PRINT SOURCE: Thomas Raddall Fonds, Correspondence. From Thomas Raddall to Charles Perry Stacey, 19 June 1956. MS-2-202 47.85.
Subject HeadingsIn a letter thanking Colonel Charles Stacey, Chief Historian of the Canadian Army, for sending him research material, T. H. Raddall explains how and why he became involved in writing a volume in the Doubleday Canadian History Series. Initially unwilling to be involved, Raddall explains that he had reconsidered since the time period offered had always interested him, he was between projects when approached again, and he was assured of editorial independence. Even though his experience with his history of Halifax suggested his financial returns would be low, Raddall notes that he felt it was important to present Canadian history to Canadians.
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June 19th, 1956 Dear Colonel Stacey, Long years of self-discipline and absorption in the art of listening, very necessary in my trade, have made me rather a lame conversationalist I'm afraid. Between ourselves, I don't know who composed the "group of writers, all of whom were Canadians or of Canadian stock, who met a few years ago" -- mentioned in the preface to "-The White and The Gold."1 The first I heard of the proposed set of volumes was in a Globe and Mail account of a literary tea in Toronto, at which Costain announced his intention, and the impression I got at that time was that he purposed writing the whole thing himself. In January '54 his publishers approached me and asked me to do Volume Two.2 I declined because I was deep in a novel at the time and because I've always been independent and didn't care for a job of work to be edited by someone else. A year later they came to me again, asking me to do Volume Three. By that time I was well on with my novel (it will be published this Fall) and I could give some thought to future work. The period interested me (1774 - 1850) and I was assured that the work would not be subject to the editing of Costain, that each book would stand on its own feet under the name of its own author. Hence I consented, and I'm glad I undertook it.3 History -- even "popular" history -- isn't a matter of mad interest to the public and as far as money goes there's no profit in it. By the time my volume is finished it will have taken two years of constant study and labor and as far as I can see the financial return will amount to about $3,000 a year for the time spent -- which is no way to get rich. As soon as I've finished it I shall have to turn to another novel to pay the deficit. (My book on Halifax,4 the result of many years of spare time observation and research, and of two years' actual writing, has so far returned me a little over $3,000. I had to turn-to and write "The Nymph and The Lamp" to get myself out of that financial hole!) All of which will show you, I hope, that however good or bad my volume may be, it was undertaken in no mercenary spirit but simply from a genuine interest in the story of this country and a desire to make it interesting to the man in the street. It may amount to no more than a sneeze in the dust of history, but at least a sneeze is refreshing, and if nobody else learns a thing from it I am learning a lot. My deep thanks for letting me have the group of offprints, which will be most useful. It was good to see you again, and if I come to Ottawa in the Fall I shall give myself the pleasure of tracking you to your lair. THR |
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4. THR alludes to Halifax, Warden of the North (Toronto: McClelland & Stewart, 1948).