The White House, Tite Hill, Englefield Green.—Has received the revised proofs of Richard III. Some of her difficulties have now been eliminated. Encloses a list of outstanding queries and an attempted classification of the main difficulties. Looks… read more
The White House, Tite Hill, Englefield Green.—Has received the revised proofs of Richard III. Some of her difficulties have now been eliminated. Encloses a list of outstanding queries and an attempted classification of the main difficulties. Looks forward to seeing him on Thursday.
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Transcript
at The White House, Tite Hill,
Englefield Green. Surrey.
31 March 1936.
Dear Dr. McKerrow,
Your note of the 29th and the revised proofs of Richard III reached me at tea-time today. I havn’t had time to do more than glance through the first few pages but can see that some of my difficulties have now been eliminated. There still remain, however, a number of minor points to trouble me and it occurs to me that it might save your time on Thursday if I let you have my list of queries to look through before you see me. I am therefore enclosing A, a list of the points I noted on first reading through the proofs, and B, an attempt at a classification of the principal difficulties. I hoped to have the time to go through both these lists again but I havn’t been able to manage it. I expect, therefore, that they are full of follies and tangles. The queries on B in particular are anything but lucid but I think the examples clarify the points I am trying to raise. The entries crossed out in pencil on A are cleared up in the revised proofs. You’ll see I have only got as far as p. 7 (my sheets) and probably that my looking through the revised proofs hasn’t been very thorough (the duties of a guest arn’t conducive to concentration!), but the list such as it is will give you some idea of what my difficulties are. It seems a bulky, inchoate mass of stuff to retaliate with and if I saw any prospect of reducing it to order tomorrow I would keep it, but I have promised to go jaunting to Whipsnade and shan’t be able, unfortunately, to do anything of value to it. I have grave misgivings about the wisdom of sending it. I fear I am probably putting my head in a noose and look forward to Thursday {1} with pleasure mixed with apprehension.
Yours sincerely,
Alice Walker.
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Typed, except the signature and a correction.
{1} 2 April.
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