Beschreibung:

DOYLE, Sir Arthur Conan (1859-1930). A series of five autograph letters signed and three autograph postcards signed to General Enesy, Buckingham Palace Mansions, Windlesham and Bignell Wood, most incompletely dated [8 March 1926] - 31 December [1929], together 10 pages, 4to, and 4 pages, oblong 8vo , together with two portrait postcards, two typed letters signed by Lady (Jean) Conan Doyle, and six letters and postcards from Conan Doyle's daughter Mary, and seven related items; with envelopes. Prospects for a Spiritualist tour to Vienna and Budapest. Conan Doyle is pleased with an invitation to visit Austria and Hungary, and makes very provisional plans for lectures in Vienna and Buda -- in one letter adding a reproving note 'The idea of mixing up a religious subject with Sherlock Holmes or other stories is altogether wrong. Spiritualism is far too solemn and too important'; in other letters he writes 'More and more I see that the phenomena are nothing -- mere signals in order to call our attention to the messages' and makes proposals for attracting more orthodox Christians to Spiritualism. On the reshaping of national boundaries in Eastern Europe he writes 'The war has left several bad wounds, and certainly none worse than Hungary. The general idea was self determination, that each nation should group itself together & so far as possible govern itself', noting in particular the position of Magyars left within Czech national borders, comparing their plight to 'the 300,000 English ("Loyalists" as we called them) in South Ireland', and concluding that 'At present only 3 per cent of European peopl live under an Alien flag, so on the whole the treaties have not done badly'. The last few letters refer to his poor health in the last months of his life. (25)