Substantial Autograph Letter Signed from Herbert Palmer to Amy Cruse, discussing in detail the relative merits of his book 'Post-Victorian Poetry' and her 'After the Victorians', with unsigned autograph draft of Cruse's reply.

Both items good, on lightly-aged paper. Palmer's letter: 4to, 6 pp. Text clear and complete. He begins by apologising if his letter to her 'sounded very ungracious': 'I was unaware at the time that you had made any acknowledgement to me, and as I have had my brains picked so frequently without acknowledgment (including, of course, plagiarisms from my poems) I was again feeling rather depressed & exasperated'. While describing her book as 'really [...] very good' and 'reliable', he suggests a number of changes, giving examples of 'where we clash'. In a postscript he concludes 'I think we are both very good on the poets of the nineties. Your only serious weakness that you say nothing about Yeats. Mine that I clean forgot to point out that Le Gallienne was the best seller of the Rhymers' Club crowd. [...]' In the draft of her reply (4to, 2 pp), Cruse thanks him for his 'friendly criticism', before dealing with a number of the points he raises. She has 'not attempted anything like the complete detailed & critical survey of the Post Victorian poets' that he has given in his book, but has concerned herself 'with the readers rather than the writers; & my material being drawn largely from informal documents such as letters & diaries, it is likely that I have allowed some inaccuracies to come in'.