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Details
ACTON, Sir Harold (1904-1994). Approximately 72 autograph letters and cards signed to Arthur Waley and (the majority) Beryl de Zoete, London, Ceylon, Germany, California, New York, Florence, Naples and elsewhere, 26 January 1940 - 28 February 1964 (the majority 1940-1945), with three telegrams and two photographs; and 20 letters to de Zoete by William Acton.
Harold Acton's letters begin amongst the bombs of London in 1940 ('Friday I was surounded by seven fires caused by incendiary bombs, two opposite my front door and one overlooking the back'), before proceeding to India (where he served with RAF intelligence); letters from the latter period of his military service include a bitter description of the ruins of occupied Germany in September 1945 ('I should not ever care to return to this country ... I saw a group of small boys stoning an old woman, who was praying before a ruined church ... The accumulation of impressions makes one despair'). Acton's literary and artistic connections are illuminated by references to Cyril Connolly ('a stockbroker of literature'), Cecil Beaton, Evelyn Waugh, Raymond Mortimer, Nancy Cunard, Nancy Mitford, Norman Douglas and Gertrude Stein; a number of letters praise Waley's translations from the Chinese, including Monkey (which was dedicated to Acton).
Harold Acton's letters begin amongst the bombs of London in 1940 ('Friday I was surounded by seven fires caused by incendiary bombs, two opposite my front door and one overlooking the back'), before proceeding to India (where he served with RAF intelligence); letters from the latter period of his military service include a bitter description of the ruins of occupied Germany in September 1945 ('I should not ever care to return to this country ... I saw a group of small boys stoning an old woman, who was praying before a ruined church ... The accumulation of impressions makes one despair'). Acton's literary and artistic connections are illuminated by references to Cyril Connolly ('a stockbroker of literature'), Cecil Beaton, Evelyn Waugh, Raymond Mortimer, Nancy Cunard, Nancy Mitford, Norman Douglas and Gertrude Stein; a number of letters praise Waley's translations from the Chinese, including Monkey (which was dedicated to Acton).
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