At
2
For the past 3 days I have been working with Giorgio at his
place in Villa Scheffer on the galleys of Parts I & III of Work in P.
2
For the past 3 days I have been working with Giorgio at his
place in Villa Scheffer on the galleys of Parts I & III of Work in P.
Samuel Beckett
I had forgot
6
the meantime, I shall be back in London Wednesday morning, but more probably Tuesday morning. Please God you will be still there then.
Love ever Sam
ALS; 1 leaf, 2 sides; date added in AH, 3·11·37; TCD, MS 10402/144. Dating: SB sent McGreevy a postcard from Paris on 30 October 1937; SB was in London on 10 November 1937 (card from SB to Harry Sinclair, postmarked from London 10 November 1937 [Gidal]). Even when in London SB was without definite plans for travel to Dublin.
SB stayed at the Sarrazin in Paris before returning to Dublin for the trial, and at the Hotel Liberia when he returned to Paris after the trial (see SB to George Reavey, 3 November 1937 [for 3 December 19371).
1 The wire from Harry Sinclair, which has not been found, was sent after 30 October and by Sunday, 7 November 1937. In an undated letter [c. 3 November 1937] to Harry Sinclair, SB wrote from Paris:
Received your wire yesterday. [. . . ] I shall not leave till Monday evening unless I get a definite summons from you before then. That would not get
558
healthier than I remember him.
appointed to a lycee here and that I would get his address from Baillou, the new secretary to the Ecole. Which I did, and called on him yesterday. It went very well. He has taken Pelorson's job at the Jolas's school in Neuilly. It was a real pleasure to be with him again. I dine with him Friday.
inghimthisafternoon. Ihavedecidedalsototry&getintouch with Joyce.
He told me Peron had been
with Nick & Nina.
I was at the Louvre yesterday. par un temps radieux, looking
ten how lovely the Pieta d'Avignon was.
At the very latest, & assuming I hear nothing from Harry in
{? 3 November 1937}, McGreevy
me to Dublin till the Wednesday morning, as I should have to stop in London to collect the price ofrny ticket the rest ofthe way.
At the very latest, suppposing I hear nothing from you in the meantime, I shall be back in London next Wednesday. So it is better that you should address any letter or wire that cannot reach Paris before Monday evening to 49 Harrington Rd. , S. W. 7, as before, where even if! do not stay I shall call & collect post. (NNC, RBML, Sighle Kennedy Papers)
On that Wednesday, SB wrote to Harry Sinclair from London (see 10 November 1937).
2 McGreevyhadplanstobeinParisandhadofferedSBhisroomat49Harrington Road, London.
SB's cousin, Sheila Page.
3 Jean Thomas, having been Charge d'enseignernent cornplernentaire de langue et litterature fran�aises a la Sorbonne, 1934-1936, now had a new position at the universities of Poitiers and Lyon (1936-1944). The Cafe du Dorne, 108, Boulevard Montparnasse.
4 JeanBaillou(1905-1990)wasSurveillantgeneraloftheEcoleNorrnaleSuperieure in 1936, when the title of that position was changed to Secretaire general (Pierre Jeannin, Deux siec! es a Nonna! e Sup: petite histoire d'une Grande Ecole [Paris: Larousse, 1994] 213).
Peron was appointed to the Lycee Buffon, Boulevard Pasteur, in 1936; while he may have taught as a substitute for a time at the Ecole bilingue de Neuilly begun by Maria Jolas, there is no documentation of this (Betsy Jolas, Alexis Peron). Georges Pelorson was Directeur des Etudes from 1936 until 1939; he also worked for Paris-Midi (1932-1940).
5 BrianCoffey;AlanandBelindaDuncan. TheRussianfriendsoftheDuncans,Nick (d. 1939) and Nina Balachef, have not been identified.
6 "Paruntempsradieux"(ingloriousweather).
By "French primitives," SB refers to artists who were active in France during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: Netherlandish painter Henri Bellechose (fl. 1415, d. c. 1445); the North Netherlandish illurninators, Pol de Lirnbourg (c. 1375 - c. 1415), Herman de Lirnbourg (c. 1385 - c. 1416), andJean de Lirnbourg (d. before 1439), who were known for their work on the "Belles Heures" and the "Tres Riches Heures" for Jean, Due de Berry; French painter and illurninator Jean Fouquet; and the Avignon painter Enguerrand Quarton (c. 1420-1466). For their styles: Leon-Honore Labande, Les Primitift franrais: Peintres et peintres-verriers de Ia Provence occidenta! e [Marseille: Librairie Tacussel, 19321).
SB comments on Quarton's painting La Pieta de Villeneuve-Ies-Avignon (Louvre R. F. 156).
SB probably refers to the painters ofthe first School ofFontainebleau (1530s to early 1600s in France), which included the director of the workshops of Fontainebleau (c. 1533-1540), Italian fresco and decorative stucco artist Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540); his successor Francesco Prirnaticcio (c. 1504-1570); Nicolo dell'Abate (c. 1509 - c. 1571); Antonio Fantuzzi (c. 1508 - c. 1550);Jean Cousin the elder (c. 1500 - c. 1560} and his son Jean Cousin the younger (c. 1525 - c. 1595); Fran�ois Clouet (c. 1516-1572); Antoine Caron (1521-1599).
559
{10 November 1937], Henry Sinclair
HENRY M. SINCLAIR DUBLIN
[10 November 1937)
49 Harrington Rd LondonSW7
[no greeting]
Got your letter on arrival this morning. Shall not leave till I
get a definite summons from you. In case you want to phone you can get me at Kensington 7325 any morning up to 11 a. m. Glad you are pleased with the way things are going[. ] 1
A bient6t Sam
APCS; 1 leaf, 1 side; "Blackfiiars Bridge"; to Henry M. Sinclair Esq, c/o Jammet's Restaurant, Nassau Street, Dublin, I. F. S. ; pm 10-11-37, London; Gidal. Dating: from pm. Previous publication: Index Books, catalogue no. 6 (September 2003), facsimile on back cover.
1 SB was waiting to learn when the libel trial against Gogarty would begin. A subpoena to those giving testimony. among them SB, was issued on 12 November 1937; the trial was held from 22 to 24 November.
GEORGE REAVEY LONDON
3/11/37 [for 3 December 1937)
Hotel Liberia
Rue de la Gde. Chaumiere [Paris] 6me
Dear George
I expect to be here for at least 10 days or a fortnight &
possibly till after Xmas. So will you forward any thing that
1
comes for me to here.
560
3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937}, McGreevy
I have not seen Jolas but learn that he is putting the Denis
review in the coming number. I shall ask him has he any objec
tion to your reprinting it when I see him. I gave it to Brian to read
2
him the colours.
Love to Gwynedd & again thanks.
Yrs
Sam
Hope your cold is better.
APCS; 1 leaf, 2 sides; to George Reavey Esq, 7 GreatOrmond Street, London W. C. 1; pm 3-12-37, Paris; TxU. Dating; SB dates 3/11/37, but pm is 3-12-37.
