#18125

Letter from British author Rebecca West to Mrs. Kyd, 1981

Letter from British author Rebecca West to a Ms. Kyd, dated September 19, 1981, describing her upcoming work, "The Year 1900," discussing Harold Ross of the New Yorker, her "exacting and disastrous private life," and thanks to Mrs. Kyd for her encouraging letter.

Cicely Isabel Fairfield (21 December 1892 - 15 March 1983) was a British author, journalist, travel writer, literary critic, feminist and suffragette. Early in her career, she took the pseudonym Rebecca West. A prolific writer, her major works include The Return of the Soldier (1918), the first WWI novel to be written by a woman; Black Lamb and Grey Falcon (1941), on the history of Yugoslavia; The Train of Powder (1955), coverage of the Nuremberg Trials that originally appeared in the New Yorker magazine; The Birds Fall Down (1966), a spy thriller, and 1900 (1982), a cultural history.

Politically active throughout her long life, she traveled extensively, writing articles and essays for major newspapers and magazines on both sides of the Atlantic. In 1948, President Truman presented her with the Women's Press Club Award for Journalism. For her literary contributions, she was created Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) in 1949, and Dame Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (DBE) in 1959. Considered one of the most influential writers of the 20th century, she died at age 90.

We wish to thank Aretie Haralabatos for the above entry.