Transcription:

Dear Mr Enock

MONSIEUR JOSEPH

I was delighted to meet you a couple of weeks ago. And I have enjoyed your book and tried to give you a reasonably quick answer. It falls into a category which is exceedingly difficult to make a judgment on, but after a great deal of consideration I have reluctantly decided to reject it. It is lively and distinctive and gives an excellent picture of what France was like — though even at that early time was there not any anti—British feeling at all? Yet it is too jocular — the grimness of war fading out, and I do not feel that the attempts to render French conversation succeed. If they are speaking in French, then naturally their language should be transcribed in straightforward English idiom — i.e. a fluent speech. If they are trying to speek in English, then their language is broken — if they know little English — or more or less fluent if they do. Ditto, to a lesser degree, with the German speech.

I also wonder, 30 years after the event, whether it would not be better to use real nines? After all, it is factual account, and there would be no risk of reprisal.

These are all small points, which could easily be amended. But in the long view, I am not positive that we could do well with it. I would not by any means, however, suggest that this book is not publishable. I think you may well, even easily, find another publisher, and I hope you do and wish you well. To some extent a marginal decision like this is the toss of a coin, and I hope that the side the coin turned up for me is the wrong one.

I am grateful to you for letting me have the opportunity to read your book.