[22 Paradise Rd., Northampton, Mass.]

T. S.Eliot
EmilyHale
TS
The Criterion
16 December 1938
Dearest Love,

I had hoped to hear from you again, before writing for the last time before Christmas, but I suppose the boats are delayed, or else the mails are already so heavy that they are not delivered promptly. You said that you were to be with Miss King for Christmas, but I have no record of Miss King’s address, so I must write to Northampton though I know you will not receive it till after Christmas. Also, I cannot cable you direct, but must content myself with a cable to the Perkins’s at Marlborough Street. Idogs'Boerre' (Norwegian Elkhound);b7;b1 imagineAmericaConnecticut;e2and Boerre;a2 you first going down to Connecticut to deposit Boerre with your friend who keeps the dog farm; but I very much hope that you will not be the whole time in Boston. IHale, Emily Jose Milliken (EH's mother)business relating to;c3 trust that the affairs of your mother’s, of which you spoke, are not such as to take all of your time, or give you much anxiety, and I hope that the reference does not indicate a diminishing income.

Christmas comes with the usual petty worries and fatigues of cards and presents. I have done most of my cards, but have still most of my presents (nearly all for children, of course) to buy, and still at a loss to know what to get. ThereSwan, Ethel;a7 is also Miss Swan. There are also various minor formal engagements: tomorrowStewart, Charlesand wife give tea-party;a3 I have to go to a tea party given by the Stewarts (my more obscure co-director – special duty as I don’t think any of the other directors or their wives will be there – EnidFaber, Enid Eleanor;a9 Faber is in bed with three broken ribs); SundayCheetham, Revd Eric;d6 lunch with Cheetham and a Fr. Passmore, teaUnderhill, Evelyn;b8 with the Stuart Moores, andWoolfs, the;d5 supper with the Woolves;1 TuesdaySeaverns, Helen;c4 night dine with Mrs. Seaverns. LastMirrlees, Hopeexhausting but pitiable;b4 night had to go to a small Christmas dinner of Hope Mirrlees – I wish I did not always feel sorry for her, because I find her so tiring. Crackers, which I thought might have better have been [sic] given to poor children, but that is perhaps puritanical. People look one up at Christmas, just as they do at the beginning of the summer. OnJanes, W. L.Christmas Day hospital visit to;b7 Christmas day I shall probably go to see Janes in his hospital – he was very much more chipper the last time I went: it is surprising that he has lasted so long – he thinks he will be out in January, but it would be very surprising. I do not know whether I shall be having Christmas dinner with anyone – I would as soon have it alone, as I cannot have it with you, though the club will be closed that day and I shall have to go to the Travellers’ – butHayward, John;j1 if I have to dine with anyone, I hope it will be alone with John, asRoberts, Richard Ellis;a6 IBeerbohm, Florence, Lady (née Kahn);a3 have aBeerbohm, MaxTSE invited to dine with;a1 tentativeRoberts, Harriet Ide Keen;a2 invitation to dine with the Ellis Roberts’ and the Max Beerbohms,2 but Mrs. Roberts hasn’t confirmed it, so I hope she doesn’t want me – I think both Mrs. Roberts and Mrs Beerbohm come from Tennessee.3 OnEvery, George;a9 the next night George Every dines with me; andBoutwood Lectures (afterwards The Idea of a Christian Society)being prepared;a2 after that I shall try to keep my time very clear, so as to concentrate on the lectures.

ISaint-Denis, Michelhis Family Reunion interest checked;b1 amFamily Reunion, TheSaint-Denis interest tempered;f4 sorry that I cannot still say anything definite about the play. TheSaint-Denis, Michelhis White Guard;a6 situationSaint-Denis, Michelhis Twelfth Night;a9 isPhoenix Theatre, LondonSaint-Denis's Twelfth Night;a2 thatPhoenix Theatre, LondonSaint-Denis's White Guard;a1 StShakespeare, WilliamTwelfth Night;d3. Denis would like to do it, but as he has had two failures in succession – The White Guard and Twelfth Night (always a mistake for foreigners to try to produce Shakespeare in London, it was as out of key in its way as Komisarjevsky’s Merry Wives which you remember)4 and is uncertain whether he can get the money. MartinGielgud, Johnrenews interest in Family Reunion;a5 thereforeThorndike, Sybilexerts influence on Gielgud;a4 isBrowne, Elliott Martin1939 production of The Family Reunion;c1mediates between Gielgud and TSE;b5 renewingFamily Reunion, Thepossible John Gielgud production;e5 discussions, at the same time, with John Gielgud, who, he says, under the influence of Sybil Thorndike, has repented of his insistence on producing, and now would be willing to act in it under another producer, and could do it as matinées in March; andGuthrie, Tyroneconsiders Old Vic Family Reunion;a4 alsoOld Vic, Theconsiders Family Reunion;b5 withOlivier, Laurenceconsidered for Family Reunion;a2 TyroneFamily Reunion, Thepossible Tyrone Guthrie production;f5 Guthrie, as a possibility for the Old Vic with Laurence Olivier. But I doubt if it is the right thing for the Old Vic audience at this stage, though it would be an advantage to have the best seats cheap – because, except for the crowd of society intellectuals who go on the first night, I haven’t much of a 12s. 6d. audience.

