Record of a Friendship

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Summerhill School

Festiniog, North Wales

My dear Reich,

82

November 9, 1942

I have been expecting to hear from you for weeks now. Fail­

ing to get anything out of psychological journals here, I suggested to

Constance that since there were so few copies of your works in England,
the best way would be to form a circulating library. I advertised that
your books were on loan from Constance, at so much a time, just
enough to cover expense of advertising, postage, etc. The enclosed
letter shows that some people are interested. This is well; unknown folks
read the books and slowly your ideas spread. Barnes, the man who
tried to translate one of your books, writes that he would like to start
a journal popularising your theories. I didn't encourage him, I said that
since you were sending out the journal, the best way would be to use that
as the central authority. What do you think?
I am still working away amid difficulties and wet weather...
N. Wales is the wettest part of the island, I believe. But the war news on
N. Africa has made me feel much more cheerful. I can't see that Hitler
has the least chance of winning now. The Allies will smash Germany
and Italy; they will surely go red, and what then? In my Problem

Teacher book, finished just as the war began, I wrote: "The war is

fundamentally a class war." I still hold that is so, and fear greatly that
when it is won humanity will split up again into for and against
socialism.

Write soon. I miss your letters now.

My wife gets frailer and her mind is infantile. I am trying hard to find

a Home for her. It is pretty awful to see her now and most depressing.

P.S. I am smoking again!

Later. Your letter just arrived. I want to make that cage, but how can
I here? A house without central heating to save coal and coke; every
room very full of people; material impossible to buy except for national
importance work. It will have to wait till I can do it properly.
Had lunch with Rickman. Impossible to talk to him about Veg.­
Therapy. Gets worked up and bitter about it all ... "It turns on what is
a real orgasm. R. can't prove that his idea of an orgasm is better than
any other man's." It is uphill work doing anything here owing to

shortage of paper so that reviews are cut down to a minimum. I simply