BETJEMAN JOHN: (1906-1984) English Poet Laureate 1972-84. T.L.S., John Betjeman, one page, oblong 8v

BETJEMAN JOHN: (1906-1984) English Poet Laureate 1972-84. T.L.S., John Betjeman, one page, oblong 8v

BETJEMAN JOHN: (1906-1984) English Poet Laureate 1972-84. T.L.S., John Betjeman, one page, oblong 8vo, Cloth Fair, London, 11^th April 1963, to Michael Harrison. Betjeman states that it was kind of his correspondent to remember to send them their life of Rosa, and continues to remark 'What a wholly unexpected story it is and how well worth telling. I wish I had known her better. Your book helps me to do so. It is a pity she died before it was finished, for the story is something she must have been proud of'. Accompanied by the original envelope. VG

 

Michael Harrison (1907-1991) Maurice Desmond Rohan. English detective fiction and fantasy author, a noted Sherlock Holmes scholar.

 

In 1962 Harrison published Rosa - Rosa Lewis of the Cavendish, a biography of Rosa Lewis (1867-1952) English cook and owner of The Cavendish Hotel in London. Known as the 'Queen of Cooks', her culinary skills were highly prized by many, including King Edward VII, with whom she was rumoured to have had an affair in the 1890s.