Recent finds that add to our picture of Rafael Sabatini’s life - 1

An autographed first edition of Rafael Sabatini’s novel, The Nuptials of Corbal, shed some light on a friendship of long duration, close, and as we may legitimately guess, sustaining the author’s morale at a very difficult time in his life.

My own long friendship with Ernest Romano brought this to my attention:

The novel was published in 1927, but Rafael may have asked his publisher to send him a copy.  The distance from London to The Isle of Wight is not much.  Since the inscription reads, “To/Sheila Mary Terry” it is more likely to be a gift.  Yet, it’s also possible that Miss Terry brought her own copy to be autographed, and, with his attention not fully focused (because of the event associated with 1927?) Rafael inscribed it thus.  I don't think it very likely that he carried a copy in his bag/s for close on three years, waiting to give it away.

Who was the young lady?

In The Bystander of 29 November 1939, this notice was published:

Anthony Barker, youngest son of Mr. and Mrs. Claude Barker of Brasted, Kent, and Sheila M. Terry, elder daughter of the late J.E. Harold Terry, and Mrs. Terry, of Luccombe Hill, Shanklin, I.O.W.

By 1923 J. E. Harold Terry lived at Luccombe Hill, Shanklin, on the Isle of Wight, with his wife and four children, until his death in 1939.  He registered copyright for the typescript of a play with the Library of Congress in 1923, giving this address.

To my admittedly old eyes it seems as if Rafael's pen had a damaged nib. The irregularities are similar in word after word, and the lines are thick.  It may have been a pen that Sheila offered him to use.  He was clearly staying with the family.

Now I know that in August 1930 he was at the Terrys', having left his wife in January. And I know why Terry was so dear to him.  Notice the advance from 1933 to 1938: initials are dropped, and Rafael Sabatini uses his nickname, ‘Raffles’:

More on autographed copies, and another longstanding friendship of “Raffles” Sabatini, in another instalment.

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