[Herbert Thurston, SJ, Roman Catholic liturgical scholar and member of the Society for Psychical Research.] Autograph Letter Signed regarding Samuel Butler and the ‘Oxford theory’ of Shakespeare’s sonnets.

See his entry in the Oxford DNB. 2pp, 12mo. In good condition, lightly aged. Folded once. The recipient is not identified. Addressed to ‘My dear Sir’ and signed ‘Herbert Thurston’. He begins by thanking him for ‘the nice things you say’, and continues: ‘I fear I have no defence as regards Samuel Butler. I knew that he had written on the Sonnets and that some people thought highly of his book but I have never seen it. The fact was that I was provoked into talking up the question by some friends who have recently become obsessed by the Oxford theory. I promised them that I would look at their books, and my very inadequate article is the result.’ In a postscript he states that he ‘must look up S. Butler and “Willie Hughes.” The reference in Sonnet 20 seems rather far fetched.’ Butler’s ‘Shakespeare’s Sonnets Reconsidered’ was published in 1899.