The correspondence is primarily occupied with bibliographical matters. The longest letter from Durrell (of about 160 words; typed signature) concerns his autobiographical work, Bitter Lemons (1957), and a number of ‘lively’ articles Durrell wrote for The Economist. “When I wrote Bitter Lemons there was a great deal of lead flying about in Cyprus. I had to use the greatest tact which led to a number of transpositions, not in themselves lies, but white lies: my book could have had about six people killed. Luckily it didn’t.”
Of his articles on the same subject (Cyprus), which was written for the Economist, he writes: “I was actually Special Correspondent for the Economist for six months before taking up my official post; my articles, unsigned, appeared there. In one I think you will find an outline of the present settlement suggested as the best thing for Cyprus. At the time nobody would touch it. Hence the troubles”.
WITH: carbons of two letters from Clodd to Durrell (the letters which prompted Durrell’s above replies. Clodd makes enquiries about Durrell’s articles for the Economist about Cyprus (“[I] am having some difficulty in identifying your articles. Can you help me?“) and regarding his collecting of Durrell’s work, what he has recently acquired and what he is searching for. Modest to a fault - as ever - he makes a mitigating plea for books: “… most of the privately [printed] pamphlets elude me, or rather, when they do show up, they are so expensive as to be beyond my means”.
Also with: Two Letters from the bookseller - and Durrell bibliographer - Alan G. Thomas to Clodd (1 page 4to TLS; 1 page 4to ALS, both 1960), about collecting Durrelliana (“Larry has a bad habit of sometimes signing his letters in typescript. I will urge him in future to sign all letters by hand…”)
And with 3pp notes (presumably Clodd’s) regarding Durrell’s articles on Cyprus; and with 1 TLS from Durrell’s secretary at Faber and Faber to Clodd, written “while [Durrell] is on a trip in Spain”.
All in very good order.
