Claude Houghton Oldfield, known as Claude Houghton, was born at Sevenoaks on 20 May 1889, attended Dulwich College, and trained as an accountant. Poor eyesight caused him to be rejected for military service during the First World War, and he joined the Admiralty, where he was to remain until his retirement in 1955. He married in London in 1920 a young actress, Dulcie Helliwell, whom he called ‘Corinne’. She was born in Wakefield in 1895 and used the stage name Dulcie Benson). The couple appear to have been childless.

Claude Houghton had already published poems in the magazine New witness, three books of verse, two plays and a volume of essays before his first novel, Neighbours, appeared in 1926, to be followed by 22 further novels during the next three decades. His work was driven by his belief that civilisation was in a steep decline, which could only by reversed by profound alterations in the outlook and behaviour of the human race (hence the title of one of his novels: All change, humanity!). He was attracted to the teachings of theosophy, and wrote articles for the theosophist journal The Aryan path. He had a faithful readership on both sides of the Atlantic, and won the critical approval of many distinguished fellow-authors, but seems never to have achieved widespread popularity, and was unable to generate sufficient income from his literary work to enable him to live by his writing. He died on 10 February 1961.

In the spring of 1949 Houghton received (through a third party) two papers on his novels written by a 32-year old Cambridge graduate on the administrative staff of the University of Cambridge, Marie Overton. He sent her a friendly letter on 19 May, beginning a correspondence which on his side runs to 1135 extant letters, often written two or even three a day [6]. Houghton decided that they were ‘twin spirits’ and came to rely on her as critic, reviser and typist of at least three of his later novels, and of short stories, essays and song lyrics; and as someone with whom he could discuss literature, art and his views on modern society and politics. Marie Overton (who was unmarried) appears to have welcomed his growing interest in her, and his readiness to encourage and forward her own literary aspirations. Their acquaintance developed into a passionate attachment, conducted largely through their letters (their meetings in London, and his visits to Cambridge, were infrequent and discreet). Although Houghton often expressed his love for Marie, he seems never to have considered a separation from his wife, for whom he clearly also had a deep affection and regard, and whose health was increasingly poor. Dulcie suffered from migraines and a troublesome back. It seems unlikely that she knew of the depth of her husband’s feelings for Marie. He usually wrote to Marie from his club, the Savage, rather than from his and Corinne’s London flat, and only occasionally did he write from their weekend cottage at Amersham. Her letters to him seem always to have been sent to the Savage, except when he was staying alone at a hotel in Devon. During the second half of the 1950s the friendship between Houghton and Marie became less close, and their correspondence grew more intermittent.