BR TO W.W. NORTON & COMPANY, INC. / WARDER NORTON, 10 NOV. 1933
BRACERS 47074. ALS. Norton papers, Columbia U.
Proofread by K. Blackwell and A. Duncan

<letterhead>
Deudraeth Castle Hotel
Portmeirion Peninsula
Penrhyndeudraeth, North Wales1
10.11.33

Dear Warder

Your letter of Oct. 31 reached me today, and the book reached me about four days ago. For both, my best thanks. I never got Swain’s Beginning the Twentieth Century. I don’t know what happened in the summer; I was hoping to see you, but never heard of your being in Europe. Perhaps some letter went astray. I got ill in Spain from bad tinned fish; then I came here, then went to the West of Ireland with my children, and then returned here, where I mean to stay till the book is finished. As you no doubt know, my wife and I parted; she has two children by another man, and I live with a lady named Miss Spence, who helps me greatly with my work. The children spend their school time with my wife and their holiday time with me. So far, my wife refuses to divorce me; otherwise, my life is a very happy one.

The book goes on merrily; about 100,000 words are written. It shall be finished in time for publication next autumn. The question of a title puzzles me dreadfully. I can only think of “Principles and Practice in 19th century politics,” which I know won’t satisfy you. The scheme is as follows:

Part I. The Principle of Legitimacy
[Congress of Vienna, Holy Alliance, etc.]
Part II. The March of Mind.
A. The Philosophical Radicals
B. The Socialists.
Part III. Freedom versus Organization
A. American Democracy
B. European Democracy and Nationalism
C. Free Competition
D. The growth of monopoly (Rockefeller, etc.)
Part VI. Imperialism
[Bismarck, Dizzy, Africa, The Far East, William II]

Part III is mainly American. I have just been writing on the growth of the West, for which purpose I wanted Jackson Turner. His book is very uneven: when young he had sense, but later became a mere don. I have a passionate affection for Jefferson, and an intense dislike of Andrew Jackson. The general theme of the book is the unduly anarchic character of liberalism, and its failure as soon as the empty places were filled up. The watchwords of Western agricultural radicalism are 100 years out of date. Organization — economic, political, national, and international — is essential; it can only be combined with democracy by socialism, not by Jeffersonianism — worse luck!

May I admire Roosevelt? I want to. Please give my love to Polly, and to yourself, with thanks for your nice words, which I reciprocate.

Yours ever
Bertrand Russell.

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