Item 174 - Letter from Arthur Ransome to R. C. Trevelyan

Harkstead Hall, near Ipswich, Suffolk. - Levington, near Ipswich, Suffolk. - Glad to hear again from Trevelyan, even though he needed a corkscrew to extract the letter. Likes to think of 'the small company of the resolutely civilised' near Dorking; has recently read a thriller in which England was destroyed in a war and 'a stout-hearted simple-minded sergeant major', backed by 'a Sturge Moore and a Bob Trevelyan' ended up buying the Bodleian Library 'for a bull and a small herd of heifers' to preserve civilisation. Says that no-one in his own part of the country would give a rabbit for the Bodleian. Tells a story about 'the literary barmaid' at the Wheatsheaf, Dorking, where he stayed at the time of Edward VII's coronation: she knew Marie Corelli's works almost by heart and believed they were written by George Meredith. Will be glad to subscribe to the "Abinger Chronicle", but has lost the form; has bought a bicycle, and spent some time fishing nearby. Tells Trevelyan not to look at his new book ["Secret Water"] which is 'all about mud and maps'; asks for a subject for another. Continues to read Trevelyan's poem "Pusska" aloud 'with great success, even among the uncivilised'. Sends thanks to Sturge Moore for his letter; is sorry to hear about the results of his 'gallopping [sic] up Leith Hill' and hopes he gets properly well soon; wishes he would write a "Nursery Sequence" to put beside the "Little School".