Postcard from Philip Larkin to Charles Monteith, 2 September 1971?

MS letter from Philip Larkin to Charles Monteith. On postcard marked ‘Jura Hotel, Isle of Jura, Argyll’ and stamped with the name ‘Isle of Jura’ and the date [?]. Refers to George Orwell’s (1903-1950, author) residence on the Isle of Jura, and to the view shown on the reverse, which Larkin guesses “was his view”, humorously remarking that the bleak expanses of sea and sky which fill most of it, “hastened his end”. States his lack of news. Offers a self-conscious joke about his participation in the weak entertainment given on the island. Closes with a postscript which reads “no surrender”. Addressed using the office of Faber & Faber, 24 Russell Square, London. On the reverse, photographic image with a descriptive caption printed on the foot of the white border. The image shows the Gulf of Corryvreckan and the Isle of Scarba, a view from the coast of the Isle of Jura.

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