BR TO CONSTANCE MALLESON, 6 JAN. 1918
BRACERS 19265. ALS. McMaster
Edited by S. Turcon. Reviewed by K. Blackwell

<London>
Sunday 6.1.181^, 2

My Darling Love

You were an angel to send such a lovely telegram3 from Falmouth4 — also to tell Miles5 to ring me up. I went round to No. 66 yesterday morning hoping to find you just starting, but you were gone — I would have come to Padd. but for the fear that Maurice7 might be there.

The trouble the other day was the belated result of the long period during which you wouldn’t come to the Studio8 — not only after you had begun to work, but before. That was bound to produce an explosion sooner or later.

My own view of the future — if you can fit in with it — is quite clear. My work-a-day life will be at Marlow,9 with Mrs E.10 I shall come up to London one or two nights in the week, according to how busy I am. If you are prepared to give me those nights and a day, we shall keep in touch — it will be much more than you had been giving me lately, i.e. 2 nights a month. Then there will be holidays: I shall make mine fit yours, and we can go away together whenever you are willing (which will be very seldom, unless I am reluctant).

I should myself prefer to keep the Studio until you have parted from Miles, and perhaps even longer. I would rather get you away from your daily life and telephones. I don’t speciallya like your daily life — I like some deep buried quality in your soul, which you have failed to embody in your life. For that reason, I would rather see you where you are parted from your daily life — and above all, from the phone! There is nothing for you to be unhappy about. If you are kind, I shall be gradually more and more won back. It all rests with you; except that my work and daily life must be apart from you, and I must keep enough aloofness not be completely bouleversé every time you fall in love with a new man.

Some day I want to have a great fundamental talk with you about free love and intimate ties and questions of that sort. There is a great deal that you have not thought of to be said on this subject, and for your future it is important you should think of it, otherwise your life will grow trivial, and when you get too old to be attractive you will find yourself completely lonely, because you will not have formed ties of affection.

Dear Love, I do love you. All the colour and fire of my life centres in you — if you and I were to part, that side of me would die; I should never revive it with any one else. I should settle down into a methodical middle-aged existence. — Goodbye sweetheart — I send you 1000 kisses — I long b to have your arms about me —

B

• 1

  [document] Document 200252.

• 2

  [envelope] Miss Colette O’Niel | Royal Hotel | Falmouth | Cornwall. Pmk: LONDON | 6.15 PM | 6 JA | 18

• 3

  a lovely telegram Stamped 5 January 1918 (BRACERS 107346), it reads: “All love and all thoughts with you.”

• 4

  Falmouth Colette was going to Falmouth, Cornwall to continue filming The Admirable Crichton. Her husband, Miles, also had a part in the film, but neither of them appears in the credits of this film which was released in 1918. It was based on a play by James M. Barrie, was directed by G.B. Samuelson, and Basil Gill was the lead actor. In her letter of 28 December 1917, Colette wrote: “mine is the most deadly part anybody could imagine. Miles will soon be finished with his, but mine will go on a bit longer” (BRACERS 113105).

• 5

  Miles Miles Malleson (1888–1969). For information on him, see BRACERS 19046, n.4.

• 6

  No. 6 Mecklenburgh Square, the flat Colette shared with Miles.

• 7

  Maurice Maurice Elvey (1887–1967), film director. For information on him, see BRACERS 19056, n.5.

• 8

  the Studio The name given to the place that they had rented on the ground floor at 5 Fitzroy Street, Soho. For information on it, see BRACERS 19240, n.9.

• 9

  Marlow The Eliots rented a cottage at 31 West Street in the village of Marlow, Bucks. on 5 December 1917. BR did have some financial obligation with regard to the rental, and he contributed furniture as well. The lease was terminated on 15 November 1920.

• 10

  Mrs E. Vivienne Eliot (1888–1947), the wife of poet T.S. Eliot. For information on her, see BRACERS 19062, n.5.

Textual Notes

• a

  specially inserted

• b

  long Underlined four times.