AUDEN W. H.: (1907-1973) Anglo-American Poet. A good T.L.S., W. H. Auden, one page, 4to, Buckingham Gate, London ...

AUDEN W. H.: (1907-1973) Anglo-American Poet. A good T.L.S., W. H. Auden, one page, 4to, Buckingham Gate, London, 30th January 1936, to Anmer Hall, on the attractive printed stationery of the Westminster Theatre. Auden discusses The Dog Beneath the Skin and announces 'Owing to recent events I quite understand that the Ostnia palace scene, as it stands, might give offence, which was - of course - certainly not intended', further remarking 'At the same time I feel very strongly that the complete omission of the scene would seriously upset the balance of the whole play' and proposing that he should like, with Hall's agreement, 'to turn the whole scene into an Eastern scene, something after the style of the Arabian Nights. For example, the two chief characters would be a Sultan and a Sultana'. In concluding Auden states 'May I take this opportunity of thanking you on behalf of both myself and Mr. Isherwood for all the patience and forbearance you have shown over this play?'. A few, very light, extremely minor creases, VG Alderson Burrell Horne (1863-1953) British Theatre Director who worked under the pseudonym of Amner Hall. Horne was the licensee of the Westminster Theatre from 1931-47 and had directed Auden's The Dance of Death in October 1935. Christopher Isherwood (1904-1986) Anglo-American Novelist & Playwright, remembered for his collaborations with W. H. Auden, beginning with The Dog Beneath the Skin (1935). The Dog Beneath the Skin was the first Auden-Isherwood collaboration and an important contribution to English poetic drama in the 1930s.