Josef Škvorecký's correspondence with the British television/film director Peter Duffell. 1984-1993. Approximately 30 pieces in total
by Škvorecký, Josef (1924-2012)
- Used
- good
- Condition
- Good
- Seller
-
St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada
Payment Methods Accepted
About This Item
The collection includes:
1. 10 TLS, Škvorecký to Duffell. October 31, 1984 - May 21, 1993. Škvorecký expresses delight at Duffell's plan, which mirrored his own idea of combining the two works in a single narrative: "I even jotted down a first-draft script... I spent only two days on it, and it is awful. But it proves that our minds work along the same lines." By early 1985, Skvorecky was writing to Duffell to comment at some length on his script, promising, "When we close the deal - I hope to God we will - we shall, of course, go through this first draft in detail." Subsequent letters indicate that the project ran into legal problems over the film rights, particularly an option owned by Canadian filmmaker Pasia Schonberg (died 2018) on The Engineer of Human Souls by Škvorecký, which featured related characters to those in "Swell Season." Škvorecký's letters to Duffell become ever more discursive and revealing about friends and relations as the two become closer, but it gradually becomes apparent that the project has stalled: a 1989 letter begins, "You are absolutely right: the situation with Pasia Schonberg is monstrous." Skvorecky writes almost guiltily about other successful film adaptations of his work. He also include copies of material (resumé, letters, and reviews) pertaining to Zdena Salivarová, Škvorecký's wife.
2. 10 TLS signed and exchanged between various correspondents including Duffell; Pasia Schonberg; Peter Israel; Lucinda Varida Agency; Lester & Orpen Dennys Publishers; and Hatton & Baker, Ltd. About Duffell's project in terms of violating a competing projects clause in the option on Skvorecky's The Engineer of Human Souls owned by Pasia Schonberg. Schonberg upholds her intellectual property rights.
3. List of expenses (1 p.) in Duffell's hand, [1984], including "Trip to Czechoslovakia" and "Trip to Canada to meet Škvorecký." With two photocopied information sheets about the cost of travel between London and Prague.
4. TLS, Alison Jackson, Channel 4 Television (London) to Duffell. October 19, 1984. Acknowledging receipt of a copy of "The Bass Saxophone".
5. TLS, Colin Vaines, National Film Development Fund, to Duffell. January 16, 1985. Rejecting an application for funding for the development of "Danny and the High School Gang."
6. TLS, John D. Eberts, Embassy Communications International, to Peter Duffell. January 28, 1985. Rejecting the opportunity to support the production of "Danny and the High School Gang."
Collection on consignment with LDRB.
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Details
- Bookseller
- Lord Durham Rare Books (IOBA) (CA)
- Bookseller's Inventory #
- 9036
- Title
- Josef Škvorecký's correspondence with the British television/film director Peter Duffell. 1984-1993. Approximately 30 pieces in total
- Author
- Škvorecký, Josef (1924-2012)
- Format/Binding
- No binding
- Book Condition
- Used - Good
- Quantity Available
- 1
- Publisher
- Various
- Place of Publication
- Various
- Date Published
- 1993
- Keywords
- Josef Škvorecký's correspondence with the British television/film director Peter Duffell. 1984-1993. Approximately 30 pieces in total.
- Bookseller catalogs
- Literature; Collections;
Terms of Sale
Lord Durham Rare Books (IOBA)
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About the Seller
Lord Durham Rare Books (IOBA)
About Lord Durham Rare Books (IOBA)
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