1 SB stayed with the Reaveys in London on his way back to Paris following the Gogarty libel trial in Dublin.
2 EugeneJolas.
SB refers to his review, "Denis Devlin," forthcoming in transition, which he had given to Brian Coffey.
3 Writing from Paris on 2November 1937 to Gwynedd, George Reavey reported that "Poor Van Velde has not got any paints at the moment, and is feeling rather miserable" (TxU). The Reaveys had asked SB to take a gift of paints to the Dutch painter Gerardus van Velde (known as Geer, 1898-1977).
& told him to send it on to you.
Expect to see V. Velde to-morrow morning when I shall give
3
4
4 Added,totherightofthegreeting.
THOMAS McGREEVY LONDON
3/11/37 [for 3 December 1937]
Hotel Liberia
Rue de la Gde. Chaumiere [Paris] 6me
Dear Tom
The crossing was very bad until 3/4 of the way across. I had
to stay out in the wind, rain & spray in order not to be sick. Alan Belinda & Brian met me at the station. Brian had been able to get
561
3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937}, McGreevy
your room at the Liberia. It is certainly luxury after Sarrazin. We
dined together at the Franco ltalien. Brian miserable with inci
pient quinsy & the bordel international and vaguely cooing with
Belinda & Alan doing the poor putupon and having visions of the
Flore. I felt sadly remote, as I so often have before in the same
company. And felt that whatever else Paris might be it was not
that & will not be that. There is something in Belinda especially
that fills me with scoram, the false calm & the tiny wisdoms,
Olympian rabbit at burrow-mouth. Especially when Brian is
1
while he finished his shave. She said she found you changed, but not how. Also that Jolas was putting in the Denis review. It suddenly occurs to me that it will damage him in Ireland, to be reviewed by me in Transition. But can anything damage him to the same extent as not to be damaged in Ireland? I dine with them this evening. 2
I have been thinking a lot about you and practically made
3
Belinda had no suggestions about a room. But perhaps
Pelorson or Peron will. In the meantime I enquired the monthly
price at the Liberia, & for 16 it is 480 fr. which is only a reduction
of 2 fr per diem, and 10% service la-dessus. Already I have spent
over 100 fr. So I shall go on from day to day at the Liberia jusqu'a
4
Would you send your street map of Paris also? Mine is packed with my books waiting to be sent on, & God knows when that will be. I feel I could work but the unsettledness makes it difficult.
562
there adoring from the midst of his torments.
I rang up Shem now and was engaged by Norah [for Nora]
upmymindtogo&seeLaugier. Ifhesendsmeoffwithafleain my ear it won't be the first time. Even if you have your big toe in in [sic] London, what is it into? However I shall leave it to next week in case you have anything to say about it.
nouvelordre. Ithinkitwouldbebetterforyoutoforwardpost to there rather than to Brian. He is going home for Xmas -
3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937}, McGreevy
A carte d'identite valid for 3 years cost 200 fr. plus papier timbre
5
The sense for the first time for months of no more forced moves, of the streets & houses & air not impregnated with fare well - But I suppose one never knows.
Ever affectionately Sam
Griisse to Hester & Raven6
ALS; 1 leaf, 4 sides; TCD, MS 10402/143. Dating: the date as written is orthographically similar to the card sent to George Reavey that is postmarked 3 December 1937. TM was in Paris in mid or late November.
1 BrianCoffeyandAlanandBelindaDuncan. Coffeyhadbookedtheroomatthe Hotel Liberia for McGreevy's November visit to Paris. There were several restaurants named the Franco-ltalien (151 Rue Montmartre, Passage Panoramas, and 5 Avenue Matignon).
Coffey was living in the College Franco-Britannique, of the Cite Internationale Universitaire de Paris, a residential complex for foreign students, 9 Boulevard Jourdan, Paris 14.
"Borde! " (literally, brothel; here, awful mess).
Cafe de Flore, 172 Boulevard St. Germain, Paris.
In his autobiography, Georges [Pelorson] Belmont describes Belinda Duncan as
having "beaute minuscule, d'une fragilite dissimulant une armature d'acier, . . . une douceur et un silence de velours d'ou pouvaient jaillir sans crier gare, selon I'inter locuteur, soit Jes griffes de verites redoutables, soit Jes enormites de Ia plus onctueuse obscenite" (tiny beauty, with a fragility that masks a steel-hard frame . . . a velvety sweetness and silence out of which, with no warning, might spring, depending on who was being addressed, either the claws of redoubtable truths, or the enormities of the smoothest obscenity) (Belmont, Souvenirs d'outre-monde, 367).
"Scoram" (It. , from "scoramento," downheartedness).
2 JamesandNoraJoyce. DenisDevlin:see3November1937[for3December1937] to George Reavey, n. 2. SB regularly writes "Norah" for Nora Joyce.
3 McGreevy's friend Henri Laugier was a member of the Cabinet of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, under Yvon Delbos (1885-1956), Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1936 to 1938. In this capacity Laugier was aware of government subventions for foreigners in France who would promote awareness abroad of French cultural affairs. SB thought of approaching Laugier to arrange such an opportunity for McGreevy.
plus5photographs. PerhapsbythespringIshallbeinaplace of my own & clear of debt & with my papers in order.
4 "Ll-dessus"(ontop). "Jusqu'anouvelordre"(untilfurthernotice).
563
3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937], McGreevy
5 ForeignerswishingtoremaininFrancelongerthanfourmonthswererequiredto obtain a "carte d'identite" (identity card); "papier timbre" (stamped paper).
6 "Griisse"(greetings).
GEORGE REAVEY LON DON
[10 December 1937]
Hotel Liberia [Paris]
Mes enfants!
Que le Dieu des blasphemateurs Yous benisse, en attendant que
1
APCI; 1 leaf, 2 sides; toMr &Mrs George Reavey, 7 GreatOrmondStreet, LONDONWCl; pm 10-12-37, Paris; TxU. Dating and place: from pm.
Hotel Liberia [Paris]
My children!
May the God of blasphemers bless you, until such time as the blasphemer of the Gods can treat you royally! 1
1 SB responds to Reavey's telegram of9 December 1937, which has not been found, announcing that the London publisher Routledge have accepted Murphy.
le blasphemateur des Dieux yous regale.
S.
THOMAS M cGREEVY LONDON
10/12/37
564
H[o]tel Liberia
Rue de la Gde Chaumiere [Paris] 6me
10 December 1937, McGreevy
Dear Tom
Thanks for your long letter. I haven't seen any of the people
so far. Do you mean that you definitely turn down Laugier's
suggestion that you should write articles on French subjects
for English consumption? Even if the "probationary" period
were extended to say 3 months? I can't help thinking you
would be wrong. At least it would get you here & enable you to
look round for a gallery job. Ifl did go to see Laugier I would have
to be in a position to say whether or not you were prepared to
1
ing in the quarter. I finally abonned myself to P. O. P. (Public
Offices Parisiens), 35 fr. , and went through some of their
addresses to-day. As far as I can see it is quite impossible to
find even a single room of the kind I want, that is with heating
and running water, for less than 4500 per an. unfurnished.
At
2
For the past 3 days I have been working with Giorgio at his
place in Villa Scheffer on the galleys of Parts I & III of Work in P.
