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E. M. Forster to George Barger, 27 July 1899: 'I have had a good time in Scotland & here [Northumberland] & go home next week. I have just read James' "A portrait of a Lady" [sic]. It is very wonderful but there's something wrong with him or me: he is not as George Meredith. Now I'm reading the Forest Lovers by Maurice Hewlett, and am a little bored though there is lots of delightful writing.'
'I had a long conversation in the tram yesterday with an old maid who had just come back from Florence & talked about pictures, & when I said that I thought Giotto was more decorative than Holbein she... quoted my own "Holbein" against me, without knowing my name... But I think she had a shrewd suspicion that I was... Maurice Hewlett. For she said that someone in the Hotel Montfleuris had pointed me out as "writing" & immediately began to rave about [underlined] "Little Novels from Italy" [end underlining]. So I got off at the next stopping place - at little Africa.'
'The remainder of the evening was devoted to the writings of Maurice Hewlett. [C.I. Evans outlined a few facts of his life] H.R. Smith gave an account of The Forest Lovers - by giving an outline of the story with one or two extracts he was able to bring us into the story & to illustrate the strange archaic manner of writing adopted in this novel. E.E. Unwin introduced 'Richard Yea & Nay' as a fine study of personality. Two short extracts were read to show the style of vigorous writing with vivid word pictures. Queen's Quair was discussed by H.M. Wallis who carried us into a discussion of the history of Mary Queen of Scots. It was a very able contribution though it erred on the side of being more history than Hewlett. C.I. Evans described the modern novels & pointed out the increasing simplicity of his style & R.B. Graham read a part of an article recently published in 'The Nation' in which Maurice Hewlett makes great play of the wail of the Duke of Bedford for housemaids to keep up Welbeck House. This illustrated a modern development of Hewlett's writing for he seems to be very keen upon a right settlement of the land problem & indeed the whole social problem.'