[35A School St., Andover, Mass.]

T. S.Eliot
EmilyHale
TS
19 Carlyle Mansions
5 March 1955
My dear,

It is better to write briefly than not at all, and it will make a start, as I am paralysed by the thought of all the letters of acknowledgement and reassurance that I have to write, beginning with my relatives in America. I seem to be making progress in spite of the very wintry weather (it is snowing again this morning). I had two days at my office this week, going and returning by taxi, but then a day in bed – possibly a reaction from taking so much digitalis, but the doctor hopes and believes that it was a chill on the liver, as the symptoms were accompanied by a slight temperature. At any rate, I am going to church this morning (late) and to work on Monday in the normal way; and I see my doctor again on Wednesday.

IBailiffscourt Hotel;a2 may go to Littlehampton for a week or so before Easter; but at present the hotel is not yet open, and anyway while the weather is so cold one is as well off at home. Thetravels, trips and plansTSE's 1955 visit to America;i7foreshortened;a4 doctor has insisted that I should try to come back from America by boat, even if I have not time to go that way; soEliot, Esmé Valerie (née Fletcher, TSE's second wife);b3 my secretary has secured, through the travel agency, a cabin on the Queen Elizabeth for the 15th June (whichHarvard Universitywhich TSE gets out of;d2 lets me out of attending the 45th reunion of the class of 1910), an inside cabin, but very expensive. I have not yet broken the news to the Mayor of Florence, and now theReligious Drama Conference, Oxford, 1955;a1 BishopBell, George, Bishop of Chichester (earlier Dean of Canterbury)and Religious Drama Conference;c1 ofBrowne, Elliott Martin;g4 Chichester and Martin Browne are pestering me about a Religious Drama Conference in Oxford at the end of July. I loathe all conferences and congresses. DoDuncan-Jones, Revd Arthur Stuart, Dean of Chichesterdies;b1 you remember the Dean of Chichester, Duncan-Jones? He died while I was in the clinic, of heart failure, at the age of 75. He was a valuable man, a good fighter and I almost always found myself in agreement with him, and I shall miss him.1 IndeedBell, George, Bishop of Chichester (earlier Dean of Canterbury)TSE's view of;b7, much more congenial to me than the little bishop is, though the bishop is a pet – but not a cosy pet.

I suppose that you are freezing in Andover now: I think of you getting up and getting your early breakfast, in this weather, and then trudging over to take a class at eight o’clock or so. I hope that the central heating of your house functions well, and that that is looked after by the people on the other side of the partition. Miss Sweeney, isn’t it? ISweeney, John ('Jack');a1 remember the name because Jack Sweeney, of the Widener Library, and his wife, are coming to tea to-day.2

Lovingly
Tom

1.RevdDuncan-Jones, Revd Arthur Stuart, Dean of ChichesterTSE's memorial on;b2n Arthur Stuart Duncan-Jones (1879–1955): Dean of Chichester, 1929–55.

TSE to the General Meeting, London Library, July 1955: ‘“D-J” had several claims to eminence, and a variety of interests which complemented each other. HeBell, George, Bishop of Chichester (earlier Dean of Canterbury)as patron of the arts;c2n shared with his Bishop a love of the arts and a sense of public responsibility which extended far beyond the bounds of their City and Diocese. Duncan-Jones was, as a Dean should be, a lover of music, an art in which he possessed both knowledge and taste, and the Cathedral of Chichester became known as a centre of music both liturgical and extra-liturgical. He was a distinguished theologian. He knew well Germany and the German language, and he had a discriminating taste in German wines. Likeanti-Semitism;d3n his Bishop, he early wrote and spoke with condemnation of the Nazi persecution of Jews and their campaign against the churches. He was an accomplished speaker both in private discussion and in debate, and a formidable disputant in Assembly. I may, of course, be somewhat influenced by the fact that I was in general sympathy both with his theological views and with his political and social views, and that I often found myself supporting, or supported by, his opinion. What I most admired, however, was his fearlessness and independence. He is a loss to the Church and to the Nation and, I will remind you again, a loss to the London Library’ (‘Memorial Tribute for Arthur Stuart Duncan-Jones’, CProse 7, 145–6).

