ALS signed “A. Conan Doyle,” one page, 5 x 8, Windlesham letterhead, April 12. Letter concerning an upcoming work. In full, “Please don’t order a copy. I have asked them to send one when it appears. The censor took out all names bar killed, wounded & Corps Commanders. Otherwise your brother’s would have appeared. I had mislaid your address and would have returned the papers long ago. Now I have mislaid the papers. I will hunt for them today.” In fine condition, with central horizontal and vertical fold, one through a single letter of signature.
Doyle’s unsuccessful attempt to enlist in the armed forces at the onset of World War I didn’t stop him from contributing to the war effort in other ways. As the battle raged, he employed a powerful tool—the written word—and began working a detailed history of the Great War entitled The British Campaign in France and Flanders. In his efforts to make the work as accurate as possible, he collected data from various sources including the British military—material that turned out to be biased in many regards. Censorship of some names, as noted here, also impacted interest in the six-volume work. Despite the author’s efforts to honor those men who fought in the war, especially those who were killed and wounded, the public showed little interest reliving the conflict, resulting in a product that Conan Doyle deemed ‘an undeserved literary disappointment.’ An interesting ‘behind-the-scenes’ look at the creative process. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RRAuction COA.
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