On 23/06/2012 2:04 PM, Francis A. Miniter wrote:
I picked up a second impression (Nov. 1942) of this Faber & Faber
publication today.

What makes it interesting is the inscription on the ffep:

at Bletchley,
morne plaine,
of fevrier 1944

A curious mix of English and French. The words "morne plaine" come from
a Victor Hugo poem. The line is:
Waterloo, Waterloo, Waterloo, morne plaine!

The usual translation would be "dismal plain", but this has been written
into a book of T. S. Eliot's poetry, so I think the inscriber intended
us to read - in English - "waste land".

Since this waste land of February, 1944, was viewed from Bletchley, we
can infer that the inscriber was engaged in the code-breaking activities
that went on there. That was the month, by the way, that the huge
computer designed by Alan Turing (today is his 100th birthday) was
turned on at Bletchley Park.

The inscriber would be well-educated, likely either English or French,
to appreciate the poetry of Victor Hugo as well as that of Eliot. But
Bletchley was a large installation and I find that a review of the
people who worked there yields too many possibilities for me to make any
further deduction.

That's fascinating, Francis. To find something like that--it's an
historical document!

Catherine