STEPHEN LEACOCK - AUTOGRAPH LETTER SIGNED 11/15/1926 - HFSID 73029

STEPHEN LEACOCK
Stephen Leacock writes a letter of thanks and to catch up on the local news.
Autograph Letter signed: "Stephen Leacock", 4p, 5x6½. McGill Montreal, 1926 November 15. On black-bordered mourning paper to "My dear Mrs Wainwright". In full: "I was so glad to get your very kind letter, which recalled to me so vividly the pleasant visit that I made at your house. I meant to send you a line after I had had a glimpse of your husband at the dinner in New York when he gave me best regards & good wishes from both of you. It is so good of you to ask about Stevie; he is flourishing but still terribly small. Today I am taking him to New York for a (second) consultation with Dr Walter Timme & I feel sure that his report will be favorable. If this reaches you in Liverpool do please see my dear friend Mrs Adami - or no doubt you have seen her already. She was infinitely kind to Beatrix in her last illness and a wonderful help to Stevie & me & I feel for her so much last summer when she lost her own husband, himself a very old friend of mine. The newspapers I fear put into quite a false light the little bit I have been able to do about cancer. It has only been to give some money & some time towards introducing here Blair Bell's lead treatment. But I fear that it looks like a blind alley. For the present there seems to be nothing for it but research & still more research. If you will - answering your suggestion - send Stevie an English Xmas card I am sure he will b e delighted. With best regards to you & your husband." British-born Canadian educator and humorist Stephen Butler Leacock (1869-1944), who wrote essays, parodies and short stories, is perhaps best known for his masterpiece, Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town (1912). Leacock's other works also include Literary Lapses (1910), Nonsense Novels (1911) and Arcadian Adventures with the Idle Rich (1914) as well as biographies on Samuel L. Clemens (1932) and Charles Dickens (1933). A biographical sketch of Leacock at the website of the Canada Library and Archives explains the family illnesses discussed in this letter: "In the meantime, Beatrix [his wife since 1900] was diagnosed with advanced breast cancer. Leacock did not want to admit defeat and took her to see a specialist, Dr. Blair Bell, in Liverpool, England. Unfortunately, nothing could be done for her and her health deteriorated. Beatrix died on December 15, 1925. Following her death, Leacock contributed generously to cancer research and committed himself to fundraising drives. He also spoke whenever he could on the subject of cancer. He kept his sorrow private and returned to his routine of writing, teaching, and public speaking. He took a great interest in his son's glandular malfunction, which caused the boy to be undersized for his age. Until the end of his life, Leacock was excessively concerned about his son." Stephen Leacock himself succumbed to cancer in 1944. Slightly soiled. Paper thinned in lower right corner, below signature. Overall, fine condition.