[E. V. Lucas, author, editor and poet.] Holograph (signed 'E. V. L.') of apparently-unpublished poem titled 'Herefordshire'.

Author: 
E. V. Lucas [Edward Verrall Lucas] (1868-1938), author, editor and poet, Chairman of Methuen & Co, London publishers
Publication details: 
Without place or date.
£100.00
SKU: 21004

1p., 8vo. Signed at bottom right: 'E. V. L.' Sixteen lines of verse, divided into two eight-line stanzas, beginning: 'As I went down to Hertfordshire | To visit Hatfield Oak, | I met the prettiest girl, to whom | Courageously I spoke.' The conceit of the poem is that the girl is the 'Queen of Hearts', and the author is trumped in his suit of her by the king, the last two lines reading: 'The King strode in, the Queen to win, | And I – I lacked the Ace.' Charles Lamb, whom Lucas greatly admired and whose works he edited, had particular links with the county of Hertfordshire.