Literary
FANCY CHARLES BICKNELL HAVING £20,000 TO LEAVE
AUDEN
(Wystan Hugh, 1907-1973, British born American Poet)
Fine Autograph Letter signed 'Wystan Auden' to Mrs Fletcher
thanking her for her fascinating letter... which has just reached me. Fancy Charles Bicknell having £20,000 to leave! Next time I am in London, I shall certainly get in touch with Mr Mawdesley, so that I can see the portrait of C.B. Thank you for making this possible. I have had a letter from an American lady whose great-grandfather married a younger sister of Maria Bicknell..., 1 side folio, Kirchstetten, Austria heaaded paper, 19th July no year but circa
Item Date: 1960
£675
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Background
Auden is now considered one of the greatest poets of the English language. From 1958 until the end of his life he wintered in New York (in Oxford in 1972–73) and summered in Kirchstetten, Lower Austria.
The subject of this letter is identified in an article on the website of the National Portrait Gallery https://www.npg.org.uk/collections/search/person/mp87482/charles-bicknell as his “second great granduncle, Charles Bicknell (1751-1828)”, who “had been the solicitor to the Admiralty”. There is an article about him which mentions the bequest here - https://www.flatfordandconstable.org.uk/the-constable-family/maria-bicknell-1788-1828/father-charles-bicknell-1751-1828/?doing_wp_cron=1785657883.1059060096740722656250
Stock No. 40855
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