ICriterion, TheJanuary 1939;d8to be final issue;a1 canCriterion, Thereflections on ending;b4 inform you now that I have decided to put an end to the Criterion with the December number. I did not let you know before, because it was not a situation of asking advice, though of course, I should have discussed it with you had you been here. I have kept it very quiet, and up to now nobody outside of Russell Square knows – unless it has leaked out. I did not want the fact to be known until the December number appears, in which I have set forth my reasons; but by the time you get this letter the number will be within a few days of appearance. No one but yourself will know until they read my statement in the Criterion itself. I was afraid that rumours would get about, either that I had quarrelled with the firm, or that the firm was financially weak. MyFaber and Faber (F&F)and closing The Criterion;d9 reasons are, primarily, that my work on the publishing side has so much increased in the last few years – both dealing with manuscripts and with authors – that it is impossible for me to get through all my Russell Square work in the afternoon, and consequently my private work in the mornings is constantly interrupted. Second, I think that the Criterion has done its work, and that it is better to end before people begin to say that it has gone on too long and that I am getting stale. And I should not want it to pass into the hands of another editor, because there is no possible person in view; and I had rather it ended with my editorship than changed its character. Were it profitable financially I should find it more difficult to give up; but as it loses the firm two or three hundred pounds a year there is no difficulty. Of course, I could have told you all this before: but when people cannot do anything about it, why burden them with temporary secrets to keep? Anyway, I hope you will approve, because to me it is a great relief. I shall have more time and energy for my own writing, and I shall be less exposed to what is the most tiring part of my routine work: the personal responsibility of nursing young writers who may but probably will not become of importance. It is the afternoons when I have to interview a succession of two or three feckless young people with little talent, that I find most fatiguing. Of course I shall not be able to detach myself from most of the small foundlings whom I have already taken on; I shall simply not go on acquiring them at such an alarming rate.

Of course I realise that the Criterion has in the past been extremely useful to me in my own development, and has brought me most pleasant and valuable contacts; but I think that chapter is closed.

So now I wish we might be sitting together in a little drawing room somewhere in England – without company or the danger of company – planning each other’s Christmas; and that we might have breakfast on Christmas morning as we once did on your birthday in Rosary Gardens when I surprised you by being invited to breakfast. It is a very modest wish, I think, although it is impossible. This alternation of seasons, with nine months of the year living on one’s own resources, and less – indeed less – than three months of depending on someone else, is a very queer way to live, I sometimes think. And yet, such as it is, it has brought me some very strange and rich happiness.

I shall of course go on writing to Northampton regularly, against your return. And I shall think of you specially with prayer, at the midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, Saturday night.

With Christmas blessings
Your devoted
Tom

1.Woolf, Virginiarecords TSE on Family Reunion;c9nVirginia Woolf's diary, Mon. 19 Dec.: 192–3: ‘The last dinner of the year was to Tom Eliot last night. Physically he is a little muffin faced; sallow & shadowed; but intent (as I am) on the art of writing. His play – Family Reunion? – was the staple of the very bitter cold evening […] It has taken him off & on 2 years to write, is an advance upon Murder; in poetry; a new line, with 3 stresses; “I don’t seem very popular this evening”; “What for do we talk of cancer again” (no: this is not accurate). When the crisis came, his only thought was annoyance that now his play would not be acted […]

‘Tom said the young don’t take art or politics seriously enough. Disappointed in the Auden-Ish[erwoo]d. He has his grandeur. He said that there are flaws in the new play that are congenital; inalterable. I suspect in the department of humour. He defined the different kinds of influence: a subtle, splitting mind: a man of simple integrity, & the artists ingenuous egotism. Dines out & goes to musical teas; reads poems at Londonderry house; has a humorous sardonic gift which mitigates his egotism; & is on the side of authority. A nice old friends evening’ (Diary 5, 192–3).

2.Sir Maximilian ‘Max’ Beerbohm (1872–1956), dandy and aesthete; essayist; parodist and caricaturist; broadcaster. Drama critic for the Saturday Review, 1898–1910. Works include Zuleika Dobson (1911), A Christmas Garland (1912), and The Incomparable Max (1962).

3.Beerbohm’s first wife was Florence Kahn (1878–1951), actor, born in Memphis, Tenn.

4.Theodore Komisarjevsky had directed The Merry Wives of Windsor at the Memorial Theatre, Stratford-on-Avon, in 1935.

