Item 24 - Letter from Roger Fry to R. C. Trevelyan

1 item

Rodney House, Montpelier, Weston Super Mare. - The whole family had a good short holiday at Burford then went to Failand together; from there Fry went on to London to finish some work before his trip to Normandy and Helen took the children to Weston. Helen then developed scarlet fever and had to be taken to an isolation hospital; the children and nurse returned to Failand where they also became ill; will be anxious for a while but hopes the children's attack is mild. Will have to divide his time between Hampstead, Failand and Weston for the next six weeks; Helen is 'of course fearfully lonely' but luckily her room is on the ground floor so he can visit and talk to her through the window; encourages Bob to write to her. Glad Bob liked his article. Cannot write more as is trying to get an article ready for the "Quarterly Review" [published in October 1904]; feels as if they are 'pursued by a malignant Fate' as he has had almost two years of constant anxiety about Helen and the children. They may come to Dorking for a while when Helen comes out of hospital, unless they go abroad after all. A postscript details when he will next be in London.

Extract appears in Fry, R., & Sutton, D. (1972), Letters of Roger Fry / edited with an introduction by Denys Sutton. London: Chatto and Windus, Vol 1, p 224.

Pencil annotation numbering the letter '79'.