I shall be paid, how much I don't know. It is stupefying work &
there remains a great deal to be done. When Shem suggested my
doing it on the phone he was very tentative, as though very well
aware of the attitude. I had already told Helen & Giorgio that the
NRF article was my parting kick to criticism. 3 It goes slowly. I
met Petitjean again and was confirmed in my impression ofhim
4
proof of Denis Devlin arrived this morning, every second word a
accept the kind of work he suggests.
So far I have found nothing, after a lot of wearisome traips
leastsoitappearsfromthePOPlists. ThisisjusttwicewhatI expected. I see myself stuck here till the middle of January at least.
as a rather tedious young man.
I saw the Jolases one evening at the Grande Taverne. The
mistake.
5
565
10 December 1937, McGreevy
Haven't seen Alan or Belinda since the night I arrived. Si,
Alan alone once. Apparently Nick is ill with gastric ulcers - and
6
Harry Sinclair wrote that as I was subpoenaed in Dublin and got my 5/- there, there would be no claim for expenses off costs, but that he personally would see, when he cashed in, if he ever did, that I was not out ofpocket. I replied saying I would not take anything under these circumstances. Roture oblige. He also asked would Joyce give evidence for him in London! 7
Peron quite miserable too. Pelorson too busy to think. I
dined one night with him & Marcelle Chez Pierre. He collapses
into blankness after an hour or so, unless the conversation
8
No news at all from home. I wrote to Frank apologising for
having caused him distress in Dublin & repeating my readiness
9
I have been paralysed in listlessness & done nothing. There
is a Picabia exhibition & a Lhote, but I haven't looked at a picture
except my own, which stood the journey successfully. Van Velde
was enthusiastic about the Yeats. He is very sympathetic to me,
10
I was with Georges & Marcelle. He snatched off his hat, said
11
the top joint of his little finger. Etard was off for the day. When I got back late last night found a wire from George that Murphy has been taken by Routledge. Haven't heard any
details yet. No jubilation, but bien content quand meme. It is you
13
that, as Brian says. He seems quite miserable, drifts in here sometimes and we eat or play billiards. He is very nice alone.
remains concrete: Volonte[s] may be out Wednesday.
to write to mother whenever he wanted, but he did not reply.
but you would not care for him I think.
Passed Thomas one night coming out ofNegre de Toulouse.
"Tiens! Bonsoir" & hastened on.
Used the Ecole Library once. Meuvray [for Meuvret] extended
12
I have to thank, & then JBY.
566
10 December 1937, McGreevy
This room would be better if a little remoter from the W. C.
Nothing changes the relief at being back here. Like coming out of gaol in April.
God love thee. I feel this letter is crossing with one from you. Ever Sam
Please send the little red map-guide I had with me before.
ALS; 2 leaves, 4 sides; PS upper left margin on side 1; TCD, MS 10402/146.
1 ThetermsofLaugier"sproposalareindicatedin22December1937.
2 "Abonne"(subscribed),towhichSBaddsanEnglishverbending.
Public Offices Parisiens, Service Vente Appartements, 44 bis Rue Pasquier, Paris 8 (Annuaire offidel des abonnes au telephone, Region de Paris, avril 1937).
3 AtthistimeGiorgioandHelenJoycelivedontheshortstreet,VillaScheffer. inthe 16th arrondissement. On 18 December 1937, Paul Leon wrote to Harriet Shaw Weaver about corrections and enlargements for Part II of Work in Progress (working title of Finnegans Wake): "My part of it seems to be done but it takes some five or six other people to check the corrections, verify the additions and read the proofs" Uoyce, Letters of}amesJoyce. III, 409).
Although asked by Joyce to write an essay on the yet-to-be-published Finnegans Wake for the Nouvelle Revue Fra�aise, SB gave up the task shortly before Christmas 1937 (Bair, Samuel Beckett, 272). Only an essay by Jacques Mercanton appeared ("Finnegans Wake," La Nouvelle Revue Franqaise 52. 308 [May 1939] 858-864); however, Joyce's card to Mercanton of 8 September 1939 says that he expects a second essay by Mercanton to appear in this review Uoyce, Letters ofJames Joyce, III, 454-455).
4 FrenchcriticArmandPetitjean(1913-2003),aNorrnalien,regularlywroteforthe Nouvelle Revue Fran�aise; Petitjean had translated and written on Joyce for transition and for the journal Mesures (1935-1940, 1948), edited by Henry Church.
5 MariaandEugeneJolas;theGrandeTaverne,16RueduFaubourg-Montmartre. SB refers to proofs for "Denis Devlin," SB's review of Devlin's Intercessions in transition.
6 AlanandBelindaDuncan;NickBalachef;BrianCoffey. "Si"(YesIhave).
7 HarrySinclair,theplaintiffintheGogartylibelcase,hadwondamagesof£900 and costs, but had not yet received payment ("Libel Action Findings, £5 Damages for Dr. Gogarty, Plaintiff to Receive Award of £900," The Irish Times 25 November 1937: 2).
SB plays with the familiar notion "Noblesse oblige" (nobility carries obligations), replacing "noblesse" by "roture" (membership of the common people).
Rich and Cowan, the London publishers of Gogarty's As I Was Going Down Sackville Street: A Phantasy in Fact, did not fall within the jurisdiction of the Irish courts, and so Sinclair was considering bringing suit against them in London.
567
10 December 1937, McGreevy
8 AlfredPeron.
Georges Pelorson was preparing the first issue of the journal Volontes (December
1937 - August 1939, Spring 1940), while also working at Paris-Midi and at the Ecole bilingue de Neuilly. Marcelle was Pelorson's wife. Chez Pierre, 4 Rue de Valois.
9 SBhadapologizedtoFrankforthenegativeattentioncreatedbyhistestimonyat the Sinclair vs. Gogarty trial (see KnowIson, Damned to Fame, 254-259).
10 TheexhibitionbyFrenchpainterFrancisPicabia(1878-1953),"FrancisPicabia: peintures Dada, paysages recents," was held at La Galerie de Beaune, 19 November to 2 December 1937. French cubist Andre Lhote (1885-1962) had work in several exhibitions in Paris in 1937, and a solo show at the Galerie Poyet in December 1937 (Andre Lhote, 1885-1962: Cubism ! New York: Leonard Hutton Galleries, 1976] 26; Musee de Valence, Andre Lhote, 1885-1962 [Paris: Reunion des musees nationaux, 2003] 249).
Geer van Velde liked the painting A Morning, by Jack B. Yeats, owned by SB: see 29 January 1936, n. 3.
11 Jean Thomas. The cafe Au Negre de Toulouse was at 157-159 Boulevard du Montparnasse at this time. "Tiens! Bonsoir" (Well, well! Good night).
12 Library staff at the Ecole Normale Superieure at this time includedJean Meuvret (1901-1971), who was Sous-bibliothecaire (Assistant Librarian) from 1926 to 1943; Paul Etard (1905-1963) was the Librarian from 1936 to 1950 (Association amicale des anciens eleves de ! 'Ecole normale superieure ! Paris: Hachette-Universite, 1973] and Supplement histo rique ! Paris: Hachette-Universite, 19901).
