BR TO CONSTANCE MALLESON, [DEC. 1917]
BRACERS 19406. ALS. McMaster
Edited by S. Turcon. Reviewed by K. Blackwell

<London>
Thursday mg.1^, 2

My Darling

It was dear of you to ring up last night and say such lovely things — I longed to answer more warmly, but Desmond3 and Littlewood4 were listening so I couldn’t. It was hateful letting you go last night, but as you saw it would have been difficult for me to get away —

It was heavenly having that time together — We never settled when we were to meet next — I shall be in from seven onwards tonight so perhaps you might ring up and suggest a time. — I don’t know whether you will be free at all soon — Today I see C.A;5 tomorrow6 to Garsington7 for one night.

Goodbye my loved one.

B

• 1

  [document] Document 200397. Found before documents 200396–200400 is an empty envelope in Colette’s hand: “4 letters …, all undated, but almost certainly circa 1917 &/or 1918.”

• 2

  [date] This letter and three others, documents 200397–400 were physically separated from the remainder of letters written in December 1917 (documents 200240–247). They are all written on the same pale blue paper in ink. All of them are undated and two have been assigned the date of December 1917.

• 3

  Desmond Desmond MacCarthy (1877–1972), literary reviewer and drama critic. He was the editor of Lady John Russell’s Memoir.

• 4

  Littlewood John Edensor Littlewood (1885–1977), mathematician. He and BR shared a farmhouse near Lulworth during the summer of 1919. Littlewood had two children, Philip and Ann Streatfeild, with the wife of Dr. Raymond Streatfeild.

• 5

  C.A (Reginald) Clifford Allen (1889–1939). He had been released from prison because of poor health and was staying in a nursing home at 10 Rosslyn Hill. For information on him, see BRACERS 19046, n.7.

• 6

  Today I see … tomorrow These appointments are recorded in BR’s Pocket Diary.

• 7

  Garsington Garsington Manor, near Oxford, the county home of Lady Ottoline and Philip Morrell.