[ilds] Durrell's library

[James Gifford]

I ought to have added, SIU Carbondale produced a very helpful 
bibliography of Durrell's library when they acquired his papers, as did 
Paris Ouest (available online).  Quite a bit of work, really.  Those are 
not exhaustive since so many of LD's books pop up in other archives 
around the world (and were lost in WWII), and there's more through Alan 
G. Thomas in the British Library and LD's book requests through 
publishers.  Nonetheless, those two (Carbondale & Paris) give a pretty 
good sense of what was on his shelves post-WWII.

I'm reminded of the Library of Leonard & Virginia Woolf held by 
Washington State nearby, which is a beautiful drive from here.  It would 
be hoped that some day a comparable compilation of Durrell's library 
could be centralized somewhere.  It makes me think of finding copies of 
Tunc & Nunquam with Durrell's intended revisions marked out in the 
margins but at a library with no Durrell collection...  Such things are 
too often tucked inside another author's papers, and who knows how many 
of them are spread out across the globe.  Needless to say, LD never had 
the chance to revise the Revolt as he did the Quartet, so none of those 
revisions were ever realized, which is probably why he gifted the books 
away.  What would he have done with the Quintet if he'd compiled it 
himself (the omnibus was put together in 1992, I think)?

All best,
James

On 2015-06-21 7:31 PM, Sumantra Nag wrote:
> Thanks James, for this valuable information about Durrell's familiarity
> with Sacheverell Sitwell's writing.
>
> Sumantra