America, TSE on not returning in 1915, and TSE as transatlantic cultural conduit, dependence on Europe, TSE's sense of deracination from, and the Great Depression, TSE a self-styled 'Missourian', as depicted in Henry Eliot's Rumble Murders, its national coherence questioned, its religious and educational future, versus Canadian and colonial society, where age is not antiquity, drinks Scotland's whisky, and FDR's example to England, underrates Europe's influence on England, redeemed by experience with G. I.'s, TSE nervous at readjusting to, and post-war cost of living, more alien to TSE post-war, its glories, landscape, cheap shoes, its horrors, Hollywood, climate, lack of tea, overheated trains, over-social clubs, overheating in general, perplexities of dress code, food, especially salad-dressing, New England Gothic, earthquakes, heat, the whistle of its locomotives, 'Easter holidays' not including Easter, the cut of American shirts, television, Andover, Massachusetts, EH moves to, Ann Arbor, Michigan, TSE on visiting, Augusta, Maine, EH stops in, Baltimore, Maryland, and TSE's niece, TSE engaged to lecture in, TSE on visiting, Bangor, Maine, EH visits, Bay of Fundy, EH sailing in, Bedford, Massachusetts, its Stearns connections, Boston, Massachusetts, TSE tries to recollect society there, its influence on TSE, its Museum collection remembered, inspires homesickness, TSE and EH's experience of contrasted, described by Maclagan, suspected of dissipating EH's energies, EH's loneliness in, Scripps as EH's release from, possibly conducive to TSE's spiritual development, restores TSE's health, its society, TSE's relations preponderate, TSE's happiness in, as a substitute for EH's company, TSE's celebrity in, if TSE were there in EH's company, its theatregoing public, The Times on, on Labour Day, Brunswick, Maine, TSE to lecture in, TSE on visiting, California, as imagined by TSE, TSE's wish to visit, EH suggests trip to Yosemite, swimming in the Pacific, horrifies TSE, TSE finds soulless, land of earthquakes, TSE dreads its effect on EH, Wales's resemblance to, as inferno, and Californians, surfeit of oranges and films in, TSE's delight at EH leaving, land of kidnappings, Aldous Huxley seconds TSE's horror, the lesser of two evils, Cannes reminiscent of, TSE masters dislike of, land of monstrous churches, TSE regrets EH leaving, winterless, its southern suburbs like Cape Town, land of fabricated antiquities, Cambridge, Massachusetts, TSE's student days in, socially similar to Bloomsbury, TSE lonely there but for Ada, TSE's happiness in, exhausting, EH's 'group' in, road safety in, Casco Bay, Maine, TSE remembers, Castine, Maine, EH holidays in, Cataumet, Massachusetts, EH holidays in, Chicago, Illinois, EH visits, reportedly bankrupt, TSE on, TSE takes up lectureship in, its climate, land of fabricated antiquities, Chocurua, New Hampshire, EH stays in, Concord, Massachusetts, EH's househunting in, EH moves from, Connecticut, its countryside, and Boerre, TSE's end-of-tour stay in, Dorset, Vermont, EH holidays in, and the Dorset Players, Elizabeth, New Jersey, TSE on visiting, Farmington, Connecticut, place of EH's schooling, which TSE passes by, EH holidays in, Fitzwilliam, New Hampshire, EH recuperates in, Gerrish Island, Maine, TSE revisits, Hollywood, perceived debauchery of its movies, TSE's dream of walk-on part, condemned by TSE to destruction, TSE trusts Murder will be safe from, Iowa City, Iowa, TSE invited to, Jonesport, Maine, remembered, Kittery, Maine, described, Lexington, Massachusetts, and the Stearns family home, Lyndeborough, New Hampshire, visited by EH, Madison, Wisconsin, Aurelia Bolliger hails from, Ralph Hodgson sails for, EH summers in, as conceived by TSE, who eventually visits, Maine, its coast remembered by TSE, TSE recalls swimming off, Minneapolis, on EH's 1952 itinerary, TSE lectures in, New Bedford, Massachusetts, EH's holidays in, TSE's family ties to, New England, and Unitarianism, more real to TSE than England, TSE homesick for, in TSE's holiday plans, architecturally, compared to California, and the New England conscience, TSE and EH's common inheritance, springless, TSE remembers returning from childhood holidays in, its countryside distinguished, and The Dry Salvages, New York (N.Y.C.), TSE's visits to, TSE encouraged to write play for, prospect of visiting appals TSE, as cultural influence, New York theatres, Newburyport, Maine, delights TSE, Northampton, Massachusetts, TSE on, EH settles in, TSE's 1936 visit to, autumn weather in, its spiritual atmosphere, EH moves house within, its elms, the Perkinses descend on, Aunt Irene visits, Boerre's imagined life in, TSE on hypothetical residence in, EH returns to, Peterborough, New Hampshire, visited by EH, TSE's vision of life at, Petersham, Massachusetts, EH holidays in, TSE visits with the Perkinses, EH spends birthday in, Edith Perkins gives lecture at, the Perkinses cease to visit, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, TSE on, and TSE's private Barnes Foundation tour, Independence Hall, Pittsfield, Massachusetts, surrounding countryside, Portsmouth, Maine, delights TSE, Randolph, New Hampshire, 1933 Eliot family holiday in, the Eliot siblings return to, Seattle, Washington State, EH summers in, EH's situation at, TSE prefers to California, EH repairs to post-Christmas, EH visits on 1952 tour, EH returns to, Sebasco, Maine, EH visits, South, the, TSE's first taste of, TSE's prejudices concerning, St. Louis, Missouri, TSE's childhood in, TSE's homesickness for, TSE styling himself a 'Missourian', possible destination for TSE's ashes, resting-place of TSE's parents, TSE on his return to, the Mississippi, compared to TSE's memory, TSE again revisits, TSE takes EVE to, St. Paul, Minnesota, TSE on visiting, the Furness house in, Tryon, North Carolina, EH's interest in, EH staying in, Virginia, scene of David Garnett's escapade, and the Page-Barbour Lectures, TSE on visiting, and the South, Washington, Connecticut, EH recuperates in, West Rindge, New Hampshire, EH holidays at, White Mountains, New Hampshire, possible TSE and EH excursion to, Woods Hole, Falmouth, Massachusetts, TSE and EH arrange holiday at, TSE and EH's holiday in recalled, and The Dry Salvages, TSE invited to, EH and TSE's 1947 stay in, EH learns of TSE's death at,
see also American Presidential Election
Beerbohm, Florence, Lady (née Kahn), 'overpowering' Southerner, in Roberts's Peer Gynt,
Beerbohm, Max, TSE invited to dine with, TSE misses funeral of,
Boutwood Lectures (afterwards The Idea of a Christian Society), Spens invites TSE to deliver, being prepared, and Oldham's Times letter, TSE on delivering, being rewritten for publication, approaching publication, published as Christian Society, sent to EH, reception, selling strongly, apparently stimulating to others,
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.

