ABSTRACT
This chapter deals with the friendship between T. S. Eliot and E. W. F. Tomlin, by presenting the exchange of letters between them. In each letter, they share their experiences. Tomlin evokes Eliot as he was, quite different in his humanity and in his humour, from the public image of the 'great poet' and the austere sage. With fresh insights and personal testimony, Tomlin directs light onto aspects of Eliot's character and personality of which the public has been unaware, thereby enhancing the reader's appreciation of Eliot's work as a whole. When Eliot had alluded to the Essays in Criticism episode, Tomlin noticed that Valerie Fletcher had begun to look concerned; and, once the subject had been mulled over, she determinedly grasped the sides of her armchair.
