PRINT SOURCE: Thomas Raddall Fonds, Correspondence. From Thomas Raddall to J. H. Blackwood, 26 July 1943. MS-2-202 37.56.
Subject HeadingsT. H. Raddall outlines his writing activities from 1941 to 1943 in response to a query for material from Mr. Blackwood of Blackwood's and Sons Ltd., Raddall's first major publisher. Response includes brief plot summaries of his novels, His Majesty's Yankees and Roger Sudden, an indication of positive market response to his novels, his working relationship with Doubleday, Doran and Co., and a reaffirmation of a willingness to publish with Blackwood's in the future.
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July 26/43 Dear Mr. Blackwood, I have your letter of July 1st, which came with remarkable speed for these times. With regard to my books: when your brother1 decided to publish the "Pied Piper" tales in book form he suggested including some of the Oldport stories.2 I pointed out that the historical tales would march better by themselves in a separate volume, Lord Tweedsmuir3 suggested something of the same sort, and your brother agreed; but of course the war broke out just as the "Pied Piper" came out and your brother did not mention again the "Oldport" book. I did not press the point because I knew his difficulties. Early in 1941 Theodore Roosevelt (a son of the late president, he is a director of the New York publishing firm of Doubleday Doran and Co.) wrote me, suggesting a history of Nova Scotia during the period of the Revolutionary War. He had read my tale "At the Tide's Turn" in Maga and was struck with the fact that English-speaking Canada in 1775 was confined to Nova Scotia, and that the inhabitants were largely "Yakees of the Yankees". (Other Americans wrote in a similar vein. It is a side of American history which seems to have escaped attention. Had the Nova Scotia Yankees thrown in their lot with the other thirteen colonies there could have been no Canada as we know it today, the stars and stripes would be flying over the whole continent.) I did not care much about writing history so Roosevelt suggested a novel faithfully based on the facts. I consented and during 1941 and the spring of '42 wrote a novel which I called "His Majesty's Yankees". Doubleday Doran published it last autumn. A friend who read the manuscript told me, "It's a brutal thing. You have set forth the stupidity and tyrrany [sic] of the British authorities and the rapacity and deceit of the Americans -- who on earth will buy it?" I said, "Canadians." This proved to be the case, but I am rather astonsihed [sic] to find the book selling well in the United States as well. Doubleday Doran are much pleased and have asked for another historical novel, on which I am now engaged. It deals with the period 1749-1759, from the settlement of Halifax to the conquest of Canada from the French. The tenttaive [sic] title is "Roger Sudden". I expect to finish it next winter and Doubleday Doran are bringing it out in the srping [sic] of '44. I included the incident described in "At the Tide's Turn" (because it was really pure history) in "His Majesty's Yankees", otherwise I have not touched the Oldport material.My new novel deals with a period outside the compass of the Oldport Tales. Owing to the present state of book-publishing in Britain nothing has been done about publication of "His Majesty's Yankees" over there; but I told my New York agent last winter that when the time came, Blackwoods must be given first choice. There the matter rests. I shall make the same stipulation with regard to "Roger Sudden", of course. You ask if I think Maga4 maintains its standard. The answer is, emphatically Yes. There is still nothing to approach it in the world. It doesn't look quite right to me without something of my own from time to time -- but that's my own fault! But the historical research involved in these novels, and then the writing of them, has absorbed most of my time since 1940. At the urgent insistence of my agent I turn out an occasional short story for American magazines. He has sold second serial rights in one or two of them to magazines in Britain; I told him not to submit any of these to Maga because your brother had a rigid rule against anything but first-hand material. One of these days when a suitable subject presents itself I shall do another tale for Maga -- that's a promise! |
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