TYPEWRITTEN LETTER SIGNED

London, 1974. Near Fine to Fine. A one-page letter, typewritten on a 5 3/4" x 8 1/4" sheet of stationery with printed letterhead: "37 Albert Bridge Road London SWII/01-622 3981." Dated "1 January 1974" and addressed to "Dear Mike," the first sentence reads: "No offense taken, just a few comments made." There follows four short paragraphs containing comments on actors playing fictional private detectives; sex in mystery novels; the need, in an article, to mention every mystery author or only the best; and whether Hammett and Chandler both wrote hard-boiled mysteries. There is the sense that the letter is the follow-up to previous correspondence or discussion about these topics. Symons, an award-winning mystery writer and literary critic, whose career spanned more than four decades of the 20th century, is given a large share of the credit for recognition that the crime novel at its best can have serious literary merit. It is possible that the "Mike" to whom the letter is addressed is Michael Gilbert, a well-known mystery writer and contemporary of Symons, known to take the position that the mystey novel's value as entertainment was of greater importance than its literary pretensions. There is some internal evidence in the letter from which it might be inferred that "Mike" is Gilbert, though, of course, Mike is a very common name. The letter is signed, "Yours/Julian Symons" with a postscript, "See you at that World Conference?" Folded in thirds for mailing, with a tiny smudge near the bottom edge of the page, o/w in Fine condition. A photocopy is available upon request.