, whilst the adults worried about whether they were drifting to land or further out to sea.

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'I cannot tell you the horror with which I think of the voyage'

'it was all over, we must perish'

'the whole vessel was a sheet of flame'

'one poor man was missing'

'we had no hope of life'

Taken from: Letter from Sophia Raffles to Maryanne Flint detailing the loss of the Fame
Author / Creator: Sophia Raffles
Date: 22 March 1824
Copyright: By permission of the British Library
Shelfmark: MSS EUR D742/15 ff. 61-73