FRANCIS YEATS BROWN
SIR,—The sudden death, after much suffering, of Francis Yeats Brown is a very real sorrow to those who worked with him on The Spectator staff from January, 1926, to March, 1931. He had gone to study con- ditions in Western Canada in 1925 and, in order to get local colour, was working as a farm-hand on the prairies, helping to get in the harvest. I sent him a cable inviting him to join The Spectator staff on the literary side, an offer which was readily accepted. Yeats Brown was a hard working colleague, and unlike some writers he was punctual and methodical in his ways. His friends amongst the contributors to The Spectator were many, and ranged from Miss Evelyn Underhill, then theological editor, to T. E. Lawrence, who, thanks to Yeats Brown's persistence, became a regular reviewer, but in an anonymous capacity. Whether Aircraftman "Shaw " was in India or in England he always kept in touch with The Spectator. A series of articles by Yeats Brown on the clearance of London slums attracted much attention. At his best he had a great gift of making subjects, commonly regarded as dull, arresting. It was while he was on The Spectator staff that he wrote much of " Bengal Lancer ", a work which was turned down by many publishers though destined in the end to become a best-seller on both sides of the Atlantic. Italy always had a special place in his affections, and above all his old home, the Castello, at Portofino, where he dreamt of ending his days.—I am, Sir, &c.,
EVELYN WRENCH.
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