Cheetham, Revd Eric, TSE's rent to, as landlord at 9 Grenville Place, asks TSE to be churchwarden, to which TSE agrees, invited to Sweeney Agonistes, taken ill, offers prayers for EH's passage, his pageant for Mothers' Union, on London colds, given wine for Christmas, possible flatmate, pleased to welcome EH, advice in case of fire, unfolds tale of French holiday, and St. Stephen's wartime finances, remembers TSE's birthday, indifferent to rationing, during Blitz, paid to house TSE's books, starts lending library in tube, living in modern penthouse, TSE drafts testimonial letter for, hosts TSE in penthouse, his testimonial, requests TSE's presence for Bishop of London, by whom he is chastened, and Elvaston Place, exhausted by war, prevented from giving TSE customary birthday greeting, one of TSE's few intimates, TSE on, hounded by Time, and the Bishop of Tokyo, retires under doctor's orders, TSE's outgoing tribute and succession, apparently in Hong Kong, leaves affairs in a mess, insouciant letter to parishioners,

4.RevdCheetham, Revd Eric Eric Cheetham (1892–1957): vicar of St Stephen’s Church, Gloucester Road, London, 1929–56 – ‘a fine ecclesiastical showman’, as E. W. F. Tomlin dubbed him. TSE’s landlord and friend at presbytery-houses in S. Kensington, 1934–9. See Letters 7, 34–8.

