[ Geoffrey Household, thriller writer. ] Three Autograph Letters Signed and one Autograph Letter Signed to military historian Barrie Pitt

The four letters in good condition, on lightly-aged paper. Also present are carbons of four letters from Pitt to Household (three from 1974 and one from 1981). ONE: ALS. 11 April 1974. 2pp., 4to. He is delighted 'to be appreciated by a fellow craftsman' and is sending a copy of his 'Time to Kill', which he asks him to accept, as he has 'a number of them taking up useful shelf room'. TWO: TLS. 24 April 1974. 2pp., 4to. Pitt has sent him a copy of his own book '1918 The Last Act' and Household begins his letter: 'Lord, what a return for a slim volume of tripe!' He discusses Pitt's 'magnificent book', describing him as 'a military historian of the first rank': 'As a reader of memoirs and Liddell Hart I am fairly conversant with your subject, let alone having been soaked in the daily news and the cynical comments of slightly older contemporaries from 1914 to 1918.' THREE: ALS. 2 June 1974. 1p., 4to. Pitt has sent him his own 'blatant pastiche on BRANDY FOR THE PARSON', written when he was starting out as a writer, and Household things it 'rings remarkably true in places, & I wonder if you were not reminded or inspired by "Brandy for the Parson" to write up a memory of the real thing'. He describes 'My Whitchurch', and invites Pitt and his wife to visit, before pointing him towards 'the film of Brandy', which is 'Early Kenneth More & very amusing'. FOUR: ALS. 26 May 1980. 1p., 4to. He thanks him for an inscribed copy of 'The Crucible of War': 'Jonathan Cape have done you proud. [...] I hope & believe it will reward you well for the months & months of research which must have gone into it before you dared to sit down and write. [...] As a result of being quoted on the jacket, I'm thinking of setting up as a military authority and getting away with it!'