So I Have Thought of You
Page 42
I feel I shouldn’t have complained – though it wasn’t quite meant as a complaint, – about what you’d put on the jacket, only I know you’re tolerant about such things, indeed about everything. When you said Charles Monteith was not very nice, I made up my mind never on any account to try to see him.
love
Penelope
P.S. I meant to say that these various festivals &c I’m going to aren’t I think of any interest from the book selling point of view, except that on May 17th I’ve got to go to Brighton – to discuss Men As Women Writers See Them with Susan Hill and Jackie Gillott, pity me –
And the organisers asked wd. Offshore be on sale in Brighton, well, I just don’t know.
Also, I’ve just had my advance from Glasgow, thankyou very much for putting it through so quickly
25 Almeric Road
London, SW11
4 September 1980
Dear Richard,
Thankyou for your letter and I was very pleased to see the copies of Human Voices – my family tell me that I was getting above myself anyway in objecting to the jacket and it serves me right that I’ve turned dark blue on the back flap. The great thing is that the book has been made to look a bit longer and for this I’m very grateful to you as indeed I am for all the trouble you take.
I’m also glad to hear about Japanese publisher &c, I’m deeply pessimistic and never expect anything nice to happen so am always pleased if it does – and perhaps you would thank Sarah for me for letting me know about Kaleidoscope and The Critics though I shan’t listen as they were so unpleasant last time and I find I get less and less resilient as time goes on. That is natural I suppose.
I am struggling on with Charlotte Mew although everyone in the business (by which I mean lit. biography) seems to want to write about her even apart from Robert Gittings,* who I now find is known as the Arch Weevil. However I won’t go on about this but will just wish you a wonderful holiday in France –
love
Penelope
25 Almeric Road
London, SW11
11 October 1980
Dear Richard,
Thankyou very much for your letter and for sending me the notices, sp. The Listener – no-one seems to like Howard Newby but he’s encouraged me and voted to give this trouble-creating Booker Prize to The Bookshop, and his remarks are very just, I think – I couldn’t quite get Human Voices to hang together, but it was the best I could do.
By the way I don’t know if you noticed at the strange PEN meeting (but they’re all strange – however, not all of them start with a man holding up a beadwork purse, just like the old Missionary Sundays) that Tom Burns, who seemed to be in genial mood, as usual, said he hadn’t had a review copy for The Tablet, but perhaps Collins wouldn’t feel this worth it?
There were a number of series missing in the Waugh letters – Mark Amory asked about Ronnie’s letters but none could be found although Ronnie himself kept everything – presumably EW,* as Ronnie’s literary executor, destroyed them, and all I could turn up was one, not at all interesting, to my father.
Sarah kindly let me know about the NFS,** but I hope this is not the kiss of death as Martyn Goff, in his supremely tactless speech at the new Book House, pointed out that the NFS was for high quality novels which could only expect a very low sale, so let’s hope things pick up later. But I do like him and sympathise with his difficulties, Book House being so much more suitable for a seaside hotel, or the Town Hall it once was – the heating failed completely last week and the vast room was freezing though this in turn made it easier to stay awake during the Modern Novel lecture – these lectures are very well attended though, I’m glad to say.
As far as my Poetry Bookshop is concerned I do realise that you’ve turned it down, kindly but firmly 4 times so far and I expect I had better do a treatment of it and try Faber, which was what I think you suggested, in fact, particularly as it is going to be difficult as regards permissions.
I do so much hope that by now you’ve navigated past or through the Beatty trustees – I can’t believe you will be held up at this point over a formality, it would be entirely unjust.
I would be very glad to meet William, I’m sure he will make a splendid journalist, if only he is ruthless enough –
best wishes
Penelope
25 Almeric Road
London, SW11
20 November 1980
Dear Richard,
Thankyou very much for your letter and enclosures and for all you’ve done, and I’m sorry H. Voices won’t sell as this makes me feel guilty, though I daresay it’s not a very good season for anyone except the most popular. I’m afraid, also, that it’s not in my nature to be spectacular or panoramic and I’m never likely to be accepted in the U.S., they just don’t like these short novels (defended by Colin* in the TLS in an unconstruable Latin couplet) – even Beryl B.** doesn’t sell well over there.
My trouble – or one of them – is that I’m always influenced by the last person who gets hold of me, and at the moment I’ve been asked to look at a mysterious chestful of Pre-Raphaelite papers, also the question of William Morris’s unfinished novel† has come up again – by now it has sunk to the bottom. Perhaps I’m better employed doing this and my endlessly complicated Poetry Bookshop than in writing novels, I don’t know. I’d love to ask you one of these days – meanwhile I’ve had a nice notice from Frank Kermode (admired by me but not by you) in the London R of B, and received a Dundee cake from the University of Dundee, and these things make me feel a bit better. It would be better to write long novels and short letters, but I must just say that I hope the Beatty complications turned out all right, I’m sure they must have done by this time, but copyrights and permissions are altogether nothing but a misery – best wishes – Penelope
[postcard]
27 November [1980]
Thankyou so much for writing, I’d love to come in on Thursday 4th – I could come round at about 5.15 unless you tell me not to.
