DU MAURIER DAPHNE: (1907-1989)

DU MAURIER DAPHNE: (1907-1989) English novelist. An interesting, small archive of letters, documents and photographs signed by Daphne du Maurier, relating in particular to her beloved Cornwall, where she spent much of her life and where many of her works are set, comprising a T.L.S., Daphne du Maurier, two pages, 8vo, Kilmarth, Par, Cornwall, 30th November 1973, to Hans G. Kosters, stating, in part, ´Like many other writers, I myself think the novels written about other places besides Cornwall are sometimes better! For instance, "The Scapegoat" (set in France), "The Progress of Julius" (set in France)....and even "The Flight of the Falcon" (set in Italy) have more depth, to my mind, than my Cornish novels, though they may not have been so popular.....Meanwhile, I have answered your questions as best I could, and forgive this short letter, but.....I am working hard on research of the live and times of the two Bacon brothers - the elder, Anthony, is barely known to the non-historical reader, and was one of the first "secret agents" of those times, employed by the ill-fated Earl of Essex. His brother Francis is of course well known´; a second T.L.S., Daphne du Maurier, two pages, 8vo, Kilmarth, Par, Cornwall, 7th September 1974, also to Kosters, thanking him for his letter and a newspaper ( ´I only wish I could read German!´) and continuing to comment on tourism in Cornwall, ´The Cornish coast has been very crowded with tourists this past month, and although we like them to enjoy our beaches I wish they would not leave their rubbish behind them; all the debris of thousands of picnics, papers, tins, bottles, cans, which the tide cannot sweep away! I dare say you have the same in Germany, not only on your beaches but in the forests. It is a great pity´, and also referring to Golden Lads, her biography of Sir Francis and Anthony Bacon, ´I very much doubt if it will be published before next spring or summer......Printing seens to take a long time these days, at any rate in England´; an interesting questionnaire, four pages, 4to, n.p. (Cornwall), n.d. (1974), comprising over twenty questions regarding Cornwall and Du Maurier herself, to which the novelist provides her typescript answers, seventeen of which are signed with her initials (´ D du M´), expressing her belief that the tourist industry in Cornwall does not benefit the tinners, clayworkers, fishermen or farmers and noting that ´Mass tourism has already spoilt Spain, Portugal, Brittany, and Greece´, stating that ´The discerning visitor will not cross the Tamar if he finds Blackpool the other side. Those who wish for Blackpool will be better served in Lancashire!´, observing that ´Cornwall is a narrow peninsular. It cannot feed or house a mass invasion of tourists. Nor does the majority of the population desire this invasion´, declaring ´I am appalled at the idea of High Rise buildings in Cornwall. I would like to blast them from the ground in London, Paris, and elsewhere!´, and also stating ´The challenge must be to the young, whether in Cornwall or in the world. They will inherit what we have bequeathed to them. If what we bequeath is ugly, and through our fault, surely they will blame us? Or, if they are without appreciation of the beautiful, this is equally our fault, for it means we have not taught them understanding. My voice is not important. Perhaps I do belong to Cornwall but Cornwall does not only belong to me. It belongs, as every place and country must do, to those who live their lives in it now, today, and will do so through the years, and if the memory of those who are gone and lie beneath the soil still lingers on through the centuries, then perhaps this can be an inspiration to the living to build well upon the old foundations´, followed by a series of questions and answers on a more personal level, stating that she has lived at Kilmarth since 1969 and that she generally does not write for more than five hours a day, adding ´I am not a recluse! Family and friends come to stay. But I do not go often to London´ and in response to a question about whether it disturbs her to be called the ´best-selling author´ in the world, Du Maurier responds ´I do not think this has been true for a number of years! Many best-selling authors have eclipsed me!´; a signed 4.5 x 6.5 photograph of Du Maurier standing outdoors in a three-quarter length pose, signed in blue ink with her name alone to the centre of the image; a signed 6 x 8 photograph of the novelist seated in a pensive half-length pose at a table upon which appears a copy of her book Vanishing Cornwall, signed in blue ink with her name alone to a light area of the image; a further six unsigned photographs of various sizes including images of Kilmarth and individual portraits of Du Maurier and her two daughters, Tessa and Flavia; and a carbon typed copy of a letter from Kosters to Du Maurier. Some light age wear and a few minor traces of former mounting, otherwis