Criterion, The, its monthly meetings fatigue TSE, introduced TSE to Whibley, arrangements in TSE's absence, first contributors' meeting since Monro's death, 1932 contributors' gathering, first contributors' gathering of 1934, Russell Square gathering for, particularly heavy gathering, its gatherings dreaded, to be wound up, reflections on ending, shut up against contributions, lamented even in Brno, letters of condolence, reading poetry submissions for, July 1931, 'Commentary', April 1932, laborious 'Commentary', July 1932, 'Commentary', October 1932, 'Commentary', October 1933, 'Commentary' on Irving Babbitt, prepared on holiday, July 1934, 'Commentary', January 1935, TSE ordering, October 1935, 'Commentary', 'Commentary', which TSE regrets as too personal, July 1936, possibilities for 'Commentary', October 1936, being made up, being finalised, to be ordered, January 1937, prepared in August 1936, April 1937, 'Commentary', July 1937, 'Commentary', January 1938, 'Commentary' on Nuffield endowments, which is sparsely well received, April 1938, 'Commentary', July 1938, 'Commentary', January 1939, to be final issue, 'Last Words',
dogs, TSE imagines himself as EH's dog, Pollicle, endear Hodgson to TSE, EH fond of, TSE wishes to give EH, TSE enthuses over with Ambassador Stimson's wife, death of Lord Lisburne's gun-dog, wish to buy EH dog reaffirmed, James Thurber's dog, wish to buy EH dog develops, TSE's wish that EH choose dog for him, of Shamley Wood, Aberdeen Terrier, belonging to Gerald Graham, TSE against, Alsatian, bites F&F sales manager in Cheltenham, Blue Bedlington Terrier, TSE wishes to bring EH, related to the Kerry Blue, TSE fantasises with Hodgson about breeding, TSE wishes EH might have, 'Boerre' (Norwegian Elkhound), travels to America, described, and right-hand traffic, TSE receives photo of, affords EH exercise, envied by TSE, scourge of Northampton, cuts foot, when chasing squirrel, suspected attempt to abduct, 'disorderly', 'cantankerous', taking unaccompanied exercise, decorated at dog-show, goes missing, not taken to Maine, EH decides to give up, poignant photograph of, dies, Bull Terrier, Ralph Hodgson's 'Picky' bites cat, home found for 'Picky', Hodgson fantasises with TSE about breeding, Dachshund, among TSE's preferred short-legged breeds, Hope Mirrlees's 'Mary', elkhound, belonging to Mrs Eames, as breed for EH, Jack Russell, among TSE's preferred short-legged breeds, possible replacement for Boerre, Kerry Blue, related to Blue Bedlington Terrier, at Army and Navy stores, Labrador, the Morleys' eight puppies, the Morleys', Pekingese, TSE averse to, belonging to Mrs Behrens, 'Polly' (the Eliots' Yorkshire Terrier), falls off roof, taken to have wound dressed, barks at Hungarian language, Poodle, as breed for EH, 'Rag Doll' (Scottish Terrier), travels to Grand Manan, TSE receives photo of, EH gives up, Samoyed, considered for EH, spaniel, belonging to the Fabers, Staffordshire Terrier, Hodgson advises Miss Wilberforce on,
Every, George, TSE's affection for, invites TSE to Kelham, consulted on TSE's BBC talk, surprises TSE in London, possible reader of Boutwood Lectures, at Kelham,

4.GeorgeEvery, George Every, SSM (1909–2003), historian and poet: see Biographical Register.

Faber and Faber (F&F), TSE's office in, the garrulousness of publishing, refuge from home, in financial straits, future feared for, tranquil Saturday mornings at, TSE disenchanted with, hosts summer garden-party, as part of Bloomsbury, TSE considers 'home', VHE intrusion dreaded at, robbed, increases TSE's workload, TSE's editorial beat at, negotiate over Murder in the Cathedral, pay advance for Murder, VHE's appearances at, and Duff Cooper's Haig, 'blurbs' for, commission new letterhead from Eric Gill, give Ivy lunch for Dukes, TSE as talent-spotter and talent-counsellor, and the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle, mark TSE's 50th birthday, and the prospect of war, and closing The Criterion, lose Morley to America, on war footing, war ties TSE to, fire-watching duties at, wartime bookbinding issues, advertisements to write for, Picture Post photographs boardroom, offices damaged by V-1, consider moving to Grosvenor Place, lunch at Wednesday board-meetings, Christmas staff party,
Faber, Enid Eleanor, TSE mistakes her parentage, and the Eliots' separation, and the Irish waiter, as tennis-player, suggests Murder tickets for F&F employees, presses TSE into public speaking, and sons at zoo, cousin of Rab Butler, and Ann share TSE's box, congratulates TSE on opening night, TSE dependent on for food, at VHE's funeral, on VHE's death and funeral, home-hunting for TSE in Sussex, now Lady Faber,
see also Fabers, the

1.TSE was mistaken here. EnidFaber, Enid Eleanor Eleanor Faber (1901–95) was the daughter of Sir Henry Erle Richards (1861–1922), Fellow of All Souls College and Chichele Professor of International Law and Diplomacy at Oxford University, and Mary Isabel Butler (1868–1945).