13 George Reavey's telegram has not been found. "Bien content quand meme" (very glad all the same).
At McGreevy's urging. Jack Yeats wrote to T. M. Ragg (1897-1953), who was Yeats's editor at Routledge, on 22 November 1937:
A friend of mine, Sam Beckett, has the manuscript of a novel "Murphy" which is to be submitted to your firm. I have not seen it, but his other novel I read and I thought it the real thing. There was inspiration in it. [. . . ] I write to ask you, if you cannot read Beckett[']s MS yourself just now, to give it to some very open minded reader. (UoR, Routledge, 1715)
Ragg wrote to Reavey on 6 December 1937: "I shall look forward 1---1 to discussing with you Sam Beckett's book MURPHY the reading of which I have enjoyed more than anything else for a very long time - though I confess always with the feeling that it is going to be a very difficult book to sell" (UoR, Routledge, 1733). Ragg also wrote to thankJack Yeats on 8 December 1937:
I enjoyed it immensely. I want to publish it, and I am seeing Reavey tomorrow to talk the matter over with him. I am afraid there is no doubt that it is far too good to be a big popular or commercial success. On the other hand it, like your own book [The Charmed LifeJ, will bring great joy to the few. Thank you very much for introducing it to me. (UoR, Routledge, 1715)
568
[after 10 December 1937}, Manning Howe
MARY MANNING HOWE BUFFALO, NEW YORK
[after 10 December 1937] [Paris]
[Fragment]
Agate's notice of YTS in Sunday Times. At least the inten
1
blasphemy. I trust that acts of intellection are going on about
it somewhere. Which will enable me eventually to see how it
coincides with the Pricks, Bones and Murphy, fundamentally,
2
I know you will be glad to hear that Murphy has been taken
at last, after 18 months, by Routledge. Jack Yeats wrote a letter
recommending me to the director, behind my back at Tom
McGreevy's instance. 3 They are paying me twelve ten on signing
of contract and the same on publication on a/c of 10% on first
1000. And want option on next 2 works of fiction. I don't know
much about the firm except that they have only come lately to
publishing fiction and are working up a French side with
Montherlant and Malraux. Anyway I would sign anything to
get the book out. I suppose as a result of this something may
be done in USA. They want to set it up straight away and get it
4
back out now in the event of my being appointed. I wouldn't
mind going to Buffalo for a few months in the summer if I got
some work there and my fare paid. Otherwise I couldn't afford
5
tion was friendly. I have not written a word of the Johnson
and fundamentally with all I shall ever write or want to write.
out in Feb.
I have had no reply from Cape Town but of course would
it. IfearTomMcG. hasqueeredhispitchinUSAwiththeEliot book. He is too absolute and Ireland-haunted and an almost impossible person to help, like most of the people one wants
569
[after 10 December 1937}, Manning Howe
to help. He is quite miserable in London, doing art notes at
6
& going, and found them much easier and better than so far. She has improved in appearance, got more definition, and in certain combinations of mood, light, ebriety and seminal intoxication has a very beautiful exterior. 7
Please pass on the following:
"Oh Doubleday Doran
Less oxy than moron,
You've a mind like a whore on A trip to Bundoran. "8
Calomniez! calomniez! 11 en restera toujours quelquechose. 9
I am giving my critical career the long awaited kick in the arse with an article on Joyce for the homage number of the Nouvelle Revue Frarn;:aise in Feb. Or March. Then no more slo pemptying. Work in P. is due out alsoe [for also] Feb. Or March. I am so hard up that I have had to allow myself to be employed by him as proof corrector in chief. 10 Keep this to yourself. The association will be hard enough to break down without insisting
on the mere appearance of further adhesions. Love
s/ Sam11
I converted the dollar you sent for Lilian to my own purposes,
when in London. Then in Dublin I ran into Charlie, looking for a job as a fireman, and gave him 4/- and the P. O. , which I think he
12
starvation rate for the Studio.
I saw Geoffrey & Ursula each time I was in London, coming
was needing even more than usual.
them. Donaghy is in Enniskeny, living in sin with his beard.
13 There are pretty things in the Sarton poems, but rococo- let
1 it go is the worst even I have seen for a long time. 4
570
I couldn't get out to see
[after 10 December 1937}, Manning Howe
TLS; I leaf, fragment (opening page[sJ missing): TxU. Dating: on or after 10 December 1937 (see SB to McGreevy, 10 December 1937) and before 7 January 1938 (when SB was stabbed in Paris).
1 Mary Manning Howe's play Youth's the Season . . . ? (1931) was produced by Lord Longford's Players at the Westminster Theatre in London, opening on 5 October 1937. James Agate (1877-1947), Drama Critic for The Sunday Times. wrote. "This is a little play of considerable quality written with considerable skill [. . . J I found to my astonishment that very rare thing, a stage full of living people" ("'Youth's the Season . . . ? ,' A Play. By Mary Manning. " 10 October 1937: 4).
2 SB refers to his research toward a play on the relationship between Samuel Johnson and Mrs. Thrale. More Pricks than Kicks, Echo's Bones, and Murphy.
3 Jack B. Yeats's recommendation of Murphy to Routledge: 10 December 1937 to McGreevy, n. 13.
4 "Twelve ten" (£12 10s) was the advance paid to SB by Routledge. SB's signed contract was returned by Reavey to T. M. Ragg on 16 December 1937; the advance was sent to George Reavey on 17 December 1937 (UoR, Routledge, 1716).
Routledge published Malraux's L'Espoir (1937), translated by Stuart Gilbert and Alastair MacDonald as Days of Hope (1938). Montherlant's Les Jeunes ft. Iles (4 vols. , 1936-1939) was published in English as Pity for Women (Part I: Young Girls [1937J. tr. Thomas McGreevy; Part II: Pity for Women [1937J, tr. John Rodker).
5 InJulySBhadappliedforapositionasLecturerinItalianattheUniversityofCape Town; Mary Manning Howe had earlier suggested that SB apply for a teaching position at the University ofBuffalo, New York.
6 McGreevy's Thomas Stearns ffiiot was published by Chatto and Windus in its Dolphin series (1931); in it he inveighed against American vulgarity (see 3 February 1931, n. 2) as well as Eliot's New England Protestantism:
Mr. Eliot's verse has purified itself of merely social elements as he has moved towards Catholicism, even the bastard, schismatic and provincial if genteel kind of Catholicism that, for the time being, at any rate, he has, somewhat New Englishly, stopped at. (To be an Anglo-Catholic, to try to compromise between John Bullishness, or Uncle Sammishness, and Catholicism is almost to try to reconcile Mammon and God). (McGreevy, Thomas Stearns ffiiot, 16)
McGreevy was chief Art Critic for The Studio.
7 GeoffreyandUrsulaThompson. SBtraveledbetweenParisandDublinviaLondon
when he had to return to Dublin for the Gogarty trial, 22-23 November 1927.
8 DoubledayDoranhadreadMurphyattheinstigationofMaryManningHowe,but rejected it (see 27 July 1937). SB sent his joke to several people, with minute textual differences (see 4 August 1937 to George Reavey).
