“Your letter, the only one, because no ordinary post functioning because of the Festa, came after tea...”

"I am sorry not to have been able to let you know before about your Ancient History, but the end of term is a terribly busy time at Oxford, and I am rather swamped..."

"Thank you for your letter of 17 July. It will be excellent if your Ancient History book is ready by the end of November. On the question of terms, I am quite ready to discuss these at this stage..."

"Thank you for your letter of 24 July. I am glad to hear you accept the terms that I suggested for your Ancient History. I quite agree about Time Charts..."

"[...] Your suggestion about the Ur exhibits is excellent, and as it happens we ought to be able to do anything you require of us, as we have a book coming out this Christmas by Mr. Woolley on the Sumerians..."

"[...] I am glad to hear that there is little or no overlapping between Book IV of the Elementary Series and the present book. I don't think there is any need for me to see the manuscript..."

"Your manuscript has been read by one advisor, who likes it very much, and has noted a good many points where he thinks your statements should be verified..."

"You will probably have opened this letter expecting something tangible, but I am afraid it is only written to excuse our long silence and to plead the havoc of influenza, which has upset everything this term..."

"A Book of Ancient Peoples. Our advisor has now returned your manuscript, with a large number of important suggestions. He has put these in the form of pencil annotations in your manuscript, which I am returning to your herewith..."

"[...] The length I was thinking of was 40,000 words, but I am afraid I did not cast off your manuscript while it was in my hands, so that I am not sure what this length will mean in relation to it..."