Family Reunion, The, and TSE as Orestes, plot sought for, progress stalled, referred to as 'Orestes play', written against countdown to war, should be artistically a stretch, plot still not settled on, begun, compared to Murder, TSE on writing, described (mid-composition), and Gunn's Carmina Gadelica, described to GCF, EH questions Harry's entrance, draft read to Martin Brownes, projected autumn 1938 production, depletes TSE, and Mourning Becomes Electra, its Greek inheritance, alternatively 'Follow the Furies', first draft promised to EH, as inspired by Tenebrae, being rewritten, work suspended till summer, fair copy being typed, waiting on Browne and Dukes, 'Follow the Furies' quashed by EH, aspires to be Chekhovian, Dukes keen to produce, criticised by Martin Browne, under revision, submitted to EH's theatrical wisdom, for which TSE credits her, possible John Gielgud production, Gielgud-level casting, Browne's final revisions, with the printers, Henry loaned draft, Donat and Saint-Denis interested, in proof, progress towards staging stalled, Saint-Denis interest tempered, possible Tyrone Guthrie production, possible limited Mercury run, its defects, publication scheduled, first draft sent to EH, Michael Redgrave interested in, March 1939 Westminster Theatre production, waits on terms, rehearsals for, which are photographed, opening night contemplated without EH, last-minute flutters, opening night, reception, coming off, TSE's final visit to, Dukes bullish on New York transfer, EH spurs TSE's reflections on, and Otway's Venice Preserv'd, American reception, and Orson Welles, F&F's sales, 1940 American production, Henry harps on the personal aspect, its cheerfulness, EH acknowledges part in, 1943 ADC production, in Dadie Rylands's hands, described, certain lines expressing TSE's frustrations, EH discusses with pupils, plays in Zurich, 1946 Birmingham production, 1946 Mercury revival, rehearsals for, opening night, TSE attends again in company, Spanish translation of, VHE's death calls to mind, its deficiencies, BBC Gielgud broadcast version, first aired, to be repeated, goes nominally with The Cocktail Party, Swedish National Theatre production, compared to Cocktail Party, EH's response to, more 'personal' than Cocktail Party, performed in Göttingen, 1950 Düsseldorf production, 1953 New York production vetoed, 1956 Phoenix Theatre revival, described, Peter Brook congratulated on, Martin Browne seeks MS of,
Gielgud, John, TSE takes against, declares interest in Family Reunion, subsequent negotiations with, on Family Reunion, renews interest in Family Reunion, in The Duchess of Malfi, as Harry in BBC broadcast, as Harry again,

2.JohnGielgud, John Gielgud (1904–2000), distinguished actor and theatre director. Knighted in 1953; awarded Legion of Honour, 1960; created Companion of Honour, 1977; Order of Merit, 1996.

Guthrie, Tyrone, counsels Doone against Yeats's Mercury Theatre season, withdraws from Mercury season, fellow-speaker at Group Theatre fundraising event, considers Old Vic Family Reunion, and Wolfit's Tamburlaine,

10.TyroneGuthrie, Tyrone Guthrie (1900–71), theatre and opera director; later instrumental in the founding of the Stratford Festival of Canada and the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Hale, Emily Jose Milliken (EH's mother), admission to McLean's Hospital, EH's frequent visits to, her state of mind, compared to VHE, a comparison regretted and refined, a strain on EH, falls ill, and suffering more generally, reported to be better, in the hands of physicians, in TSE's prayers, TSE (un-falsely) consoles EH over, her health, doctor prognosticates on, business relating to, TSE meditates on, war affects care for, and TSE's hope for the afterlife, final illness, dies, her funeral, anniversary of death marked, Theresa on,
Hayward, John, in TSE's thumbnail description, his condition and character, what TSE represents to, VHE complains about TSE to, TSE's new chess-playing neighbour, meets EH over tea, hosts TSE, GCF and de la Mare, on EH, on EH (to TSE), gives TSE cigars for Christmas, calls EH TSE's 'sister', and the Dobrées on Boxing Day, and TSE play a prank on guests, backstage at The Times, taken for walk, on Jenny de Margerie, Empson, TSE and Sansoms call on, evening with Spender, Jennings and, exchanges Christmas presents with TSE, exchanges rare books with TSE, sends luxuries to convalescent TSE, TSE's only regular acquaintance, dines with TSE and Camerons, lent Williams's Cranmer, accompanied to the Fabers' party, hosts discussion about Parisian Murder, inspects French translation of Murder, and TSE's Old Buffers' Dinner, gives TSE bath-mitts, given wine for Christmas, one of TSE's dependents, at Savile Club Murder dinner, Empson takes TSE on to see, possible housemate, in second line of play-readers, walked round Earl's Court, and Bradfield Greek play, and TSE drive to Tandys, and TSE give another party, corrects TSE's Anabase translation, watches television with TSE, Christmas Day with, introduced to Djuna Barnes, meets Christina Morley, walk round Brompton Cemetery with, Hyde Park excursion with, moving house, at his birthday-party, honoured at F&F, displaced to the Rothschilds, where TSE visits him, among TSE's closest friends, his conversation missed, the prospect of Christmas without, excursions to Cambridge to visit, 'my best critic', gives TSE American toilet-paper, helps TSE finish Little Gidding, possible post-war housemate, protector of TSE's literary remains, foreseeably at Merton Hall, discusses plays with TSE, flat-hunting with, and Carlyle Mansions, his furniture, installed at Carlyle Mansions, further handicapped without telephone, undermines TSE's aura of poetic facility, irritates except in small doses, helps with adjustment of TSE's OM medal, at the Brighton Cocktail Party, hounded by Time, quid pro quo with TSE, arranges first-night party for Cocktail Party, arranges Confidential Clerk cast dinner, and TSE's Selected Prose, and TSE entertained by Yehudi Menuhin,

11.JohnHayward, John Davy Hayward (1905–65), editor and critic: see Biographical Register.