To the Revd Dr S. C. Carpenter (sometime Master of the Temple), TSE wrote, 27 Sept. 1955: ‘My affection for Duncan-Jones was quite out of proportion to the intimacy of our acquaintance, for indeed I cannot say that I knew him well. IAll Souls Club, Theand Revd Duncan-Jones;b5 used to see him regularly at our All Souls Club, of which he was one of the mainstays. He was unsurpassed for clarity, fluency and vigour in discussion, during which he gradually became pinker in the face. But so far as I remember, he had the gift of being downright and blunt without ever being quarrelsome or giving legitimate ground for offence … I shall always be painfully aware of the absence of his support on occasions which I know we should share the same views.’ See further S. C. Carpenter, Duncan-Jones of Chichester (1956).

2.JohnSweeney, John ('Jack') ‘Jack’ Sweeney (1906–86): poet, critic, curator, patron of the arts; brother of the art critic and museum curator James Johnson Sweeney. Educated at Georgetown University and Cambridge (where he worked with I. A. Richards), in 1942 he became curator of Harvard University’s Poetry Room, and from 1946 Subject Specialist for the Widener Library. He married in 1949 Máire MacNeill (1904–87), folklorist; author of The Festival of Lughnasa (1962): see Maureen Murphy, ‘Máire MacNeill (1904–1987)’, Béaloideas 72 (2004), 1–30.

All Souls Club, The, TSE joins, first dinner with, discussion vague at second dinner, even vaguer at third, to discuss 'Church, Community and State', discusses adult baptism, discusses the Edinburgh Conference, discusses church music, discusses war policy, discusses Encyclical, and Revd Duncan-Jones,
anti-Semitism, and Marie von Moritz, and Mosley, within TSE's racial hierarchy, in After Strange Gods, and Mosley's Albert Hall rally, and Nazi persecution in Vienna, and the prospect of immigration, and EP, in South Africa,
Bailiffscourt Hotel, TSE convalesces at,
Bell, George, Bishop of Chichester (earlier Dean of Canterbury), invites TSE to Chichester, to read 'Thoughts After Lambeth', Chichester visit described, consults TSE on extra-liturgical devotions, invites the Eliots for Whitsun, fancied for archbishopric, the Perkinses given introduction to, asks TSE to advise Archbishop, at anti-totalitarian church meeting, on Hitler's Germany, remains in Sweden after TSE, volunteers to guest-edit CNL, TSE's view of, convenes 'The Church and the Artist' conference, and Religious Drama Conference, as patron of the arts,

4.RtBell, George, Bishop of Chichester (earlier Dean of Canterbury) Revd George Bell, DD (1883–1958), Bishop of Chichester, 1929–58: see Biographical Register.

