2110-4-5-25

October 27th 1924.

Langley 18 Hartington Rd Chiswick W.4.

Dear Sir,

If I were an author I should simply love to hear that my books gave pleasure to others & so I an venturing to write this to you. In the last four years I have written to three, so I must take care or I shall become a bye-word: but you are the third which should be lucky for you & I expect you will be the last. Though almost I think you should have been written to first for you are the one who carries me away (figuratively of course) & it is perfectly lovely to be carried away when you are as handicapped as I am, for I have so many things the matter with me

that I can hardly help laughing if I recount them to a fresh person & yet in a way I am really quite well. But it will be sufficient to say here that I have now a disorganised knee joint my knee is quite useless & I have to wear a splint when I am up. When my knee first gave I had to be in bed for seven months & I had the most awful injections close to the spine which I thought would have killed me they made me so bad & it was during those I read Greenmantle all night for I couldn't sleep, though I must be honest & say I expect I shouldn't have left off anyhow. Since then I have read all your books. I buy them now, & I cant tell you what pleasure they have given me. "Huntingtower" I almost think I like the best. Dickson McCunn who begins with a safety razor, whereby, for to me that hangs a tale, I shall always love him. & the Gorbals Die Hards too. I have read that book three times, & I read it when a friend goes for his holidays & now The Three Hostages so very exciting & it is nice to meet Sandy, & Dick Hannay again. Sandy wasnt so far out you know

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about his winners for the Derby. Buchan should have won, but I remember "Hotspur" in "the Daily Telegraph" said he got into a crowd of horses & couldnt get out. I know I backed him to win & Alan Breck hurt his leg before the race, but he ran & led lead to Tattenham Corner, gallant horse. I had a darling little Irish Terrier called Grace, & her two puppies I named Tom after my splint, which is a Thomas splint & the other Alan Breck, because he hurt his leg. He, the dog, is always called Breck & I tell his owners they may be proud he was named after such a splendid animal. I know very little of racing really but my great ambition is to see the Derby run, but I don't suppose I ever shall. I am worse off now than ever for this last January I fell & broke

the inside ankle of my good foot & that has affected the other ankle, & it makes it very difficult to stand on it for long. Then in May I very nearly broke my left arm so you see you have been of inestimable service to me in helping me to forget. As I said I am quite carried away. Before my knee gave I had no end of other things happen but I said before I would only say about that & now I have let out about the ankle & arm, & it seems asking for pity but it is not that it is the excuse for writing! Do forgive me if I have bored you & you think this letter rather unwarranted.

Yours truly

May Helder.