Straight on Till Morning Read Online Free PDF

over for a month while she completes it. 12
    October 23rd 1941
    Dear Miss Markham,
    Hearing from Lee that you need some small further advance immediately, I have mailed a check for $100.00 to Margot Johnson at Ann Watkins. We continue to like the manuscript better and better. When may we hope to have the whole thing ready for press?
    Paul Brooks
Managing Editor
    P.S. We all feel that the present title WINGS OVER THE JUNGLE, does not do justice to the book. It applies to only a small portion of it and is also rather conventional. Will you rack your brains and send me some alternative suggestions within a day or two? We want to prepare a selling sample but are stopped until the title is decided. 13
    Probably the suggested title originated in the offices of Beryl’s agent, Ann Watkins. One can almost sense Beryl’s delicate eyebrows being arched in the second paragraph of her reply.
    October 25th
    Dear Mr Brooks,
    Thank you so very much for your letter and your kindness in sending Margot Johnson a cheque for me. I wouldn’t for a moment have bothered you, except that things became just a bit difficult in the last couple of weeks.
    I am very much encouraged by your comments regarding the latter part of the manuscript, but where in the world did you get the title WINGS OVER THE JUNGLE? It surely is not mine and was never suggested by me in any letter to anybody – it sounds like a title chosen by a protégé of Osa Johnson! (Not to be unkind). 14
    The title that I have selected is: THERE FELL MY SHADOW, taken from a line out of the book. It seems to me appropriate in more ways than one, but if you think not, let me know and I will try again.
    Yours very sincerely,
Beryl Markham 15
    October 27th 1941
    Dear Miss Markham,
    I don’t know where the title came from either, but I had every intention of changing it. THERE FELL MY SHADOW is certainly better, though I’m not sure it’s perfect. Could you put on your thinking cap and produce a few alternatives?
    Yours sincerely
Paul Brooks 16
    October 31 1941
    Dear Mr Brooks,
    I am still in search of a perfect title, at your suggestion, which I must say is quite a mark to shoot at. I understand that it must be appropriate to the book, and at the same time have appeal to the buying public.
    Here, after wearing myself to a thin white centre, is all I am able to offer. If you find none of these to your liking however, please let me know what angle I ought to aim at.
    1. STEPS TO THE SKY
    2. ONCE IN THE WIND
    3. CATCH THE QUICK YEARS
    4. KWAHERI MEANS FAREWELL
    S. KWAHERI! KWAHERI! (Swahili)
    6. ERRANT IN AFRICA
    7. STARS ARE STEADFAST
    8. NO STAR IS LOST
    Sincerely yours,
Beryl Markham 17
    November 4th 1941
    Dear Miss Markham,
    In the absence of Paul Brooks I am writing…to say that our own title preference is for ‘There fell my shadow’, with a second choice, ‘Once in the wind.’
    Sincerely,
R. N. Linscott 18
    November 12th 1941
    Dear Mr Linscott:
    Thank you for your letter. I am glad that your choice of a title is the same as my own, though from Paul Brooks’ last letter, I gather he thinks a better one might still be found. At this point, however, I have no further suggestions. THERE FELL MY SHADOW seems to apply all through the book also, the title appears in a line from one of the later chapters which I think adds to its authenticity.
    Meanwhile the work goes on and I hope to have it ready for you shortly.
    Sincerely
Beryl Markham 19
    November 18th 1941
    Dear Miss Markham,
    You’re right – I’m still far from content with THERE FELL MY SHADOW. It seems a little pretentious, and the double entente [sic] is not evident until one knows a little more about the book. The perfect title would suggest that you are writing about Africa, not as a traveller or an explorer, but as one who has lived there and grown up there. It has been suggested that AFRICA IS MY HOME, while very simple and literal, gets this idea over very well.