Browne, Elliott Martin, meets TSE at Chichester, production of The Rock, meets TSE over possible collaboration, talks over outline of play, meets TSE with Martin Shaw, delighted with Rock choruses, discusses unwritten pageant scenes with TSE, predicament as The Rock's director, well connected in amateur circles, revising into the night with TSE, argues with Shaw at dress-rehearsal, presented to Prince Arthur, honoured by Rock cast-supper, producing Gordon Bottomley's play, speaks at Londonderry House with TSE, 1935 Canterbury Murder in the Cathedral, approached by TSE to 'produce', consulted throughout composition, goes silent, lunches with TSE and Speaight, directs and acts despite illness, pursues London Murder revival, 1935–6 Mercury Theatre Murder revival, engaged as producer by Dukes, keen that EH attend rehearsals, simultaneously part of BBC production, agrees about Speaight's decline, preferred as producer for TSE's next play, and Charles Williams's Cranmer, in which he plays 'the Skeleton', and TSE attend Tenebrae, taken to Cambridge after-feast, producing York Nativity Play, which TSE thinks Giottoesque, at Savile Club Murder dinner, producing Shakespeare's Dream, and Ascent of F6, and Tewkesbury Festival Murder confusion, 1939 production of The Family Reunion, due to be sent script, weighing TSE's proposal that he produce, enthused by script, suggests TSE see Mourning Becomes Electra, against Family Reunion as title, pleased with draft, quizzed on fire-safety, typescript prepared for, new draft submitted to, rewrite waits on, receives new draft, criticisms thereof, reports John Gielgud interest, mediates between Gielgud and TSE, TSE throws over Gielgud for, secures Westminster Theatre production, steps into company breach, then into still-greater breach, and the play's weaknesses, direction of Family Reunion, receives TSE's Shakespeare lectures, 1938 American Murder tour, re-rehearsing actors for, suffers fit of pre-tour gloom, yet to report from Boston, and Tewkesbury pageant, accompanies TSE to La Mandragola, on Family Reunion's future prospects, and possible Orson Welles interest, war leaves at loose end, advises TSE over next play, war work with Pilgrim Players, unavailable for modern-dress Murder, compared to tempter/knight successor, requests Pilgrim Players' play from TSE, New Plays by Poets series, as director, and This Way to the Tomb, and Family Reunion revival, urges TSE to concentrate on theatre, 1946 Mercury Family Reunion revival, in rehearsal, possible revue for Mercury Theatre, and The Lady's Not for Burning, Chairman of the Drama League, 1949 Edinburgh Cocktail Party, to produce, TSE's intended first reader for, receives beginning, approves first act, receives TSE's revisions, communciates Alec Guinness's enthusiasm, arranges reading, surpasses himself with production, in Florence, EH suggests moving on from, and the Poets' Theatre Guild, 1950 Cocktail Party New York transfer, compares Rex Harrison and Alec Guinness, TSE debates whether to continue collaboration with, suggests three-play TSE repertory, 1953 Edinburgh Confidential Clerk, receives first two acts, designing sets, 1953 Lyric Theatre Confidential Clerk, attends with TSE, 1954 American Confidential Clerk, 1954 touring Confidential Clerk, TSE and Martin Browne catch in Golders Green, seeks Family Reunion MS from EH,
see also Brownes, the Martin

4.E. MartinBrowne, Elliott Martin Browne (1900–80), English director and producer, was to direct the first production of Murder in the Cathedral: see Biographical Register.

Duncan-Jones, Revd Arthur Stuart, Dean of Chichester, to lunch with EH, member of All Souls Club, where he speaks on adult baptism, leads discussion on church music, attacks government, with TSE over South Indian Church, dies, TSE's memorial on,

7.RevdDuncan-Jones, Revd Arthur Stuart, Dean of Chichester Arthur Stuart Duncan-Jones (1879–1955) held various incumbencies, including St Paul’s, Knightsbridge, London, before becoming Dean of Chichester, 1929–55.

Eliot, Esmé Valerie (née Fletcher, TSE's second wife), comes highly recommended as secretary, which she recalls becoming, ticked off indirectly by EH, but exclupated by TSE, on leave in Leeds, fending off invitations for TSE, types up The Confidential Clerk, gets EH ticket to Confidential Clerk, vets Muriel Spark, helps TSE with Christmas cards, marries TSE, TSE on marrying and widowing, EH congratulates on marrying TSE, continues temporarily as secretary, writes to EH, installed as newlywed at Kensington Court Gardens, TSE collecting photographs for, her father's death, receives photo from EH, and the Hale letters, Theresa on TSE's relations with, nurses TSE, shielded from EH's importunities, admired by EH, admired by TSE's family, urged to correspond with EH, meets EH,

7.EsméEliot, Esmé Valerie (née Fletcher, TSE's second wife) Valerie Fletcher (1926–2012) started work as TSE’s secretary on 12 Sept. 1949, and became his second wife on 10 Jan. 1957; after his death in Jan. 1965, his literary executor and editor: see 'Valerie Eliot' in Biographical Register.

