Accident

Saturday, October 30th., Cadogan Square, London.

I began more seriously to think about the plan of my new novel. I had already got the moral background for it: the dissatisfaction of a rich and successful man with his own secret state of discontent and with the evils of the age.. I wanted a frame. I walked about three miles this morning and a mile after tea, without getting a really satisfactory idea. Then, as I was  lolling in my 'easy' about 6.30, I suddenly thought that I would extend the role of the train de luxe, which I had thought of as the scene for the opening of the story, to be the scene of the whole novel - so that the entire time-space of the novel will only be about thirty hours or so. I shall call the book simply "Accident".

It is fifteen years or so now since I was involved in the train accident which provides my background material. I have often thought of pressing it into service in a novel, but have not, until now, found the right context. I was on my way back from a visit to Wells in France when, just after we had passes Mantes station, there was a really terrific jolting. I knew after four or five jolts that one coach at any rate had left the metals. The windows broke, the corridor door sailed into the compartment. I clung hard to the arms of my seat, but fell against an armchair in front of me. There was a noise of splintering, and various other noises. Extreme tension of waiting for the final stoppage. Equilibrium at last and I was unhurt! When I got out two wounded women were already lying out on the grass at the side of the track. two coaches lay on their sides. One of them was unwheeled and partly sticking in the ground.. We had apparently shaved a short goods train standing on the next line. I got away as quickly as I could and rented a car to get to Paris. 

Just think if I had been in one of the other coaches that was overturned! Lives turn on such things, but also on many much less dramatic events.  Anyway, I had made enough progress with the book for one day, so I spent most of the evening reading Ludwig on the Kaiser. This seems to me to be rather a great book