Perils of success

Thursday, April 24th., Comarques, Thorpe-le-Soken.

Finished "War and Peace" on Tuesday. The last part of the Epilogue is full of good ideas the johnny can't work out. The first part is as good as anything. All that domesticity is superbly rendered, with a natural and yet ruthless veracity. It has inspired me to a good basic theme for the third "Clayhanger". I shall give an account of the marriage between Edwin and Hilda which will shock because it is so true to real life, and touch the nerves of anyone who has experienced the conjugal battlefield. "War and Peace" is simply terrific. The battle of Borodino is fine. So is the Rostov family. And so are many of the 'set' descriptions of Russian life, such as the wolf-hunting on the Rostov estate. I wanted to write one of the same dimensions, and hope to yet.

I am just finishing instalment three of the Harper serial. It is sound but not brilliant. It is an infernal nuisance writing scenes which you know all through are only sound and not fine. Therein lies one important difference between myself and Tolstoy - I have to write all sorts of things just to make my living. Or at least the life we have grown used to living! Returns of "Great Adventure" at Kingsway going up. Over £150 a night now. Could scarcely be better. But current success is no guarantee for the future.

Yacht Velsa arrived at Brightlingsea from Ostend on Wednesday, and yesterday we went over to see her lying in the Creek. Lovely weather but barometer falling quickly and wind from the South East. She looked superb in every way except inside the engine case. Entirely Dutch crew, of whom two cannot speak English at all. I liked the aspect of the cook, but it was impossible to communicate any ideas to him direct. We got home at six o'clock. So excited that we forgot the dog absolutely but he was collected by the harbour master and saved for us.

I now notice one or two devoted heads amongst critics who lose no opportunity of going for me both tooth and nail. And it is astonishing how this small minority of criticism, convinced that one may be that it is obviously wrong-headed, and perhaps malicious or prejudiced, has a capacity for annoying the successful person surfeited with money and laudation.