9 "Calomniez! Calomniez! IIenresteratoujoursquelquechose. "(Keeponslander ing!
6
the meantime, I shall be back in London Wednesday morning, but more probably Tuesday morning. Please God you will be still there then.
Love ever Sam
ALS; 1 leaf, 2 sides; date added in AH, 3·11·37; TCD, MS 10402/144. Dating: SB sent McGreevy a postcard from Paris on 30 October 1937; SB was in London on 10 November 1937 (card from SB to Harry Sinclair, postmarked from London 10 November 1937 [Gidal]). Even when in London SB was without definite plans for travel to Dublin.
SB stayed at the Sarrazin in Paris before returning to Dublin for the trial, and at the Hotel Liberia when he returned to Paris after the trial (see SB to George Reavey, 3 November 1937 [for 3 December 19371).
1 The wire from Harry Sinclair, which has not been found, was sent after 30 October and by Sunday, 7 November 1937. In an undated letter [c. 3 November 1937] to Harry Sinclair, SB wrote from Paris:
Received your wire yesterday. [. . . ] I shall not leave till Monday evening unless I get a definite summons from you before then. That would not get
558
healthier than I remember him.
appointed to a lycee here and that I would get his address from Baillou, the new secretary to the Ecole. Which I did, and called on him yesterday. It went very well. He has taken Pelorson's job at the Jolas's school in Neuilly. It was a real pleasure to be with him again. I dine with him Friday.
inghimthisafternoon. Ihavedecidedalsototry&getintouch with Joyce.
He told me Peron had been
with Nick & Nina.
I was at the Louvre yesterday. par un temps radieux, looking
ten how lovely the Pieta d'Avignon was.
At the very latest, & assuming I hear nothing from Harry in
{? 3 November 1937}, McGreevy
me to Dublin till the Wednesday morning, as I should have to stop in London to collect the price ofrny ticket the rest ofthe way.
At the very latest, suppposing I hear nothing from you in the meantime, I shall be back in London next Wednesday. So it is better that you should address any letter or wire that cannot reach Paris before Monday evening to 49 Harrington Rd. , S. W. 7, as before, where even if! do not stay I shall call & collect post. (NNC, RBML, Sighle Kennedy Papers)
On that Wednesday, SB wrote to Harry Sinclair from London (see 10 November 1937).
2 McGreevyhadplanstobeinParisandhadofferedSBhisroomat49Harrington Road, London.
SB's cousin, Sheila Page.
3 Jean Thomas, having been Charge d'enseignernent cornplernentaire de langue et litterature fran�aises a la Sorbonne, 1934-1936, now had a new position at the universities of Poitiers and Lyon (1936-1944). The Cafe du Dorne, 108, Boulevard Montparnasse.
4 JeanBaillou(1905-1990)wasSurveillantgeneraloftheEcoleNorrnaleSuperieure in 1936, when the title of that position was changed to Secretaire general (Pierre Jeannin, Deux siec! es a Nonna! e Sup: petite histoire d'une Grande Ecole [Paris: Larousse, 1994] 213).
Peron was appointed to the Lycee Buffon, Boulevard Pasteur, in 1936; while he may have taught as a substitute for a time at the Ecole bilingue de Neuilly begun by Maria Jolas, there is no documentation of this (Betsy Jolas, Alexis Peron). Georges Pelorson was Directeur des Etudes from 1936 until 1939; he also worked for Paris-Midi (1932-1940).
5 BrianCoffey;AlanandBelindaDuncan. TheRussianfriendsoftheDuncans,Nick (d. 1939) and Nina Balachef, have not been identified.
6 "Paruntempsradieux"(ingloriousweather).
By "French primitives," SB refers to artists who were active in France during the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries: Netherlandish painter Henri Bellechose (fl. 1415, d. c. 1445); the North Netherlandish illurninators, Pol de Lirnbourg (c. 1375 - c. 1415), Herman de Lirnbourg (c. 1385 - c. 1416), andJean de Lirnbourg (d. before 1439), who were known for their work on the "Belles Heures" and the "Tres Riches Heures" for Jean, Due de Berry; French painter and illurninator Jean Fouquet; and the Avignon painter Enguerrand Quarton (c. 1420-1466). For their styles: Leon-Honore Labande, Les Primitift franrais: Peintres et peintres-verriers de Ia Provence occidenta! e [Marseille: Librairie Tacussel, 19321).
SB comments on Quarton's painting La Pieta de Villeneuve-Ies-Avignon (Louvre R. F. 156).
SB probably refers to the painters ofthe first School ofFontainebleau (1530s to early 1600s in France), which included the director of the workshops of Fontainebleau (c. 1533-1540), Italian fresco and decorative stucco artist Rosso Fiorentino (1494-1540); his successor Francesco Prirnaticcio (c. 1504-1570); Nicolo dell'Abate (c. 1509 - c. 1571); Antonio Fantuzzi (c. 1508 - c. 1550);Jean Cousin the elder (c. 1500 - c. 1560} and his son Jean Cousin the younger (c. 1525 - c. 1595); Fran�ois Clouet (c. 1516-1572); Antoine Caron (1521-1599).
559
{10 November 1937], Henry Sinclair
HENRY M. SINCLAIR DUBLIN
[10 November 1937)
49 Harrington Rd LondonSW7
[no greeting]
Got your letter on arrival this morning. Shall not leave till I
get a definite summons from you. In case you want to phone you can get me at Kensington 7325 any morning up to 11 a. m. Glad you are pleased with the way things are going[. ] 1
A bient6t Sam
APCS; 1 leaf, 1 side; "Blackfiiars Bridge"; to Henry M. Sinclair Esq, c/o Jammet's Restaurant, Nassau Street, Dublin, I. F. S. ; pm 10-11-37, London; Gidal. Dating: from pm. Previous publication: Index Books, catalogue no. 6 (September 2003), facsimile on back cover.
1 SB was waiting to learn when the libel trial against Gogarty would begin. A subpoena to those giving testimony. among them SB, was issued on 12 November 1937; the trial was held from 22 to 24 November.
GEORGE REAVEY LONDON
3/11/37 [for 3 December 1937)
Hotel Liberia
Rue de la Gde. Chaumiere [Paris] 6me
Dear George
I expect to be here for at least 10 days or a fortnight &
possibly till after Xmas. So will you forward any thing that
1
comes for me to here.
560
3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937}, McGreevy
I have not seen Jolas but learn that he is putting the Denis
review in the coming number. I shall ask him has he any objec
tion to your reprinting it when I see him. I gave it to Brian to read
2
him the colours.
Love to Gwynedd & again thanks.
Yrs
Sam
Hope your cold is better.
APCS; 1 leaf, 2 sides; to George Reavey Esq, 7 GreatOrmond Street, London W. C. 1; pm 3-12-37, Paris; TxU. Dating; SB dates 3/11/37, but pm is 3-12-37.
1 SB stayed with the Reaveys in London on his way back to Paris following the Gogarty libel trial in Dublin.
2 EugeneJolas.
SB refers to his review, "Denis Devlin," forthcoming in transition, which he had given to Brian Coffey.
