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A small cache of six retained typescript letters unsigned, with two enclosures, kept on file by the acclaimed author E.M. Forster, best known for *A Passage to India*. In fine condition. All six letters were retained by Forster and concern the contract and new introduction that Forster had agreed to write for the republication of *Alexandria: A History and a Guide*. First published in 1922 by Whitehead Morris & Co. (Egypt), it was one of two books, along with *Pharos and Pharillon*, in which Forster sought to describe the city in which he was stationed as a Red Cross volunteer during World War I. In the first letter from December 10, 1959, Forster agrees to the terms of the contract and adds: "I shall be glad to write an introduction, and have suitable material for it, and I suggest that the suggested payment of $500 for this should be paid on the delivery of the MS … I assume and hope it is proposed to print the 1922 edition exactly as it is, and to attempt no modernization … ." The correspondence is cordial throughout, and Forster relays a notable "incident" of bibliographical importance regarding the 1922 first edition that he had intended to include in the Introduction, but changed his mind "out of deference to Mr. Thynne" (at Doubleday): "A few weeks after the First Edition was published, the manager of the Alexandria branch of Messrs. Whitehead Morris wrote to me in England with a piece of bad news. A fire had occurred in the office and the whole of the GUIDE had been burnt. It had been fully insured and a satisfactory cheque was enclosed. I spent it. A few weeks later I received a second letter with more bad news. The GUIDE had not been burnt. This placed Messrs W.M. in a very awkward position, since they had claimed and had received insurance money, so having considered the matter very carefully they burnt the GUIDE themselves … ." An appealing cache of Forster letters. A list of all six letters with a few quoted extracts follows: 1. Typescript copy. Quarto 1p. King s College, Cambridge, December 10, 1959. With one typescript enclosure (contract). "Dear Miss Noble … I shall be glad to write an introduction, and have suitable material for it, and I suggest that the suggested payment of $500 for this should be paid on the delivery of the MS. Will you let me know what you think about this … I assume and hope it is proposed to print the 1922 edition exactly as it is, and to attempt no modernization … I still have the original contract, and think it well to enclose it, so that you may be assured that we are not likely to run into any legal trouble. Messrs. Whitehead Morris no longer operate, but presumably someone has inherited their assets, including the copyright (in Great Britain) of the book …" [the enclosed copy of the contract with Whitehead Morris & Co. (Egypt) is dated 16 January 1919.] 2. Typescript copy. Octavo. 1p. King s College, Cambridge, 26 January 1960. E.M.F. to Miss Noble. 3. Typescript copy. Octavo. 1p. King s College, Cambridge, 26 January 1960. E.M.F. to Brian Thynne. 4. Typescript copy. Quarto. 1p. King s College, Cambridge, March 30, 1960. E.M.F. to Miss Noble. "I have forgotten our arrangement about an Introduction. I am to be paid an additional fee for one, I think. It won t, I m afraid, be as entertaining as I hoped …" 5. Typescript copy. Quarto. 1p. King s College, Cambridge, April 8, 1960. E.M.F. to Miss Noble. "… How long should this Introduction be? Would 1,000 words be sufficient? … A few weeks after the First Edition was published, the manager of the Alexandria branch of Messrs. Whitehead Morris wrote to me in England with a piece of bad news. A fire had occurred in the office and the whole of the GUIDE had been burnt. It had been fully insured and a satisfactory cheque was enclosed. I spent it. A few weeks later I received a second letter with more bad news. The GUIDE had not been burnt. This placed Messrs W.M. in a very awkward position, since they had claimed and had received insurance mon.
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