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Iappearance (TSE's)hernia;b9recovery from;a3 was discharged from the clinic on Monday, but this is the first day that I have tried to write anything more than urgent immediate notes, as I find it tiring to sit up very long at the typewriter. In some ways, the three weeks there was restful. The freedom from anxiety, and thoughts of past and future, is such as I have not had since the end of the war when one lived as in hospital, from day to day. That was what made the adjustment from war to peace (or not-war) more difficult than that from peace to war. But it is a feeling one should not have too much of. I feel almost normal on the side which was operated on four weeks ago; it is the right side, which was operated upon a fortnight ago to-day, that still bothers me after I have walked or stood for a little while. The surgeon tells me that in six weeks time I should be capable of any exertion. IFabers, the1947 Minsted summer stay;h4 am going down to the Fabers tomorrow, having hired a car to take me, as I cannot lift my bag. ThenMirrleeses, thenurse TSE post-operation;b8 a week at the Mirrlees’s (which is only a very short journey from the Fabers by car) and I hope to be back at my office work by September 1st. The whole affair takes much more out of one than I had anticipated; and I think I have lost some pounds in weight, to be made up. At the moment I feel far from energetic!
IHale, Emilyas actor;v8in Kind Lady;d4 hadElsmith, Dorothy Olcottreports on Kind Lady;b8 a letter from Dorothy Elsmith reporting on the success of your presentation of ‘Kind Lady’ – reporting at least on the perfection of your rendering, becauseAmericaDorset, Vermont;e3and the Dorset Players;a4 I doubt whether the sort of audience you get at Dorset is capable of full appreciation of theatrical art.1 That is the one drawback to Dorset. I shall write and thank her when I return, for at the moment I must keep letter writing to a minimum; andPerkins, Edith (EH's aunt);h7 I have just written to Aunt Edith. (What is the condition of her eyesight now?)
I am anxious to know what other part or parts you are taking during the rest of the season (I suppose this is the last letter I can count upon reaching you at Dorset); and, of course, what your movements (or preferably, rest from movement) will be after that. But I must wait patiently until you are ready to tell me. It should be unnecessary to say that it is always on my mind.
IStephenson, Paul;a3 am glad that Dorothy took to Paul Stephenson and Marjorie.
1.TSE to Edith Perkins, 14 Aug. 1947: ‘I had a letter from Dorothy Elsmith after she had been to see Emily as the “Kind Lady”. I gather that Emily did as brilliantly, in a very difficult part, as we should expect of her. I only fear that there would be few in the local audience capable of appreciating her accomplishment in the acting. I still do not know what her work for the rest of the season is’ (Beinecke).
4.TSEElsmiths, theseminal Woods Hole stay with;a1Elsmith, Dorothy Olcott
5.PaulStephenson, Paul Stephenson (1898–1974), theatre director – he worked for various theatres, with seasons at the Central City Opera House, Colorado (where he directed Lillian Gish in Camille), and at the Brattleboro Theater Group, Vermont – was first engaged for the summer season at the Dorset Players, Vermont in 1939–40, After war service in the Marine Corps, he returned to the Dorset Players for the summers of 1946 and 1947. But box office takings during 1947 were so poor that the final shows were cancelled: Stephenson was not asked back for the summer of 1948.