3 Writing from Paris on 2November 1937 to Gwynedd, George Reavey reported that "Poor Van Velde has not got any paints at the moment, and is feeling rather miserable" (TxU). The Reaveys had asked SB to take a gift of paints to the Dutch painter Gerardus van Velde (known as Geer, 1898-1977).
& told him to send it on to you.
Expect to see V. Velde to-morrow morning when I shall give
3
4
4 Added,totherightofthegreeting.
THOMAS McGREEVY LONDON
3/11/37 [for 3 December 1937]
Hotel Liberia
Rue de la Gde. Chaumiere [Paris] 6me
Dear Tom
The crossing was very bad until 3/4 of the way across. I had
to stay out in the wind, rain & spray in order not to be sick. Alan Belinda & Brian met me at the station. Brian had been able to get
561
3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937}, McGreevy
your room at the Liberia. It is certainly luxury after Sarrazin. We
dined together at the Franco ltalien. Brian miserable with inci
pient quinsy & the bordel international and vaguely cooing with
Belinda & Alan doing the poor putupon and having visions of the
Flore. I felt sadly remote, as I so often have before in the same
company. And felt that whatever else Paris might be it was not
that & will not be that. There is something in Belinda especially
that fills me with scoram, the false calm & the tiny wisdoms,
Olympian rabbit at burrow-mouth. Especially when Brian is
1
while he finished his shave. She said she found you changed, but not how. Also that Jolas was putting in the Denis review. It suddenly occurs to me that it will damage him in Ireland, to be reviewed by me in Transition. But can anything damage him to the same extent as not to be damaged in Ireland? I dine with them this evening. 2
I have been thinking a lot about you and practically made
3
Belinda had no suggestions about a room. But perhaps
Pelorson or Peron will. In the meantime I enquired the monthly
price at the Liberia, & for 16 it is 480 fr. which is only a reduction
of 2 fr per diem, and 10% service la-dessus. Already I have spent
over 100 fr. So I shall go on from day to day at the Liberia jusqu'a
4
Would you send your street map of Paris also? Mine is packed with my books waiting to be sent on, & God knows when that will be. I feel I could work but the unsettledness makes it difficult.
562
there adoring from the midst of his torments.
I rang up Shem now and was engaged by Norah [for Nora]
upmymindtogo&seeLaugier. Ifhesendsmeoffwithafleain my ear it won't be the first time. Even if you have your big toe in in [sic] London, what is it into? However I shall leave it to next week in case you have anything to say about it.
nouvelordre. Ithinkitwouldbebetterforyoutoforwardpost to there rather than to Brian. He is going home for Xmas -
3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937}, McGreevy
A carte d'identite valid for 3 years cost 200 fr. plus papier timbre
5
The sense for the first time for months of no more forced moves, of the streets & houses & air not impregnated with fare well - But I suppose one never knows.
Ever affectionately Sam
Griisse to Hester & Raven6
ALS; 1 leaf, 4 sides; TCD, MS 10402/143. Dating: the date as written is orthographically similar to the card sent to George Reavey that is postmarked 3 December 1937. TM was in Paris in mid or late November.
1 BrianCoffeyandAlanandBelindaDuncan. Coffeyhadbookedtheroomatthe Hotel Liberia for McGreevy's November visit to Paris. There were several restaurants named the Franco-ltalien (151 Rue Montmartre, Passage Panoramas, and 5 Avenue Matignon).
Coffey was living in the College Franco-Britannique, of the Cite Internationale Universitaire de Paris, a residential complex for foreign students, 9 Boulevard Jourdan, Paris 14.
"Borde! " (literally, brothel; here, awful mess).
Cafe de Flore, 172 Boulevard St. Germain, Paris.
In his autobiography, Georges [Pelorson] Belmont describes Belinda Duncan as
having "beaute minuscule, d'une fragilite dissimulant une armature d'acier, . . . une douceur et un silence de velours d'ou pouvaient jaillir sans crier gare, selon I'inter locuteur, soit Jes griffes de verites redoutables, soit Jes enormites de Ia plus onctueuse obscenite" (tiny beauty, with a fragility that masks a steel-hard frame . . . a velvety sweetness and silence out of which, with no warning, might spring, depending on who was being addressed, either the claws of redoubtable truths, or the enormities of the smoothest obscenity) (Belmont, Souvenirs d'outre-monde, 367).
"Scoram" (It. , from "scoramento," downheartedness).
2 JamesandNoraJoyce. DenisDevlin:see3November1937[for3December1937] to George Reavey, n. 2. SB regularly writes "Norah" for Nora Joyce.
3 McGreevy's friend Henri Laugier was a member of the Cabinet of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, under Yvon Delbos (1885-1956), Minister of Foreign Affairs from 1936 to 1938. In this capacity Laugier was aware of government subventions for foreigners in France who would promote awareness abroad of French cultural affairs. SB thought of approaching Laugier to arrange such an opportunity for McGreevy.
plus5photographs. PerhapsbythespringIshallbeinaplace of my own & clear of debt & with my papers in order.
4 "Ll-dessus"(ontop). "Jusqu'anouvelordre"(untilfurthernotice).
563
3 November 1937 [for 3 December 1937], McGreevy
5 ForeignerswishingtoremaininFrancelongerthanfourmonthswererequiredto obtain a "carte d'identite" (identity card); "papier timbre" (stamped paper).
6 "Griisse"(greetings).
GEORGE REAVEY LON DON
[10 December 1937]
Hotel Liberia [Paris]
Mes enfants!
Que le Dieu des blasphemateurs Yous benisse, en attendant que
1
APCI; 1 leaf, 2 sides; toMr &Mrs George Reavey, 7 GreatOrmondStreet, LONDONWCl; pm 10-12-37, Paris; TxU. Dating and place: from pm.
Hotel Liberia [Paris]
My children!
May the God of blasphemers bless you, until such time as the blasphemer of the Gods can treat you royally! 1
1 SB responds to Reavey's telegram of9 December 1937, which has not been found, announcing that the London publisher Routledge have accepted Murphy.
le blasphemateur des Dieux yous regale.
S.
THOMAS M cGREEVY LONDON
10/12/37
564
H[o]tel Liberia
Rue de la Gde Chaumiere [Paris] 6me
10 December 1937, McGreevy
Dear Tom
Thanks for your long letter. I haven't seen any of the people
so far. Do you mean that you definitely turn down Laugier's
suggestion that you should write articles on French subjects
for English consumption? Even if the "probationary" period
were extended to say 3 months? I can't help thinking you
would be wrong. At least it would get you here & enable you to
look round for a gallery job. Ifl did go to see Laugier I would have
to be in a position to say whether or not you were prepared to
1
ing in the quarter. I finally abonned myself to P. O. P. (Public
Offices Parisiens), 35 fr. , and went through some of their
addresses to-day. As far as I can see it is quite impossible to
find even a single room of the kind I want, that is with heating
and running water, for less than 4500 per an. unfurnished.
At
2
For the past 3 days I have been working with Giorgio at his
place in Villa Scheffer on the galleys of Parts I & III of Work in P.