Harvard University, rumours of TSE defecting to, TSE's student days at, makes TSE feel inadequate, Annenberg Hall disparaged, its society, English 26 (Modern English Literature), class described, on Shaw and Chesterton, on Hardy, positive feedback on, on Yeats, on modern poetry, on Joyce contra Lawrence, final lecture, compared architecturally to Yale, hockey match, compared to Princeton, produces Murder, TSE's student cooking at, engages MacNeice at TSE's instance, TSE's election to Phi Beta Kappa Society, where TSE's writers' cramp began, Harvard calendar given to TSE, TSE's student bodybuilding regime at, speaking engagement at, poetry reading at, confers honorary degree on TSE, stages Murder at Germanic Museum, Theodore Spencer Memorial Lecture, produces Murder again, Class Reunion at, which TSE gets out of, possible deposit for Hale letters,
Religious Drama Conference, Oxford, 1955,
Sweeney, John ('Jack'),

2.JohnSweeney, John ('Jack') ‘Jack’ Sweeney (1906–86): poet, critic, curator, patron of the arts; brother of the art critic and museum curator James Johnson Sweeney. Educated at Georgetown University and Cambridge (where he worked with I. A. Richards), in 1942 he became curator of Harvard University’s Poetry Room, and from 1946 Subject Specialist for the Widener Library. He married in 1949 Máire MacNeill (1904–87), folklorist; author of The Festival of Lughnasa (1962): see Maureen Murphy, ‘Máire MacNeill (1904–1987)’, Béaloideas 72 (2004), 1–30.