Janes, W. L., and 'Billy M'Caw: The Remarkable Parrot', reports on VHE, his Christmas dinners with TSE, singing and reminiscing, retirement anniversary dinner for, a saying of, one of TSE's dependents, disturbed by disappearing cats, ill but merry, a burden, dying in hospital, Christmas Day hospital visit to, TSE on his death and funeral, first Christmas without,
see also Janeses, the

4.W. L. JanesJanes, W. L. (1854–1939), ex-policeman who worked as handyman for the Eliots. Having been superannuated from the police force early in the century, he worked for a period (until about 1921) as a plain-clothes detective in the General Post Office. TSE reminisced to Mary Trevelyan on 2 Apr. 1951: ‘If I ever write my reminiscences, which I shan’t, Janes would have a great part in them’ (‘The Pope of Russell Square’). TSE to Adam Roberts (b. 1940; godson of TSE), 12 Dec. 1955: ‘I … knew a retired police officer, who at one period had to snoop in plain clothes in the General Post Office in Newgate Street – he caught several culprits, he said’ (Adam Roberts). HisJanes, Ada wife was Ada Janes (d. 1935).

Mirrlees, Hope, sketched for EH, at the Eliots' tea-party, part of Bloomsbury society, VHE complains about TSE to, dinner in company with, and mother taken sightseeing, ordeal of a walk with, dinner and chess with, and her dachshund, exhausting but pitiable, her mother preferable, her religion, to Mappie as Eleanor Hinkley to Aunt Susie, irritates like Eleanor, indifferent to enlarging her acquaintance, at Shamley, researching in Worthing Public Library, bathing daily at Lee, and TSE judge fancy-dress parade, during TSE's final Shamley Christmas, suffers 'collapse', in Stellenbosch, visits London, go-between in TSE's second marriage,
see also Mirrleeses, the

2.HopeMirrlees, Hope Mirrlees (1887–1978), British poet, novelist, translator and biographer, was to become a close friend of TSE: see Biographical Register.

Old Vic, The, relationship to Sadler's Wells, presents Laughton's Macbeth, presents Othello, presents Henry IV, Part II, presents The Witch of Edmonton, Olivier's (complete) Hamlet, presents Murder, Guthrie's Measure for Measure, Emlyn Williams's Richard III, Alec Guinness's Hamlet, considers Family Reunion, presents Midsummer Night's Dream, TSE's fellow air-warden involved with, Hamlet starring Robert Helpmann at, engages Martin Browne to produce Coriolanus, Wolfit's Tamburlaine, wants to revive Murder, to produce The Confidential Clerk,
Olivier, Laurence, as Hamlet, considered for Family Reunion,
see also Oliviers, the

2.LaurenceOlivier, Laurence Olivier (1907–89), English actor and director; many of his most notable successes in the 1930s and 1940s were in Shakespearian roles.

Phoenix Theatre, London, Saint-Denis's White Guard, Saint-Denis's Twelfth Night,
Roberts, Harriet Ide Keen,
Roberts, Richard Ellis, presses religious dining-club on TSE, likened to Mr Chadband, member of All Souls Club,

1.RichardRoberts, Richard Ellis Ellis Roberts (1879–1953), author and critic; literary editor of the New Statesman & Nation, 1932–4; Life and Letters To­day, 1934; biographer of Stella Benson (1939).

Saint-Denis, Michel, counsels Doone against Mercury venture, has proposal for TSE, his Three Sisters, his White Guard, interested in Family Reunion, negotiating with Dukes, his Twelfth Night, his Family Reunion interest checked,

2.CompagnieSaint-Denis, Michel des Quinze: theatre production company organised by Michel Saint-Denis (nephew of Jacques Copeau), together with the playwright André Obey, at the Théatre du Vieux-Colombier, Paris, 1929–34.

Seaverns, Helen, finally dines with TSE, teaches TSE card games, bearer of EH's Christmas present, charms TSE, hosts TSE and the Perkinses, entertained by TSE, TSE hesitates to confide in, and Perkinses dine with TSE, to tea with TSE, seeks advice from TSE on transatlantic tourism, her comforts equivalent to Mappie's, houses EH on 1939 arrival, an old spoiled child, disburdens herself over tea, laments life in Hove, removed from grandchildren,

3.HelenSeaverns, Helen Seaverns, widow of the American-born businessman and Liberal MP, Joel Herbert Seaverns: see Biographical Register.