I shall be paid, how much I don't know. It is stupefying work &
there remains a great deal to be done. When Shem suggested my
doing it on the phone he was very tentative, as though very well
aware of the attitude. I had already told Helen & Giorgio that the
NRF article was my parting kick to criticism. 3 It goes slowly. I
met Petitjean again and was confirmed in my impression ofhim
4
proof of Denis Devlin arrived this morning, every second word a
accept the kind of work he suggests.
So far I have found nothing, after a lot of wearisome traips
leastsoitappearsfromthePOPlists. ThisisjusttwicewhatI expected. I see myself stuck here till the middle of January at least.
as a rather tedious young man.
I saw the Jolases one evening at the Grande Taverne. The
mistake.
5
565
10 December 1937, McGreevy
Haven't seen Alan or Belinda since the night I arrived. Si,
Alan alone once. Apparently Nick is ill with gastric ulcers - and
6
Harry Sinclair wrote that as I was subpoenaed in Dublin and got my 5/- there, there would be no claim for expenses off costs, but that he personally would see, when he cashed in, if he ever did, that I was not out ofpocket. I replied saying I would not take anything under these circumstances. Roture oblige. He also asked would Joyce give evidence for him in London! 7
Peron quite miserable too. Pelorson too busy to think. I
dined one night with him & Marcelle Chez Pierre. He collapses
into blankness after an hour or so, unless the conversation
8
No news at all from home. I wrote to Frank apologising for
having caused him distress in Dublin & repeating my readiness
9
I have been paralysed in listlessness & done nothing. There
is a Picabia exhibition & a Lhote, but I haven't looked at a picture
except my own, which stood the journey successfully. Van Velde
was enthusiastic about the Yeats. He is very sympathetic to me,
10
I was with Georges & Marcelle. He snatched off his hat, said
11
the top joint of his little finger. Etard was off for the day. When I got back late last night found a wire from George that Murphy has been taken by Routledge. Haven't heard any
details yet. No jubilation, but bien content quand meme. It is you
13
that, as Brian says. He seems quite miserable, drifts in here sometimes and we eat or play billiards. He is very nice alone.
remains concrete: Volonte[s] may be out Wednesday.
to write to mother whenever he wanted, but he did not reply.
but you would not care for him I think.
Passed Thomas one night coming out ofNegre de Toulouse.
"Tiens! Bonsoir" & hastened on.
Used the Ecole Library once. Meuvray [for Meuvret] extended
12
I have to thank, & then JBY.
566
10 December 1937, McGreevy
This room would be better if a little remoter from the W. C.
Nothing changes the relief at being back here. Like coming out of gaol in April.
God love thee. I feel this letter is crossing with one from you. Ever Sam
Please send the little red map-guide I had with me before.
ALS; 2 leaves, 4 sides; PS upper left margin on side 1; TCD, MS 10402/146.
1 ThetermsofLaugier"sproposalareindicatedin22December1937.
2 "Abonne"(subscribed),towhichSBaddsanEnglishverbending.
Public Offices Parisiens, Service Vente Appartements, 44 bis Rue Pasquier, Paris 8 (Annuaire offidel des abonnes au telephone, Region de Paris, avril 1937).
3 AtthistimeGiorgioandHelenJoycelivedontheshortstreet,VillaScheffer. inthe 16th arrondissement. On 18 December 1937, Paul Leon wrote to Harriet Shaw Weaver about corrections and enlargements for Part II of Work in Progress (working title of Finnegans Wake): "My part of it seems to be done but it takes some five or six other people to check the corrections, verify the additions and read the proofs" Uoyce, Letters of}amesJoyce. III, 409).
Although asked by Joyce to write an essay on the yet-to-be-published Finnegans Wake for the Nouvelle Revue Fra�aise, SB gave up the task shortly before Christmas 1937 (Bair, Samuel Beckett, 272). Only an essay by Jacques Mercanton appeared ("Finnegans Wake," La Nouvelle Revue Franqaise 52. 308 [May 1939] 858-864); however, Joyce's card to Mercanton of 8 September 1939 says that he expects a second essay by Mercanton to appear in this review Uoyce, Letters ofJames Joyce, III, 454-455).
4 FrenchcriticArmandPetitjean(1913-2003),aNorrnalien,regularlywroteforthe Nouvelle Revue Fran�aise; Petitjean had translated and written on Joyce for transition and for the journal Mesures (1935-1940, 1948), edited by Henry Church.
5 MariaandEugeneJolas;theGrandeTaverne,16RueduFaubourg-Montmartre. SB refers to proofs for "Denis Devlin," SB's review of Devlin's Intercessions in transition.
6 AlanandBelindaDuncan;NickBalachef;BrianCoffey. "Si"(YesIhave).
7 HarrySinclair,theplaintiffintheGogartylibelcase,hadwondamagesof£900 and costs, but had not yet received payment ("Libel Action Findings, £5 Damages for Dr. Gogarty, Plaintiff to Receive Award of £900," The Irish Times 25 November 1937: 2).
SB plays with the familiar notion "Noblesse oblige" (nobility carries obligations), replacing "noblesse" by "roture" (membership of the common people).
Rich and Cowan, the London publishers of Gogarty's As I Was Going Down Sackville Street: A Phantasy in Fact, did not fall within the jurisdiction of the Irish courts, and so Sinclair was considering bringing suit against them in London.
567
10 December 1937, McGreevy
8 AlfredPeron.
Georges Pelorson was preparing the first issue of the journal Volontes (December
1937 - August 1939, Spring 1940), while also working at Paris-Midi and at the Ecole bilingue de Neuilly. Marcelle was Pelorson's wife. Chez Pierre, 4 Rue de Valois.
9 SBhadapologizedtoFrankforthenegativeattentioncreatedbyhistestimonyat the Sinclair vs. Gogarty trial (see KnowIson, Damned to Fame, 254-259).
10 TheexhibitionbyFrenchpainterFrancisPicabia(1878-1953),"FrancisPicabia: peintures Dada, paysages recents," was held at La Galerie de Beaune, 19 November to 2 December 1937. French cubist Andre Lhote (1885-1962) had work in several exhibitions in Paris in 1937, and a solo show at the Galerie Poyet in December 1937 (Andre Lhote, 1885-1962: Cubism ! New York: Leonard Hutton Galleries, 1976] 26; Musee de Valence, Andre Lhote, 1885-1962 [Paris: Reunion des musees nationaux, 2003] 249).
Geer van Velde liked the painting A Morning, by Jack B. Yeats, owned by SB: see 29 January 1936, n. 3.
11 Jean Thomas. The cafe Au Negre de Toulouse was at 157-159 Boulevard du Montparnasse at this time. "Tiens! Bonsoir" (Well, well! Good night).
12 Library staff at the Ecole Normale Superieure at this time includedJean Meuvret (1901-1971), who was Sous-bibliothecaire (Assistant Librarian) from 1926 to 1943; Paul Etard (1905-1963) was the Librarian from 1936 to 1950 (Association amicale des anciens eleves de ! 'Ecole normale superieure ! Paris: Hachette-Universite, 1973] and Supplement histo rique ! Paris: Hachette-Universite, 19901).