travels, trips and plans, EH's 1930 trip to England, EH's proposed 1931 England visit, called off, EH's 1932 summer holidays, the Eliots' Derby Day excursion, related, the Eliots' July 1932 Hindhead visit, the Eliots' August 1932 Eastbourne holiday, described, TSE's 1932–3 year in America, Norton Professorship offered to TSE, and the prospect of reunion with EH, which TSE refuses to see as decisive, which angers EH, who writes and destroys a response, TSE's financial imperatives, TSE's itinerary, and the question of discretion, opportunity for adventurous lecture-tours, TSE speculates on attendant feelings, TSE on the voyage over, TSE reflects on, TSE's return from, the Eliot family's Randolph holiday, TSE's 1933 westward tour to Scripps, proposed to EH, and TSE's need to lecture, possibly via St. Louis, TSE's itinerary, possible stopover in Seattle, a shameful source of happiness, still a happy thought, described by Havens and others, TSE reflects on, TSE's return from, TSE wonders at after-effect on EH, EH urged to reflect honestly on, Ada on, and a conversation about divorce, in EH's recollection, possible EH 1933 summer in England, TSE's 1933 Faber summer holiday, set for mid-August, postponed, rearranged, TSE buys summer outfits for, described, TSE's 1933 tour of Scotland, possible itinerary, Morley's preparations for, described for EH, TSE's 1933 trip to Paris, mooted, described, EH's 1934–5 year in Europe, TSE delighted at the prospect, attempts to coordinate with TSE's 1934 summer plans, the Perkinses due in Chipping Camden, EH's itinerary, TSE's initial weekend at Chipping Campden, TSE books rooms in Lechlade, TSE visits Campden again with family, and again alone, which visit TSE reflects on, TSE's plans to entertain EH en route to Europe, EH's continental itinerary, VHE and propriety inhibit pre-Paris arrangements, L'Escargot lunch, weekend in Sussex for EH's birthday, possible London tea-party, second lunch at L'Escargot, EH and TSE's November excursions, a month which TSE reflects happily on, EH's summer 1935 plans, EH departs England, EH in Florence, arrived in Rome, TSE coordinating with EH's return, TSE recommends Siena, EH returns to Florence, EH sails for Riviera, EH returns from France, L'Escargot lunch on EH's return, EH sails for Guernsey, May 1935, EH's June 1935 London sortie, TSE attends Dr Perkins's birthday, TSE's July 1935 Campden week, TSE offers to fund EH in London, where EH joins Jeanie McPherrin, TSE's Campden birthday weekend, prospect of EH spending month at Blomfield Terrace, Thorp theatre outing, TSE's 6–8 September Campden weekend, EH staying at 19 Rosary Gardens, EH to Campden for 15–17 November, EH sails for Boston, EH and TSE's final farewell, TSE and EH's final weeks in London, their excursion to Finchampstead, TSE reflects on, excursion to Greenwich, EH reflects on the final weeks of, TSE's 1934 Faber summer holiday, described, TSE's dream of Cairo, TSE's invitation to Finland, palmed off on Robert Nichols, TSE's 1935 tour of Scotland, proposed by Blake, attempts to coordinate with EH, TSE's itinerary, TSE's 1935 Faber summer holiday, TSE writes from, described, TSE's 1936 visit to Ireland, TSE's itinerary, recounted, TSE's spring/summer 1936 trip to Paris, first contemplated, date fixed, Morleys invited, TSE's itinerary, recounted, TSE's 1936 Faber summer holiday, TSE writes from, TSE's 1936 American trip, spring arrival dependent on New York Murder, if not spring, then autumn, possible excursions, autumn better for seeing EH, and possible Princeton offer, and possible Smith visit, efforts to coordinate with EH, passage on Alaunia booked, TSE's itinerary, Murder to pay for, coordinating with Eliot Randolph holiday, the moment of parting from EH, TSE's birthday during, TSE reflects on, TSE's 1937 tour of Scotland, itinerary, recounted, the Morley–Eliot 1937 trip to Salzburg, contemplated, itinerary, EH receives postcard from, described, as relayed to OM, EH's 1937 summer in England, and Mrs Seaverns, EH accompanies TSE to Edinburgh, itinerary coordinated with EH, dinner at L'Escargot, TSE's 10–11 July Campden visit, TSE's 17–22 July Campden visit, TSE's 21 August Campden visit, EH travels to Yorkshire, TSE reminisces about, TSE's 1937 Faber summer holiday, TSE reports from, leaves TSE sunburnt, TSE's 1938 trip to Lisbon, outlined to EH, TSE advised on, travel arrangements, the voyage out, described, EH's 1938 summer in England, and whether EH should spend it at Campden, EH's arrival confirmed, TSE's July Campden visit, EH's late-July London stay, TSE's 5–21 August Campden fortnight, TSE's 3–6 September Campden visit, EH's September London stay, TSE reflects on, TSE's 1938 Faber summer holiday, TSE's preparations for, TSE reports from, possible EH England Christmas 1938 visit, possible TSE 1939 visit to America, mooted for spring, complicated by Marion and Dodo's trip, shifted to autumn, threatened by war, made impossible, EH's 1939 England visit, TSE's efforts to coordinate