Collected Letters Volume Two: Books, Broadcasts and War, 1931–1949. Walter Hooper

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СКАЧАТЬ up on W. Morris and George Macdonald. Reading his fairy tale has been uncanny—it is so exactly like what we wd. both have longed to write (or read) in 1916: so that one feels he is not making it up but merely describing the same world into which all three of us have the entry. Whether it is really good (I think it is until the end) is of course another question: still more, whether it will succeed with modern children.

And, talking of this sort of thing, would you believe it—I am actually officially supervising a young woman who is writing a thesis on G. Macdonald.⁶ It is very odd—and curiously difficult—to approach as work something so old and intimate. The girl is, unfortunately, quite unworthy of her subject: apart from everything else, she is an American.

Dent’s has accepted the Pilgrim’s Regress with a number of conditions—shortening, alteration of title etc—which I intend to make some resistance to.⁷ I have no right to expect a letter after my long silence, but of course I shd. like one. How does the detective story go? It will soon be getting suitable weather for your cottage again: although, as you see, I am having a good time, the memory of the Mournes is still very poignant. Give my love to Mrs Greeves, and to the McNeills⁸ (all three— the one on the hill included) if you see them.

      Yours,

      Jack

      Warnie sends you his greetings and hopes we shall see you this year.

       TO GUY POCOCK(W):

      Magdalen College,

      Oxford.

      Tuesday [14 February 1933]

      Dear Pocock

      I am sending you tomorrow the revised MS. The quotations are translated (I am glad you thought of that—it was great fun) and all the cuts that I can make. I should like you to glance at Bk I. chap. 4 (pp. 15–17). I have cut practically the whole chapter because it is such an easy cut: on the other hand some people like it and the gain in space is not great. I don’t much care myself whether it stays or goes, so I leave you to do what you please with it. I have scored it only in pencil, so that you can remove the scorings if you think fit. After that, the book has had all done to it that I can do and may go straight to the printer as soon as we have signed an agreement.

      I am still strongly in favour of publication in June if it is still possible, but of course the final decision on that, and on price, rests with you. I have enclosed a map with the MS. A surprising number of people independently asked for one. Ought there to be one?—certainly not, in my view, if it is expensive. (Of course the one I enclose would not do anyway—but with help I could concoct a better one)

      Yours sincerely

      C. S. Lewis

       TO GUY POCOCK(W):

      The Kilns,

      Headington Quarry,

      Oxford.

      Feb. 27th 1933

      Dear Pocock

      It is most unfortunate at this moment that I should be laid up with flu’ and practically an idiot. However, some points won’t wait.

1. Could you get the Firm to agree to some wording of the ‘next book’ clause which will leave me free to offer to the Clarendon Press a work now in hand on Allegory from Prudentius to Spenser.⁹ This is a purely academic work wh. I don’t think you would consider—at least I don’t remember your producing anything of the kind—and it seems rather the duty of a young scholar to give his own university press the first refusal of his first scholarly work. If they will agree (Dents, I mean) they probably have a suitable form of words, or can invent one more easily than I. (‘Next novel, poem, play, or other imaginative work’ or ‘Next work of a popular character’) I don’t much mind, but I fancy they will make no objection.

      2. I enclose two alternative ‘blurbs’ for the catalogue as asked. I am so ill that they are probably both hopeless. Hash up anything you can out of the two: if neither any use you’ll have to get a new one done in the office—I can no more at the moment.

      3. No objection to picture on jacket—you know, from correspondence about the Dymer decoration what kind of drawing I don’t like!

      4. Yes—end leaves a good place for map. I take it no one wd. be such a fool as to work out literally the distances on that map I sent you—they are probably all wrong.

      5. Just occurs to me—in the revised MS chapter numberings have not all been corrected since omissions. I suppose printers look after that sort of thing for themselves. By the bye—I suppose these very short chapters will not be given a fresh page each: it wd. be very bothering to the eye apart from waste of paper. If not, what about headings in the margin as in Temple Classics?

Very glad to hear you will run down. Let me know in time to collect Coghill¹⁰ and we’ll make a feast of it.

      I hope this is not so incoherent as it feels to me

      Yours

      C. S. Lewis

      P.S. The above address for the next few days

      PP.S. The blurbs shd. have gone to Department C.

       TO GUY POCOCK (W):

      The Kilns,

      Headington Quarry,

      Oxford.

      March 23rd 1933

      Dear Pocock

      The map has just arrived and is excellent. There is one correction—for TALE MEN read PALE MEN. Am I to send it back (I rather distrust my powers of putting up such an odd parcel) or will you convey this single correction to the cartographer—with my congratulations.

      I hope you have not abandoned the idea of paying me a visit,

      Yours sincerely

      C. S. Lewis

       TO J. M. DENT PUBLISHERS (W):

      Dept. B

       Pilgrim’s Regress

      The Kilns

      Headington Quarry,

      Oxford

      March 24th 1933

      Dear Sir

      I enclose one correction for Map and suggestion for title etc. on a separate sheet,

      Yours faithfully

      C. S. Lewis

      P.S. I am at this СКАЧАТЬ