ALS, one page, 4.5 x 7, Family Hotel, St. Mary-Church, Torquay letterhead, September 9, 1896. Letter to journalist Charles H. Chandler. In part: “I have come direct from America…I have rented Rock House near Maidencombe for a few months: but do not know how long I may stay here. I regret that I cannot appoint any time for an interview as I am at present very much engaged.” In very good condition, with overall foxing. Kipling lived at Rock House from 1896 to 1898, but he never found it to be a pleasant home. Despite its beautiful grounds and coastal views, Kipling found that gloom descended on those who entered, and wrote of the house in his autobiography Something of Myself: ‘It was the Feng-shui—the Spirit of the house itself—that darkened the sunshine and fell upon us every time we entered, checking the very words on our lips.’ He later incorporated Rock House into his 1909 short story ‘The House Surgeon,’ disguised as an estate called ‘Holmescroft.’ An intriguing letter from the beginning of this unusual ordeal. Pre-certified PSA/DNA.
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