Shakespeare, William, Bunny Wilson and TSE discuss, writing Murder increases TSE's admiration for, but equally wariness of, spiritually 'helpful', preferable in modern dress, EH imagined as Lady Macbeth, later as Hermione, All's Well that Ends Well, Antony and Cleopatra, As You Like It, Coriolanus, Cymbeline, Hamlet, Henry VIII, Julius Caesar, Macbeth, Measure for Measure, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Midsummer Night's Dream, Much Ado About Nothing, Othello, Richard II, Richard III, 'Sonnet CXXXII', The Tempest, Timon of Athens, Troilus and Cressida, Twelfth Night, The Winter's Tale,
Stewart, Charles, and TSE play detective, and wife give tea-party, killed by train, his death, his funeral,
Swan, Ethel, Peter du Sautoy's tribute to, profiled, Cocktail Party inscribed to, and VHE, her gym routine, notably unphotographed by Picture Post, 'une âme pure', a 'saved soul', shares TSE's birthday-cake,

2.EthelSwan, Ethel Swan, a Faber & Gwyer ‘pioneer’, joined the firm on 12 Oct. 1925, as telephonist and receptionist, retiring in 1972 after 47 years. PeterSwan, EthelPeter du Sautoy's tribute to;a2n du Sautoy reported in 1971: ‘These duties she still performs with admirable skill and charm … SheJoyce, Jameson the phone to the F&F receptionist;c1n has an amazing memory for voices and it is certain that if James Joyce were to return to earth to telephone a complaint (he called us “Feebler and Fumbler”) she would say “Good morning, Mr Joyce” before he could introduce himself, as if he had previously been telephoning only yesterday. Many a visiting author or publisher from overseas has felt more kindly towards Faber & Faber as a result of Miss Swan’s friendly recognition’ (‘Farewell, Russell Square’, The Bookseller no. 3410 [1 May 1971], 2040).

Thorndike, Sybil, ideal Family Reunion casting, courted by TSE, lined up for Agatha, exerts influence on Gielgud, again, ideal casting for Confidential Clerk, TSE apologises to, praised in The Sacred Wood, eventually plays Amy,

9.SybilThorndike, Sybil Thorndike (1882–1976): acclaimed British actor of stage and screen, she was a dominant presence in productions of Shakespeare and the Classics – arguably the greatest tragedienne of the twentieth century. George Bernard Shaw felt such a regard for her talent that he wrote Saint Joan (1924) specifically for her. In 1938–9 there were discussions with a view to staging the premiere of The Family Reunion, to be directed by John Gielgud (who was eager to play the hero, the tormented Harry), with Thorndike as Agatha. But Thorndike is reported to have advised Gielgud, ‘You know, Eliot’s not going to let you have his play – he says you have no faith.’ In Peter Brooks’s revival of the play at the Phoenix Theatre, London, in June 1956, she was the matriarch Amy (with Paul Scofield as Harry). Thorndike to TSE, 8 June 1956: ‘My ambition is fulfilled – to be in one of your plays …’ Created a Dame of the British Empire in 1931, in 1970 she was appointed as a Companion of Honour.

Underhill, Evelyn, introduced to TSE by her cousin Francis, mentioned by von Hügel, delights TSE, who feels easy in her company, reception at the house of, on TSE's Perkins tea guest-list, sherry-party chez, quizzed on divinity textbooks, her death, TSE's unpublished tribute to, which he sends to The Times, her correspondence surveyed for publication, Worship,

1.EvelynUnderhill, Evelyn Underhill (1875–1941), spiritual director and writer on mysticism and the spiritual life: see Biographical Register.

Woolf, Virginia, the only woman TSE sees alone, characteristic letter from, her snobbery, TSE's most trusted female friend, TSE underrates, on the Eliots' Rodmell visit, as estate agent, her letters, as novelist, apparently drained by Lady Colefax, and Lytton Strachey's death, compared qua friend to OM, recounts TSE's practical jokes, her feminism, her anecdote of Bostonian snobbery, on 9 Grenville Place, TSE treasures but never reads, on TSE visiting Rodmell, EH taken to tea with, described by EH, on meeting EH, on Murder in the Cathedral, after 'long illness', represents TSE at OM's funeral, records TSE on Family Reunion, on TSE's wartime Sussex stay, on wartime dinner with TSE, her death, TSE strikes as conceited, TSE's scheduled final visit to, two journals vie for TSE's tribute to, TSE's tribute to, esteemed by Walpole, her absence at Rodmell, air-stewardess asks TSE about, A Room of One's Own, Jacob's Room, The Waves,
see also Stephens, the, Woolfs, the

1.VirginiaWoolf, Virginia Woolf (1882–1941), novelist, essayist and critic: see Biographical Register.

Woolfs, the, at Clive Bell's for lunch, TSE's dearest London friends, company compared to that of Christians, host TSE and Elizabeth Bowen to tea, Rodmell described, closer to TSE than to VHE, visited on TSE's 1933 return, refreshingly childless, amazed by TSE's appearance, and Tomlin dine with TSE, Keynes and TSE dine with, TSE's Bloomsbury weekend with, described in their Tavistock Square domain, have TSE for tea, TSE dines with, and TSE argue about honours, compared to the de la Mares, host TSE for weekend, abandon London for Sussex, where they invite TSE, TSE's Sussex stay with, on their return from Sussex, host TSE, give dinner without mentioning war, TSE plans to visit in Sussex, 52 Tavistock Square bombed,