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BOOKS AND LETTERS FROM THE LIBRARY OF ANTHONY POWELL
Lot 313

ORWELL (GEORGE)
Autograph letter signed ("George"), to the novelist Anthony Powell ("Dear Tony"), giving a detailed account of his health, the treatment available and his hopes of securing a consignment to somewhere warm abroad for a couple of months, Barnhill, Isle of Jura, Argyllshire, 29 November 1947

24 June 2015, 11:00 BST
London, Knightsbridge

Sold for £7,500 inc. premium

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ORWELL (GEORGE)

Autograph letter signed ("George"), to the novelist Anthony Powell ("Dear Tony"), giving a detailed account of his health, the treatment available and his hopes of securing a consignment to somewhere warm abroad for a couple of months, all of which has meant that he has done little work for weeks: "have only done the rough draft of my novel, which I always consider as the half-way mark. I was supposed to finish it by May – now, God knows when", and gives his opinion that "in these days besides putting the date of publication in books one also ought to put the date of writing" ("...In the spring I'm reprinting a novel which came out in 1939 & was rather killed by the war, so that makes up a little for being late with my new one..."), and congratulates Powell on the progress of his Aubrey book; the rest of the letter he devotes to the subject of saddles, hoping Powell can procure one for the farm pony, used for running errands to save petrol, as "it's so tiring riding bareback"; ending with the news that Richard is "offensively well & full of violence", having been through whooping cough without even noticing he had it, and by giving his love to everyone, 3 pages, printed letter-heading, in ballpoint, in fine, fresh condition, 4to, Barnhill, Isle of Jura, Argyllshire, 29 November 1947

Footnotes

'DONE THE ROUGH DRAFT OF MY NOVEL – WHICH I ALWAYS CONSIDER THE HALF-WAY MARK' – ORWELL TO POWELL, ON HIS PROGRESS ON NINETEEN EIGHTY-FOUR.

The other novel which he describes as having been "rather killed by the war" is Coming Up for Air, which had been published on 12 June 1939 and which, in fact, sold well and was almost immediately reprinted. The second edition to which this letter refers came out on 13 May 1948, constituting the first volume in the Universal Edition of Orwell's works; the proofs of which Orwell received on 7 October and returned on 22 October 1947. Powell published John Aubrey and His Friends in 1948, and Brief Lives and Other Selected Writings of John Aubrey in 1949. This letter is included in the selected edition, George Orwell: A Life in Letters. See illustration on preceding page.

Additional information

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