The PEN club is so DIFFICULT TO GET TO and miles from anywhere, at least for the shabbier members –
Penelope
25 Almeric Road
London, SW11
12 February 1981
Dear Richard,
I was really glad to hear from you as to me you’ve become something of a mythological figure, partly because of the saga of the move, related to me by Sybille Bedford, I do hope and pray it’s all settled itself by now – and partly because of items in the daily press in which you figure as handing out £200,000 contracts &c – one thing after another – but I should very much like to come for a drink on the 24th, I’ll come round to Collins about 5.30, unless told not to – best wishes Penelope
25 Almeric Road
London, SW11
25 February 1981
Dear Richard,
I so much enjoyed seeing you yesterday – I was a bit worried as you
didn’t seem to be looking as well as, for instance, when you came back from France, but it’s not to be wondered at I suppose – however there is a point with living conditions when things have to get better – I felt this when we were awash in the Thames – and I am sure you and Mary have reached that point.
I’m just enclosing 2 letters about the Morris ms. which as you see suggest a leisurely uncommercial atmosphere, but that’s all I want for this kind of thing. I don’t care if only one person reads what I’ve done, as long as nobody else has written it.
Well, I’ve got my backs of old envelopes out of the drawer to see what I can make out of them – thankyou very much for your advice –
Best wishes, Penelope
25 Almeric Road,
London, SW11
[card]
11 March 1981
Thankyou for letter, will turn up about 3.15 on the 18th (which may give me a chance to discuss Lady Di’s dress with Angela) – Uncle Ronnie’s memoir by Patrick S/S is not much, he was forced to write it by these dreadful Grenfells, Asquiths &
c, –
(The book on Julian Grenfell a couple of years ago, I can’t remember who by, suggested to me that Patrick S/S was victimised by them as well –) have nothing to do with these people, they’ll destroy you sooner or later, as Malcolm Muggeridge warned me – but Ronnie was fatally attracted by them – best wishes P.
25 Almeric Road
London, SW11
16 April 1981
Dear Richard,
Please do you think you could write what the Keeper of Manuscripts
at the Fitzwilliam calls a ‘letter of recommendation for our files’ to say that I’m working on an edition of an unpublished MS of William Morris and so am a fit person to read the letters from Jane Morris to W. S. Blunt – which the Syndics have just released, (or whatever you do to old love letters). I know of course that this really has nothing to do with Collins, and what’s more I perhaps never shall edit this ms. as nothing can be decided till the Soc. of Antiq. have a meeting at the end of April (they could easily decide the whole thing in 5 minutes but they like to have these meetings – and ordinarily I wouldn’t trouble you as we all write these letters for each other at the Westminster Tutors, but as it’s vacation time I’m venturing to ask you as they say).
I feel rather under pressure as my daughter and son-in-law, (baby due in 5 weeks), have suddenly decided that they don’t want to teach any more but would like to keep a small post-office in the depths of the country and they’ve kindly asked me to go with them to dig the vegetable patch – it is very good of them and indeed I’ve no option as I think they’ve sold this house (apparently to the Marquis of Bath who came round here and tottered up and down the stairs) – and I personally can only write in London, I love the noise and squalor and the perpetual distractions and the temptation to take an aircraft somewhere else, so I’ll have to see what I can get finished before we go the sub post-office. (Of course if we kept hens they would make a noise, but it’s one of my vows never to keep hens again.)
Very best Easter wishes to you and Mary,
Penelope
[postcard]
24 April 1981
Thankyou very much for writing to the Fitzwilliam for me – I have read there before, but I expect I’ve been lost out of the files – in fact I feel I’m going under altogether, but would just like to do this Wm. Morris subject. I hope you’ve got the house you wanted by now? I’d love to come in and have a drink on Tuesday 5th, about 5.30 if that’s all right –
Penelope
I put Collins as my address for Who’s Who as I never really have an address – I’m sure they won’t notice.
25 Almeric Road,
London, SW11
[card]
10 May [1981]
You won’t mind me sending you one more document on this subject.* I can’t think why this man doesn’t go away and publish something else! I won’t send you any more of this correspondence, I promise, but it was very good of you to take an interest in it. Soc. of Antiq: still dizzy at all the activity and say they must ‘brief a reputable literary agent’ as though they usually employed disreputable ones –
Penelope
P.S. Just off to Somerville High Table, jugs of water and cream crackers I expect.
25 Almeric Road,
London, SW11
[card]
2 June [1981]
Please are there any spare Offshores lying about the office, it’s all these charity auctions for the disabled &c which seem to have got completely out of hand, I can’t send any more because I haven’t got any more but if you are clearing out the bookcase and find some, could you v. kindly let me have them?
