During Christmas 1935, Alan Hodge arrived at Majorca after an invitation from Graves and Riding. He spent many hours at Canellun (‘The Far House’), Graves’s home in Deyá.
Hodge was initially Graves’s literary assistant and helped research Count Belisarius; he later became a valued collaborator.
The jointly-produced The Long Week-end (1941) was not only an excellent account of the social conditions of Britain from 1918 to 1939, but it offered Graves a chance to apologise, admitting that Good-bye To All That was
‘reckless’ and ‘written with small consideration for anyone’s feelings.’
And in recognising that English was ‘an illogical, chaotic language’ both men used their critical skills to elaborate general principles on good usage.
The Reader Over Your Shoulder (1943) was a very successful publication for them both.
Robert Graves, The Long Week-end: A Social History of Great Britain, 1918-1939. London: Reader's Union, 1941.