with, threatened by war, complicated by Marion's arrival, EH's itinerary, EH's initial London stay, TSE's 7–20 July Campden visit, TSE's 22–30 August Campden visit, TSE's 2–4 September Campden visit, EH again London, EH and TSE's parting moments, in TSE's memory, memory vitiated by EH's subsequent letter, TSE's 1939 Faber summer holiday, TSE writes from, possible wartime transatlantic crossings, contingencies, in case of EH being ill, TSE's reasons for and against, and TSE's New York proposition, following invasion Denmark and Norway, impossible for TSE unless official, TSE's desire to remain in England, TSE's reasons for and against accepting lectureship, given Ada's impending death, TSE's abortive 1940 Italian mission, possible but confidential, lectures prepared for, and the prospect of seeing EP, might include Paris, itinerary, in jeopardy, final preparations for, cancelled, TSE's 1940 visit to Dublin, approved by Foreign Office, in national interest, itinerary, recounted, involves TSE's first plane-journey, TSE's 1940 Faber summer holiday, TSE reports from, TSE's 1941 Faber summer holiday, Kipling and fishing-rod packed for, TSE reports from, TSE's 1941 Northern tour, proposed by the Christendom group, arranged with Demant, itinerary, recounted, TSE's 1942 British Council mission to Sweden, TSE makes cryptic allusion to, as recounted to EH, as recounted to JDH, return leg in London, as war-work, TSE's 1942 New Forest holiday, described, TSE's 1942 week in Scotland, recounted, TSE's abortive 1942 Iceland mission, TSE's 1943 trip to Edinburgh, recounted, TSE's abortive 1943 Iceland mission, TSE's 1943 New Forest holiday, TSE's 1944 trip to Edinburgh, TSE's abortive 1944 North Africa mission, TSE's May 1945 trip to Paris, described, TSE's June 1945 trip to Paris, recounted, possible post-war American visit, and Henry's impending death, ideally ancillary to work, possibly as F&F's representative, waits on TSE's health and Carlyle Mansions, TSE's 1945 September fortnight in Lee, described, TSE's 1945 Christmas in Lee, described, TSE's 1946 summer in America, date for passage fixed, paperwork for, TSE's itinerary, its aftermath, recounted, TSE's 1947 summer in America, dependent on lecture engagements, TSE seeks to bring forward, Henry's condition brings further forward, set for April, itinerary, EH reflects on, TSE's scheduled December 1947 visit to Marseilles and Rome, itinerary, TSE's preparations for, dreaded, Roman leg described by Roger Hinks, EH's hypothetical March 1948 visit to England, TSE's postponed 1948 trip to Aix, itinerary, recounted, home via Paris, TSE's 1948 trip to America, itinerary, TSE's visit to EH in Andover, disrupted by Nobel Prize, TSE's 1948 Nobel Prize visit to Stockholm, itinerary, recounted, TSE's 1949 family motor-tour of Scotland, described, TSE's October–November 1949 trip to Germany, possible itinerary, preparations for, final itinerary, TSE's account of, the return via Belgium, TSE's January 1950 voyage to South Africa, all but fixed, itinerary, described by TSE, recounted by Faber, EH's 1950 summer in England, TSE books EH's hotel room for, TSE's efforts to coordinate with EH's movements, EH in Campden, TSE reports to Aunt Edith on, TSE's 1950 visit to America, and TSE's possible Chicago post, the Chicago leg, November itinerary, TSE's spring 1951 trip to Spain, itinerary, recounted, TSE's September 1951 Geneva stay, itinerary, recounted, TSE's 1951 British Council mission to Paris, recounted, TSE's second 1951 British Council mission to Paris, recounted, TSE's 1952 visit to Rennes and the Riviera, itinerary, recounted, TSE's 1952 visit to America, itinerary, efforts to coordinate with EH's summer, TSE on meeting with EH, TSE's 1952 rest cure in Switzerland, TSE's 1953 visit to St. Louis and America, set for June, to include fortnight in Cambridge, itinerary, EH's 1953 trip to England, EH's Alnwick plans, TSE books hotel for EH, and EH's ticket to Confidential Clerk, TSE's 1953 visit to Geneva, TSE's 1953–4 trip to South Africa, itinerary, described, arrival described to JDH, GCF on, TSE's 1954 Geneva rest cure, Geneva preferred to Paris, TSE's deferred 1955 visit to Hamburg, prospect inspires reluctance in TSE, proposed for spring 1955, dreaded, TSE now returned from, TSE's 1955 visit to America, and contingent speaking engagements, foreshortened, itinerary, Washington described, TSE's return from, TSE's 1955 Geneva rest cure, TSE's 1956 visit to America, passage fixed for April, itinerary, TSE in the midst of, TSE reflects on, TSE's 1956 Geneva rest cure, itinerary, recounted, illness during, EH's 1957 visit to England, TSE and EVE invited to Campden, TSE reciprocates with London invitation, but EH leaves England abruptly, which TSE consults Eleanor Hinkley over, who duly explains, TSE and EVE's 1958 trip to America, as rumoured to EH, EH's 1959 tour of Scandinavia, funded by bequest from cousin, TSE and EVE's 1959 trip to America, TSE and EVE's 1963 trip to America,