{"product_id":"als-to-alfred-a-knopf-1800205","title":"ALS to Alfred A. Knopf","description":"\u003ch3 style=\"font-variant: small-caps\"\u003eFROM CONRAD TO HIS AMERICAN PUBLISHER, DISCUSSING SOME OF HIS GREATEST NOVELS\u003c\/h3\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\n\u003cstrong\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAutograph letter signed, written on a single sheet (20 x 25cm approx) on both recto and verso; printed header with Conrad’s Capel House address and local telegraph\/rail stations; folded both horizontally and vertically at time of writing; a couple of ink smudges, else fine. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003eAn incredibly important letter written by Joseph Conrad to his American publisher during a particularly prolific and important turning point in his career.\u003c\/b\u003e Addressing him fondly as ‘My dear Knopf’, Conrad refers to his agent, J.B. Pinker, and the “the matter of the uniform edition of six books”. He goes on to discuss his hopes for a new frontis portrait: “Thanks for the week of fun”, he writes, “I held off sending you a photograph in the hope of H. Thomas (the sculptor) drawing my head as he wants to do - when you would have had a copy of the reproduced drawing” but he resorts to sending “a common photo” instead. Conrad continues, mentioning ‘Curle’s book’ which he thinks is “very good. So does Edward Garnett who is a severe critic” before thanking Knopf for taking his friend on. “He has brains; he has also a writer’s temperament” he claims. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePerhaps most importantly are the concluding lines of the letter, which refer to Conrad’s next book: “I am very busy with my next novel now approaching completion. I have also finished two short stories. Now’s the time for the Met’am to come forward if they want a Conrad of the early and of the latest manner - or one of them. Mr Pinker is ready to give them the first chance. These two stories complete a vol. of 4 or 5 stories which I shall keep in the drawer for a time - till I get a good offer anyhow. Pardon this disconnected scrawl. Yours sincerely Joseph Conrad”. The last few lines are written vertically along the outer left hand margin, as was his custom. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eConrad had published Chance in 1913 after several years of slow progress and obscurity. By 1914, the book outsold all his previous publications and had shot him to fame, leading to a spurt of commercial success and altering his fortunes completely. \"Chance had a magnificent press and her fifth edition was advertised within a fortnight of publication\", he proudly writes here.  The next novel to which he refers is undoubtedly Victory, which was released in 1915. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eProviding deep insight into the world of commercial publishing and negotiations between writers and their agents\/publishers, this letter instructs Knopf that now is the prime time for magazines such as the Metropolitan to secure his work, alluding to the storage of his manuscripts until a premium market rate can be secured. The reference to Richard Curle further provides a glimpse into Conrad’s close-knit literary circle; Conrad and Curle had become friends in 1910, and in 1914 Curle’s first book on Conrad, a study, was published. The pair continued to become close in Conrad's later years, and upon Conrad’s death in 1924 Curle was appointed as an executor of his estate.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eAn outstanding literary association.  \u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eSKU: \u003c\/strong\u003e1800205\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Fold the Corner","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57004275827012,"sku":"1800205","price":3950.0,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0943\/8711\/0212\/files\/1800205_2b7fc1e5-cae4-4538-975e-026fa0f90c08.jpg?v=1784541627","url":"https:\/\/foldthecornerbooks.co.uk\/products\/als-to-alfred-a-knopf-1800205","provider":"Fold the Corner Books ","version":"1.0","type":"link"}