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| Unseen Rupert Brooke letter to 'lovelorn' admirer to be sold | Unseen Rupert Brooke letter to 'lovelorn' admirer to be sold |
| (about 1 month later) | |
| An unpublished letter in which a young Rupert Brooke advises his lovelorn friend Ernst Goldschmidt to not “place … me on a pedestal”, has been found in Goldschmidt’s archives, bundled together with two unsent letters from Goldschmidt in which he tries to lay out his feelings for the poet. | An unpublished letter in which a young Rupert Brooke advises his lovelorn friend Ernst Goldschmidt to not “place … me on a pedestal”, has been found in Goldschmidt’s archives, bundled together with two unsent letters from Goldschmidt in which he tries to lay out his feelings for the poet. |
| Brooke was 19 when he wrote to Goldschmidt on 25 March 1907, telling him that “I am sorry you have ‘built an altar in my heart’, and placed me on a pedestal … It is a mistake I made myself, once. Life is one of those ridiculous jests of which one never sees the point – until it is too late, and one does not appreciate the humour.” | Brooke was 19 when he wrote to Goldschmidt on 25 March 1907, telling him that “I am sorry you have ‘built an altar in my heart’, and placed me on a pedestal … It is a mistake I made myself, once. Life is one of those ridiculous jests of which one never sees the point – until it is too late, and one does not appreciate the humour.” |
| The poet, who died at the age of 27 during the first world war, was writing from Rugby school, where his father was a housemaster. In the letter, he also tells Goldschmidt that “in a fortnight two poor lads have died from pneumonia … To die at 15 with all the best of their life unlived! Is there a greater tragedy than for a boy to die, except for him to grow old, to live?” | The poet, who died at the age of 27 during the first world war, was writing from Rugby school, where his father was a housemaster. In the letter, he also tells Goldschmidt that “in a fortnight two poor lads have died from pneumonia … To die at 15 with all the best of their life unlived! Is there a greater tragedy than for a boy to die, except for him to grow old, to live?” |
| Goldschmidt, who was born in Vienna, studied classics at Cambridge, where he met Brooke. He would later go on to become a well-known antiquarian bookseller in London. When he died in 1954, his business was continued by his partner Jacques Vellekoop. The letter from Brooke and two, presumably unsent, letters from Goldschmidt to Brooke, in which he tells the poet that “for such a long time I have been endeavouring not to write to you but I can no longer keep myself back and so I suppose you will have to read a tiresome letter from me”, and that “I am so constituted that I put all the beauty and goodness and all desirable things I can imagine into some unfortunate person’s body and mind”, were found among Vellekoop’s effects after his death in 2007. | Goldschmidt, who was born in Vienna, studied classics at Cambridge, where he met Brooke. He would later go on to become a well-known antiquarian bookseller in London. When he died in 1954, his business was continued by his partner Jacques Vellekoop. The letter from Brooke and two, presumably unsent, letters from Goldschmidt to Brooke, in which he tells the poet that “for such a long time I have been endeavouring not to write to you but I can no longer keep myself back and so I suppose you will have to read a tiresome letter from me”, and that “I am so constituted that I put all the beauty and goodness and all desirable things I can imagine into some unfortunate person’s body and mind”, were found among Vellekoop’s effects after his death in 2007. |
| Nigel Jones, author of Rupert Brooke: Life, Death and Myth, said the letter was quite typical of the poet, showing him “performing before an unseen audience, trying to appear extremely literary and extremely clever”. | Nigel Jones, author of Rupert Brooke: Life, Death and Myth, said the letter was quite typical of the poet, showing him “performing before an unseen audience, trying to appear extremely literary and extremely clever”. |
| “The weather is light blue and white: like London milk,” writes Brooke, who would publish his first collection of poetry four years later, in 1911. “Are you interested in the weather? I was once: now no longer. It is what one would have called Spring in other years, crocuses, birds, sunshine and little winds. But of course there is no Spring this year. There is not that wild laughter of lips immortally young in the air. It only tastes like flat wine, and passion dwelt upon too long.” | “The weather is light blue and white: like London milk,” writes Brooke, who would publish his first collection of poetry four years later, in 1911. “Are you interested in the weather? I was once: now no longer. It is what one would have called Spring in other years, crocuses, birds, sunshine and little winds. But of course there is no Spring this year. There is not that wild laughter of lips immortally young in the air. It only tastes like flat wine, and passion dwelt upon too long.” |
| Jones commented: “He was fond in his letters of making these very portentous statements. He was always acting before an unseen audience, always playing a part.” | Jones commented: “He was fond in his letters of making these very portentous statements. He was always acting before an unseen audience, always playing a part.” |
| The biographer said that while Brooke’s respect for his friend as “a fellow intellectual and bibliophile” was obvious, Brooke was a known antisemite “so it’s interesting that he writes [to Goldschmidt] in extremely affectionate – albeit pretentious terms”. | The biographer said that while Brooke’s respect for his friend as “a fellow intellectual and bibliophile” was obvious, Brooke was a known antisemite “so it’s interesting that he writes [to Goldschmidt] in extremely affectionate – albeit pretentious terms”. |
| Together, the letters will be auctioned on 13 December by Dominic Winter Auctioneers, with bids expected to reach £3,000 to £5,000. The auction house believes Brooke’s letter is previously unpublished, although one reference to it is made in Friends and Apostles: The Correspondence of Rupert Brooke and James Strachey. | Together, the letters will be auctioned on 13 December by Dominic Winter Auctioneers, with bids expected to reach £3,000 to £5,000. The auction house believes Brooke’s letter is previously unpublished, although one reference to it is made in Friends and Apostles: The Correspondence of Rupert Brooke and James Strachey. |
| Chris Albury at Dominic Winter Auctioneers said he was “smitten” with the letters. | Chris Albury at Dominic Winter Auctioneers said he was “smitten” with the letters. |
| “[Brooke’s] letter starts in a very plain way with apologies for not having written sooner but then suddenly turns into poetic prose and it becomes clear that he is writing to yet another adoring lovelorn young man, before presciently musing on the fragility of life and the tragedy of dying young.” | “[Brooke’s] letter starts in a very plain way with apologies for not having written sooner but then suddenly turns into poetic prose and it becomes clear that he is writing to yet another adoring lovelorn young man, before presciently musing on the fragility of life and the tragedy of dying young.” |
| A Brooke letter coming up at auction was an event, Albury said, due to their rarity. | A Brooke letter coming up at auction was an event, Albury said, due to their rarity. |
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