Letters from Arthur and Evgenia; was Re: The dramatisation that enraged Evgenia?


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Posted by Peter R on July 10, 2003 at 06:30:49 from 62.64.233.14 user badboy.

In Reply to: Re: The dramatisation that enraged Evgenia? posted by Robert Hill on July 10, 2003 at -1:11:56:

As promised, two letters regarding the 1963 BBC serial, one complete letter written by Arthur but only the second page of the letter written by Evgenia, plus one written by Evgenia about the 1975 film


Haverthwaite,
nr.Ulverston,
September 23,1962 Lancaster

Dear (left out because the recipient is still alive)

Thank you for your (and your wife's) kind sympathy over the misfortunes of my book. I wholeheartedly agree with your remarks and wish to goodness you had been here all this summer so that, being immobilized myself, I could have asked you to keep a stern eye on these scoundrels.
I entirely agree with your remarks, although I think they would have been more disgusted if you had seen the script.
It looks as though we should be going to London pretty soon. But I fear it is too late now for a rescue.
All we can do is to lay in a stock of motor-horns with which to make a nasty noise when the thing is actually shown. Alas, with TV the scoundrels will never hear it.
I hope a few people will be enraged by it and write letters complaining. The awful thing is that "my agent" has given them an option on SWALLOWDALE and PETER DUCK.

I here hand over

Arthur Ransome



22-10-63

When I got back about 12 noon he was still very upset about it.
Your letter sent via the B.B.C. has not reached us yet. If it ever does I shall let you know.
We got instead 3 letters selected by the B.B.C. as typical; they all praise - but who cares for ; "We liked S. & A. very much. We always watch children's television and like all the programmes.

Yours sincerely
Evgenia Ransome


Aynhoe Park
Banbury
Oxon
January 4. 1975

Dear (again, left out because the recipient is still alive)

I am very sorry I have not sent you a Christmas card. But I have been much afflicted by some nasty germ all through the second half of December and was quite unable to cope.
But I am sending you now my most sincere good wishes for a very Happy New Year,
As for depression, inflation, strikes etc. I am very much in the same boat as everyone else, but I don’t see any good in trying to complain louder than other people.
I had many letters from people who saw the film. The prevailing verdict was ; the scenery - excellent; some of the actors - a bad choice; John - very feeble,; Captain Flint - an absolute pain in the neck. (This is just what I think of Ronald Fraser playing Captain Flint). But a good many of these critics also said that on the whole they liked the film well enough to want to se it again. I believe that in spite of the producers intentions of advertising and showing the film as widely as possible over the whole country the distribution and the length of time it was shown at different places were as uneven that there are quite a number of disappointed people who have not seen it -
though badly want to.
Thank you for your Christmas card. It is the most eloquent protest of a parent against the relentless energy of the young offspring. Still, I don’t think you must grumble; after all you are included in the party on equal terms. And if you know your George Orwell you must see that it is only reasonable that the leaders are a bit more equal than the camels of the party. You see, you might have been refused admission all together on account of your senile old age. 40 ? 45 ? or whatever it is now.
Now that !!!!! is at !!!! and you are visiting the Lake District often - I wonder if you have been to see Arthur Ransome’s memorial “corner” in Abbot Hall Museum in Kendal? If you haven’t, please try to do it sometime. I should be very much interested in your comments.
For various reasons I am leaving Aynhoe Park at the end of next February and moving into Flat !!!!!!!!! Girton, Cambridge. It is a much smaller flat than I have got now and I shall badly miss my enormous sitting room, but otherwise I hope I shall be more comfortable there than I have been at Aynhoe Park lately.

Best wishes for the New Year
And more power to your !!!! hand;

Yours sincerely
Evgenia Ransome

Rumour has it that she died in the taxi outside the Girton flat.




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