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TS Eliot letter found in London | TS Eliot letter found in London |
(1 day later) | |
A letter written by esteemed American poet TS Eliot has been discovered after being hidden for 40 years. | A letter written by esteemed American poet TS Eliot has been discovered after being hidden for 40 years. |
Eliot, famed for epic poem The Waste Land as well as writing the inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats, had written to his friend Jacob Isaacs. | Eliot, famed for epic poem The Waste Land as well as writing the inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical Cats, had written to his friend Jacob Isaacs. |
The archives of Isaacs, an author and lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London in 1957, were being catalogued when the letter was unearthed. | The archives of Isaacs, an author and lecturer at Queen Mary, University of London in 1957, were being catalogued when the letter was unearthed. |
In it Eliot queried the content of an essay he wrote on Shakespeare. | In it Eliot queried the content of an essay he wrote on Shakespeare. |
Shakespeare and the Stoicism of Seneca, originally published in 1927, was considered a milestone in Eliot's development as a scholar of the Bard. | Shakespeare and the Stoicism of Seneca, originally published in 1927, was considered a milestone in Eliot's development as a scholar of the Bard. |
It examined how the popularity, in Elizabethan England, of the Roman writer's tragedies influenced Shakespeare's writing - and was due to be republished in 1957, prompting Eliot to contact his friend. | |
He asked Isaacs if he could "throw any light" on the identity of Webster, who was referred to in the essay, but Eliot was unable to remember. | He asked Isaacs if he could "throw any light" on the identity of Webster, who was referred to in the essay, but Eliot was unable to remember. |
The letter conveys further confusion on behalf of the writer: "Incidentally, I do not even remember whether I meant Sam Johnson or Ben Jonson. It is Jonson in my text, but is this a misprint? No one will ever know." | The letter conveys further confusion on behalf of the writer: "Incidentally, I do not even remember whether I meant Sam Johnson or Ben Jonson. It is Jonson in my text, but is this a misprint? No one will ever know." |
The letter was typed on Faber and Faber headed paper, indicating it was written at the publishing house where Eliot was employed as editor. | The letter was typed on Faber and Faber headed paper, indicating it was written at the publishing house where Eliot was employed as editor. |
It was part of a collection donated to Queen Mary by Isaacs' wife upon his death in 1973. | It was part of a collection donated to Queen Mary by Isaacs' wife upon his death in 1973. |
Nobel | Nobel |
Eliot was born in St Louis, Missouri in the USA, but later moved to the UK and settled in London. | Eliot was born in St Louis, Missouri in the USA, but later moved to the UK and settled in London. |
He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1948, and is probably best known for The Waste Land, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock and Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats - which was later became Lloyd Webber's musical, Cats. | He won the Nobel Prize for literature in 1948, and is probably best known for The Waste Land, The Love Song of J Alfred Prufrock and Old Possum's Book Of Practical Cats - which was later became Lloyd Webber's musical, Cats. |
The author had conflicting thoughts on whether he wanted the public to read his private letters. | The author had conflicting thoughts on whether he wanted the public to read his private letters. |
In 1927, he said: "I don't like reading other people's private correspondence in print, and I do not want other people to read mine." | In 1927, he said: "I don't like reading other people's private correspondence in print, and I do not want other people to read mine." |
But six years later, he confessed an "ineradicable" desire for his letters to reach a wider audience. | But six years later, he confessed an "ineradicable" desire for his letters to reach a wider audience. |
"We want to confess ourselves in writing to a few friends, and we do not always want to feel that no one but those friends will ever read what we have written." | "We want to confess ourselves in writing to a few friends, and we do not always want to feel that no one but those friends will ever read what we have written." |