Posted by Margaret Ratcliffe on December 18, 2000 at 22:24:18 from 62.7.22.133:
I agree absolutely with Wayne that AR related material has by no means dried up. Quite the reverse, more is coming to light all the time. What do (or does) appear to have been a little thin on the ground are TARS doing the necessary research to bring this material to life.
Already in the first few weeks of the TARS Library's life, I have had significant correspondence with numerous TARS delighted to know of AR's associations with other authors. Some have asked me for further details on specific subjects upon which they are doing research. For example, one Subscriber is interested in AR's Russian reading; another has asked for details on AR's fishing library.
AR's interaction with other authors; his influence on them and vice versa is a subject largely unexplored but one in which TARS are clearly interested as evidenced by the positive reaction to the data in the Library Catalogue and the follow-up enquiries.
Off the top of my head I can think of so many AR related subjects about which I would like to read.
AR's letters to his mother during the First World War as compared directly, day by day, with those from his brother Geoffrey to their mother. (I have the material - I have neither the time nor the expertise to do this subject justice).
AR and art. He had specific tastes.
AR and French literature.
AR and his early works. There is a wealth of data in "A History of Story-Telling", a rich source. Similarly his "Edgar Allan Poe".
AR in Europe. Have we explored AR in Berlin?
AR and Cricket and Football. Oh yes!
The Library along with Wayne's Biblio. will, I am sure, kick-start research along many different trails.