Penelope
25 Almeric Road,
London, SW11
[card]
14 June 1981
It’s so kind and helpful of you to send the books – I know very well I’m not due for any more and I suppose if I’m going to be charitable and save my soul I ought to buy them in future, so I won’t ask again – incidentally I see some of these people aren’t disabled but dyslexic and the book auction has to be called an Orcshun, it seems to me if they’re trying to help the dyslexic they’d do better to teach them normal spelling –
However, thankyou again and best wishes
Penelope – Just off to do this creative writing course, which I don’t look forward to.
25 Almeric Road
London, SW11
27 July 1981
Dear Richard,
Thankyou so much for your kind letter which had a good effect on me as I’m all in pieces. I take it you’ll let me off this questionnaire if I’m not coming out till next autumn* and all the information, photograph &c is at Collins anyway – it’s all driving me mad, I had a ‘researcher’ here all day for one of these American Directories of Modern Writers, I pointed out that I wasn’t published in the U.S. but apparently this doesn’t matter, they just like reading Directories for their own sake, and then they were annoyed because someone (not me) filled up my recreations in Who’s Who as growing orange and lemon trees, and there weren’t any to show, as I’ve reluctantly had to part with them as I’m moving, a great loss to me as I shall never have the heart to start them again.
This is really to say how glad I am about the house, I am sure you and Mary will find it was worth waiting for, it wd: be wonderful if you would come to the Post Office one day and advise me on the vegetables – nothing has been done to the garden for 8 years and the nettles are 8 foot high – also to send my addresses if Sarah would put them on file, or tear them up if I’ve sent them already –
best wishes, Penelope
I’ll send a suggestion for the book-jacket as I know from experience how tactful you are at getting rid of things you don’t like!
Theale Post Office Stores
Theale, nr. Wedmore
Somerset
23 August 1981
Dear Richard,
You won’t thank me for writing to you when, if I’ve got things right, you and Mary are just in the middle of the move, and no-one can sympathise as much as I do perhaps as I’m now irreparably divided in 2 and don’t know where everything is, not even my typewriter, however I do want to ask you whether you couldn’t (or could) manage to get At Freddie’s out in the summer, I’m sure it would make no difference to Collins because as you said to me hardbacks can’t be sold anyway, I just feel I shall lose heart if it’s got to wait till next autumn. Barbara (Pym) always used to come out in June, (in fact I think this next (last) one of hers is going to) and you are in her group someone said to me firmly the other day you either have to be in hers or Beryl’s. This made me vow never to go to a literary party again and I shan’t, either. – But please if you can find a moment do see if you can shift me back from the autumn
best wishes Penelope
Theale Post Office Stores
Theale, nr. Wedmore
Somerset
28 August 1981
Dear Richard,
I’m so sorry I haven’t answered the right letters, I did write from Whitstable but fear that didn’t arrive. I find it rather difficult living in quite so many places at once. As to the sub-post-office stores, ones like this that still sell sweets by the ounce &c, I know they are open to criticism but do you know you only get £50 bonus for resisting armed robbery, it’s not much really is it?
I return contract blurb &c and agree to everything only I wonder if you could take out is an Oxford graduate on the jacket as I think it sounds peculiar. The photograph is horrible, but I don’t know if there are any other ones, perhaps they’re all horrible. If Sarah says it’s all right, I expect it is all right.
In respect, as they say, to the jacket,* I can’t find anything, rulers and so on, it’s not like an ordinary move because the shop had to open straight away to keep the goodwill of the village, so we haven’t got anything sorted out and I wonder if we ever will. I’ve just got the books I’ve got to teach out of next term – I rescued those – but I’ll tell you what I would have liked to do – a
ll my books are before the 1960s as this was the last period when anyone was stopped from doing anything for moral considerations, and this one is 1963, I think, and the style was early Hockney, not what he’s doing now but the nice clean drawings with predominant blue violet and yellow, just as neat as a Caulfield really, and I wanted a high wall with a broken basket of fruit at the bottom of it, having evidently fallen, one of the Covent Garden baskets. That gives some movement, because it’s evidently fallen from somewhere. I did think of the stage children as to some extent expendable products, like the fruit. Now I’m sure you follow me, Richard, what do you think of it?
Best wishes,
Penelope Fitzgerald
[postcard]
16 September [1981]
This is to thank you for such a very nice dinner which made me feel considerably less defeated and I was glad to hear all the good news of your move and the family.
I’m definitely not up to living here* – a parcel has arrived but the Temple Steward has tied it to the outside door with a special knot which he uses for briefs &c and I don’t know if it’s etiquette to cut it off with scissors.
Will come to office next Wed – P.
76 Clifton Hill, NW8
[postcard to Sarah]
[autumn 1981]
Just one more change of address (from Mondays to Thursdays!)
Penelope
This is a kind of attic, overlooking the tree-tops, with gold wallpaper. It’s rather strange. I was moving an arm-chair wh: had no bottom, so people fell through it, and found some valuable jewellery wh: had been lost for 25 years.
76 Clifton Hill,
London, NW8
20 November 1981