Laurie Lee is perhaps the most famous of the numerous writers who have made the Stroud Valleys their home over the years. The public venue of the museum service, the Museum in the Park, Stroud, already displays Laurie’s violin, as well as other personal memorabilia and copies of his most well-known works, including Cider with Rosie.
This particular book is important to the Museum as it is a first edition and a title which we did not previously possess. This copy is particularly unique as it is inscribed on the title page to Bob Lusty and contains two handwritten letters to him from Laurie Lee. Robert Lusty was a publisher with Hutchinson and Michael Joseph, and was also a senior figure in the National Book League. The letters refer to a National Book League function, possibly in Blockley, Gloucestershire. Their content is most interesting as they offer a fascinating glimpse of how Laurie Lee visualised ‘Rosie’ from Cider with Rosie fame, as well as shining a light on Lee’s friendship with fellow Stroud author Frank Mansell (author of Cotswold Ballads). There are also anecdotal mentions of the poet Mary Wilson and publisher Andre Deutsch which are very amusing.
With the centenary of Laurie Lee’s birth in 2014, the Museum was particularly keen to acquire this rare and exciting item for use in the celebrations.