Letter to Mr Smith about HOUN (1901)

From The Arthur Conan Doyle Encyclopedia

This letter was written by Arthur Conan Doyle to Mr Greenhough Smith. Undated, but written during the writing of his novel The Hound of the Baskervilles in 1901 or 1902.


Letter

Morley’s Hotel.
Trafalgar Square.
London. W.C.

My dear Smith

Watt tells me there are several eager buyers from America for the serial rights of "The Hound". I daresay you could recoup yourself for most of your outlay if you choose to resell. I will refer him to you.

I presume that I am not rigidly tied to 50,000 words in the serial, and that if the development of the story should require a few thousand more I am not debarred from charging for them. I could only give an approximate length until I came to write it, and I might possibly run to a few more than I thought at first.

I send with this the 4th and 5th instalments, the latter consisting of one long chapter. I write under some difficulty through not having any of the proofs, so I cannot refer back. I want a copy of the proofs of No 1 in its primal form, and I want Nos 2, 3, 4 and 5 in any form.

Just send me a card to say that you have had these.

With all kind regards

Yours very truly

A Conan Doyle.