Correspondence from Oswald Mosley to Desmond Stewart

The collection comprises letters from Oswald Mosley to Desmond Stewart, primarily concerning Stewart's work for Mosley Publications, as literary editor for the magazine 'The European'. The majority of the letters are from Mosley to Stewart and include both typed and handwritten correspondence, but there is also an undated typed document presumably by Mosley, and a letter to Stewart from George Sutton at Euphorion Books concerning book sales, dated 1954

The correspondence primarily relates to decisions about the content and focus of 'The European' and contains discussion of articles submitted, including contributions by Stewart and by Mosley, as well as other writers, including Alan Neame. Several letters provide evidence of Mosley's views about the direction of the magazine, and his analysis of his own contributions. They also comment on Stewart's writing, and the style, circulation, and reception of the magazine, and there are some references to Mosley's political activities and travel plans, as well as comments on Stewart's life in Baghdad and his interest in the Arab world. The majority of the letters date from the end of 1952 and the first few months of 1953, when the magazine launched. There are a few earlier letters, with the earliest dating from 1948, and single letters dated 1949 and 1950. There is a gap in the correspondence between May 1953 and January 1955, and the remainder of the letters date from 1955 or are undated. Many of the letters are signed 'Kit', and the content reflects the friendship between Mosley and his wife, Diana, and Desmond Stewart. Some of the letters are typed, but others are handwritten, and Mosley's handwriting can be difficult to read.

Desmond Stirling Stewart (1924-1981) was born on 20 April 1924 at Colis Farm, Leavesden, Hertfordshire. He was the eldest child of Roy Mackenzie Stewart (1889-1964) and Agnes Maud Stirling (1900-1994). Desmond Stewart was educated at Haileybury College and later read classics at Trinity College, Oxford. He met, and became friendly with, both Oswald Mosley and Diana Mosley whilst at Oxford.

In autumn 1948 Stewart took up a teaching post at the College of Arts, Baghdad, Iraq. His first publication was a translation of Plato's 'Symposium' (1950), followed by three novels set in Iraq including 'The Unsuitable Englishman' (1954). He also wrote 'The Memoirs of Alcibiades' (1952), a fictional autobiography. In 1956 he co-authored 'New Babylon: a Portrait of Iraq' with John Haylock, with whom he set up house in Juniyyah, Lebanon, in October 1956. The British embassy in Baghdad became suspicious of Stewart's pro-Arab stance and his friendship with Sir Oswald and Lady Mosley, and Stewart's book contracts were not renewed.

In 1967 Stewart bought a house together with his widowed mother in the Greek village of Myrtou, in northern Cyprus. When in England he lived at Wells next the Sea, Norfolk. In 1981, while in Cairo, he contracted hepatitis, was ill for some weeks and died in London at Charing Cross Hospital of liver failure on 12 June 1981. His Egyptian friend Hassan Haggag was at his deathbed along with his mother.

Sources: Oxford Dictionary of National Biography website, http://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-60671 accessed 11 July 2018; Southeby's website: http://www.sothebys.com/en/auctions/ecatalogue/lot.37.html/2015/english-literature-history-childrens-books-illustrations-l15404 accessed 11 July 2018

Open, access to all registered researchers.

Presented July 2018

Please see full catalogue for more information.

Permission to make any published use of any material from the collection must be sought in advance in writing from the Director of Special Collections (email: special-collections@contacts.bham.ac.uk). Identification of copyright holders of unpublished material is often difficult. Special Collections will assist where possible with identifying copyright owners, but responsibility for ensuring copyright clearance rests with the user of the material

This collection was formerly in the library of Quentin Keynes (1921-2003), bibliophile, great-grandson of Charles Darwin, and nephew of economist John Maynard Keynes

OMN: Oswald Mosley Papers: Nicholas Mosley deposit;
OMD: Oswald Mosley Papers: Diana Mosley deposit;
MS124: Papers of Jeffrey Hamm;
MS196: Publications of post-war British Fascist movements;
MS784: Newspapers 'Action', 'The Blackshirt', and Fascist Week';
MS664: British Union Regulation 18B Detainees Lists.