[No surviving envelope]
[Shamley Wood]
Letter 20.
The19 Carlyle Mansions, Londonrefurbishments to;a5 latest news of the flat is that the builders are supposed to be making an estimate, preliminary to making an application to the Office of Works for a licence; and the landlords are supposed to be preparing a lease to send to my solicitors. The only apparent hitch, but it may be a serious one, is CONFIDENTIAL over the lavatory. TheHayward, Johnand Carlyle Mansions;m1 water closets are on little pedestals or dais, and J. would be unable to get his chair near enough to shift over. Apparently removing the pedestal would involve reconstructing the plumbing of the tenants above and below. So the question is whether the floor can be raised to the level of the pedestal, with a sort of ramp to run a chair up, and hinging the door outwards instead of inward so as to leave room. The landlords’ permission would have to be obtained for this operation, if it proves feasible. It would seem very vexing if the whole thing had to be dropped because of such an apparently small difficulty. Meanwhile14 Elvaston Place, Londondescribed;a2 my S. Kensington lodgings are comfortable enough. I never see anyone – the breakfast comes rolling up in the servant’s lift, and whistles for me twice: I go out of my room, take the tray off, and put it back when I have finished. It will presumably be the same when I have dinner there. The Irish housekeeper seems a very honest body, as she has always returned a small residue of my tea at the end of the week. The other inmates are invisible, and generally inaudible: only the man who has his room next the bathroom, sometimes leaves his wireless set on with his door open when he is in the bathroom. I suppose he enjoys music while he washes, but I cannt [sc. cannot/can’t] say that I relish it at that hour of the morning.
IShamley Wood, SurreyTSE's gradual removal from;b7 am very grateful that I have this modest nook, as the latest plan of Shamley Wood is to take a house in Devonshire for the winter and let this one. Most of their plans, hitherto, have come to nothing; but there is always a chance of one of them coming off. If so, I shall wind up my affairs here before I go for my holiday in the middle of September, and not return. This is rather more precipitate than I had allowed for, as it leaves less time for transporting my various possessions (of which the greatest problem is an accumulation of books) but on the other hand, it makes a neat and objective line of demarcation. Andtravels, trips and plansTSE's 1945 September fortnight in Lee;f7;a2 so, after Sept 15, I shall be here no more, but on my return from Devon shall stay at 14, Elvaston Place until this flat is ready, or until another flat appears. At least, I shall not [sc. no] longer have the company of four of the most least [sic] lovable dogs I have ever met (short of dangerous ones), and shall be able to start on a certain continuity of work.
So this weekend, I have been sorting books and clearing up papers. I shall have to find some kind of movers to bring up the books.
DidMurder in the Cathedral1945 Théâtre du Vieux Colombier production;g2apparently a hit;a7 I tell you that I have heard the rumour, from two sources, that ‘Meurtre dans la Cathédrale’ is being very successful, with the places sold out a week ahead.
IBritish General Election1945TSE fears Labour Party's agenda;a3 was depressed by the election results,1 for which several causes can be assigned: a large mass of young people voting for the first time, and a sort of wave of national irresponsibility. ILabour Party, theits 1945 victory;a5 cannot say, of course, that it may not turn out for the best that a Labour Government should have the job of dealing with the inevitable strikes; but I am very much afraid, first, of the irreparable mistakes, especially in foreign policy (in which only a small proportion of voters, in any country, take any interest except at moments of crisis), and also afraid of the gradual centralisation of authority and loss of liberty. I wish that I could take a less sombre view of the future in general.
IHale, Emilyholidays in Dorset, Vt.;q8 have your letter of the 13th, fromAmericaDorset, Vermont;e3EH holidays in;a1 Dorset,2 and am glad that you have found such a pleasant place; but am, as every summer, worried at your vacation being so cut up into little bits. I wish you could get two months on end in one place, under ideal conditions. I don’t know how your strength holds out through the winter. AndSmith CollegeEH visits;c9 I am glad that you had a pleasant visit to Smith, and saw a few friends there. IfWithington, Robert;a1 Withington3 turns up in London I should be glad to see him: though I should also be thankful if I could have just a week together in London, without any visitors turning up whom I have to see.
Now I must get ready for dinner. I shall be at Shamley every weekend until the middle of September, but it is better now to send letters (Marked ‘personal’!) to Russell Square. ItFaber and Faber (F&F)consider moving to Grosvenor Place;f4 will be at least a year before we move from there, I think.
1.At the General Election on 5 July, the Labour Party under Clement Attlee won a landslide victory over Winston Churchill’s Conservatives: 393 to 197 (a net gain for Labour of 239 seats).
2.Dorset, Vermont.
3.RobertWithington, Robert Withington (1884–1957): Professor of English, Smith College, 1917–52.
11.JohnHayward, John Davy Hayward (1905–65), editor and critic: see Biographical Register.