WOLFE (Humbert, 1885-1940, Poet & Critic)

Autograph Letter Signed ‘Humbert’ to ‘Diana Dear’ Diana Marr-Johnson (1908-2007, Social Advocate, Novelist and Playwright, niece of Somerset Maugham) saying that he knows he will “like the book & you need suffer no preliminary shudders. But I shall like even more, I always remember, the letter that came with it. It was very gentle, very gallant & made me happy...”, 1 side 8vo., Ministry of Labour headd paper, no date

His career was in the Civil Service, beginning in the Board of Trade and then in the Ministry of Labour. By 1940 he had a position of high responsibility. His work was recognised with a CBE and then a CB. He was one of the most popular British authors of the 1920s. He was also a translator of Heinrich Heine, Edmond Fleg (1874–1963) and Eugene Heltai (Heltai Jenő). A Christian convert, he remained very aware of his Jewish heritage.
From the collection of Diana Marr-Johnson. Marr-Johnson was well known for her charitable activities on behalf of the poor. During World War II she opened a meeting place in London called Beauchamp Lodge, where poor women could find respite from the grinding poverty and shocking living conditions that surrounded them. It wasn't long before the lodge became a sort of women's club, then added a nursery center, youth shelter, and soup kitchen. Marr-Johnson devoted much time and effort to keep the refuge open by raising funds, delivering public lectures, and working at the centre itself. Eventually Beauchamp Lodge collected clothing and found housing for people displaced by wartime bombings during the Blitz; its founder's efforts were so successful that the lodge remains in operation today.

Item Date:  1937

Stock No:  41932      £75

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