13 George Reavey's telegram has not been found. "Bien content quand meme" (very glad all the same).
At McGreevy's urging. Jack Yeats wrote to T. M. Ragg (1897-1953), who was Yeats's editor at Routledge, on 22 November 1937:
A friend of mine, Sam Beckett, has the manuscript of a novel "Murphy" which is to be submitted to your firm. I have not seen it, but his other novel I read and I thought it the real thing. There was inspiration in it. [. . . ] I write to ask you, if you cannot read Beckett[']s MS yourself just now, to give it to some very open minded reader. (UoR, Routledge, 1715)
Ragg wrote to Reavey on 6 December 1937: "I shall look forward 1---1 to discussing with you Sam Beckett's book MURPHY the reading of which I have enjoyed more than anything else for a very long time - though I confess always with the feeling that it is going to be a very difficult book to sell" (UoR, Routledge, 1733). Ragg also wrote to thankJack Yeats on 8 December 1937:
I enjoyed it immensely. I want to publish it, and I am seeing Reavey tomorrow to talk the matter over with him. I am afraid there is no doubt that it is far too good to be a big popular or commercial success. On the other hand it, like your own book [The Charmed LifeJ, will bring great joy to the few. Thank you very much for introducing it to me. (UoR, Routledge, 1715)
568
[after 10 December 1937}, Manning Howe
MARY MANNING HOWE BUFFALO, NEW YORK
[after 10 December 1937] [Paris]
[Fragment]
Agate's notice of YTS in Sunday Times. At least the inten
1
blasphemy. I trust that acts of intellection are going on about
it somewhere. Which will enable me eventually to see how it
coincides with the Pricks, Bones and Murphy, fundamentally,
2
I know you will be glad to hear that Murphy has been taken
at last, after 18 months, by Routledge. Jack Yeats wrote a letter
recommending me to the director, behind my back at Tom
McGreevy's instance. 3 They are paying me twelve ten on signing
of contract and the same on publication on a/c of 10% on first
1000. And want option on next 2 works of fiction. I don't know
much about the firm except that they have only come lately to
publishing fiction and are working up a French side with
Montherlant and Malraux. Anyway I would sign anything to
get the book out. I suppose as a result of this something may
be done in USA. They want to set it up straight away and get it
4
back out now in the event of my being appointed. I wouldn't
mind going to Buffalo for a few months in the summer if I got
some work there and my fare paid. Otherwise I couldn't afford
5
tion was friendly. I have not written a word of the Johnson
and fundamentally with all I shall ever write or want to write.
out in Feb.
I have had no reply from Cape Town but of course would
it. IfearTomMcG. hasqueeredhispitchinUSAwiththeEliot book. He is too absolute and Ireland-haunted and an almost impossible person to help, like most of the people one wants
569
[after 10 December 1937}, Manning Howe
to help. He is quite miserable in London, doing art notes at
6
& going, and found them much easier and better than so far. She has improved in appearance, got more definition, and in certain combinations of mood, light, ebriety and seminal intoxication has a very beautiful exterior. 7
Please pass on the following:
"Oh Doubleday Doran
Less oxy than moron,
You've a mind like a whore on A trip to Bundoran. "8
Calomniez! calomniez! 11 en restera toujours quelquechose. 9
I am giving my critical career the long awaited kick in the arse with an article on Joyce for the homage number of the Nouvelle Revue Frarn;:aise in Feb. Or March. Then no more slo pemptying. Work in P. is due out alsoe [for also] Feb. Or March. I am so hard up that I have had to allow myself to be employed by him as proof corrector in chief. 10 Keep this to yourself. The association will be hard enough to break down without insisting
on the mere appearance of further adhesions. Love
s/ Sam11
I converted the dollar you sent for Lilian to my own purposes,
when in London. Then in Dublin I ran into Charlie, looking for a job as a fireman, and gave him 4/- and the P. O. , which I think he
12
starvation rate for the Studio.
I saw Geoffrey & Ursula each time I was in London, coming
was needing even more than usual.
them. Donaghy is in Enniskeny, living in sin with his beard.
13 There are pretty things in the Sarton poems, but rococo- let
1 it go is the worst even I have seen for a long time. 4
570
I couldn't get out to see
[after 10 December 1937}, Manning Howe
TLS; I leaf, fragment (opening page[sJ missing): TxU. Dating: on or after 10 December 1937 (see SB to McGreevy, 10 December 1937) and before 7 January 1938 (when SB was stabbed in Paris).
1 Mary Manning Howe's play Youth's the Season . . . ? (1931) was produced by Lord Longford's Players at the Westminster Theatre in London, opening on 5 October 1937. James Agate (1877-1947), Drama Critic for The Sunday Times. wrote. "This is a little play of considerable quality written with considerable skill [. . . J I found to my astonishment that very rare thing, a stage full of living people" ("'Youth's the Season . . . ? ,' A Play. By Mary Manning. " 10 October 1937: 4).
2 SB refers to his research toward a play on the relationship between Samuel Johnson and Mrs. Thrale. More Pricks than Kicks, Echo's Bones, and Murphy.
3 Jack B. Yeats's recommendation of Murphy to Routledge: 10 December 1937 to McGreevy, n. 13.
4 "Twelve ten" (£12 10s) was the advance paid to SB by Routledge. SB's signed contract was returned by Reavey to T. M. Ragg on 16 December 1937; the advance was sent to George Reavey on 17 December 1937 (UoR, Routledge, 1716).
Routledge published Malraux's L'Espoir (1937), translated by Stuart Gilbert and Alastair MacDonald as Days of Hope (1938). Montherlant's Les Jeunes ft. Iles (4 vols. , 1936-1939) was published in English as Pity for Women (Part I: Young Girls [1937J. tr. Thomas McGreevy; Part II: Pity for Women [1937J, tr. John Rodker).
5 InJulySBhadappliedforapositionasLecturerinItalianattheUniversityofCape Town; Mary Manning Howe had earlier suggested that SB apply for a teaching position at the University ofBuffalo, New York.
6 McGreevy's Thomas Stearns ffiiot was published by Chatto and Windus in its Dolphin series (1931); in it he inveighed against American vulgarity (see 3 February 1931, n. 2) as well as Eliot's New England Protestantism:
Mr. Eliot's verse has purified itself of merely social elements as he has moved towards Catholicism, even the bastard, schismatic and provincial if genteel kind of Catholicism that, for the time being, at any rate, he has, somewhat New Englishly, stopped at. (To be an Anglo-Catholic, to try to compromise between John Bullishness, or Uncle Sammishness, and Catholicism is almost to try to reconcile Mammon and God). (McGreevy, Thomas Stearns ffiiot, 16)
McGreevy was chief Art Critic for The Studio.
7 GeoffreyandUrsulaThompson. SBtraveledbetweenParisandDublinviaLondon
when he had to return to Dublin for the Gogarty trial, 22-23 November 1927.
8 DoubledayDoranhadreadMurphyattheinstigationofMaryManningHowe,but rejected it (see 27 July 1937). SB sent his joke to several people, with minute textual differences (see 4 August 1937 to George Reavey).
9 "Calomniez! Calomniez! IIenresteratoujoursquelquechose. "(Keeponslander ing!
