In February 2022, the Authors’ Club received an email from a member of the public informing us that they had inherited a collection of letters sent to Algernon Rose, the long-serving Honorary Secretary of the Authors’ Club from 1908 to his death in 1934. Naturally, we accepted, and asked the donor to post them to the Club. In March, a Jiffy bag was delivered to the porters’ lodge at Whitehall Court; inside was an old cardboard stocking box from Green & Edwards department store in the Finchley Road, containing far more letters than we had anticipated.
The signatories included Thomas Hardy, Rudyard Kipling, J. M. Barrie, Arthur Conan Doyle, George Bernard Shaw, Rider Haggard, John Galsworthy, Arnold Bennett, H. G. Wells and other notable writers of the day. Often candid and informal, they offer a fascinating glimpse of the personal and professional connections among writers in early 20th-century London.
Given the potential interest, we are crowdfunding a numbered, limited edition of 200 copies of a handsomely printed, 80-page illustrated hardback catalogue, with a text by the award-nominated writer and Authors’ Club historian C.J. Schüler, and a Foreword by the literary journalist and Authors’ Club President John Walsh. Many of the letters are reproduced in the book, which includes a full catalogue and narrative text explaining the circumstances of their composition and relating the extraordinary life and career of Algernon Rose, musician, author, journalist, globetrotter and consummate networker.
There are three levels of sponsorship: for just £10 you will receive a numbered copy of the limited-edition hardback; for £20, a numbered copy of the book and your name in the list of subscribers in the back; and for £30 or over, a numbered copy of the book, your name in the subscribers list and an invitation to the launch at the National Liberal Club in London in May.
You can pledge to the crowdfunder here.