When Did Poul Anderson Write THE BROKEN SWORD?

We all know that he first published the novel in 1954 . . . but when did he write it? The question came up because my two latest entries for The Literary Encyclopedia, a biographical entry of Poul Anderson and an account of his best fantasy novel, just went online a few days ago. There, I mentioned that Anderson began and completed The Broken Sword in 1948. Well, no sooner did that happen than another scholar sent me a message asking for my source.

And, wouldn't you know, I can't find it now. The issue's seriously bugging me. 

It's pretty well established that The Broken Sword is Anderson's earliest written novel, which he wrote before Vault of the Ages (1952). Vault was composed in the 1951-1952 range; it uses an idea similar to one that appeared in "Tiger by the Tail" (1951). Likewise, Anderson mentions in his Foreword to the [January] 1971 revised edition of The Broken Sword that he wrote the original novel "twenty-odd years ago". So the latest possible completion date for the novel is almost certainly 1951.

Anyway, I'm really kicking myself for not making a better note of 1948 date. I'm 95% certain I got it from Sandra Miesel's Against Time's Arrow: The High Crusade of Poul Anderson (1978). Unfortunately, although my university library has a copy, it's been closed for months due to COVID. But the 1948 date isn't listed in any of Miesel's articles in my possession. Plus, I know I jotted "1948" down in my notes sometime during Sept./Oct. 2019, which was way before I read any of Miesel's numerous introductions & forewords. So the source text has to be Time's Arrow, I'm thinking. Unable to double-check, however, is it possible that I mentally conflated "completed in 1948" with only "began in 1948"? 

Errrrrrrr . . . . yes, I suppose. (Dammit.) Judging from circumstantial evidence, there's at least a chance that The Broken Sword was begun in 1948 but not completed within that calendar year. Anderson graduated college in 1948 but published only one short story in that year. Since he never seriously tried to find a job in engineering, he was probably writing The Broken Sword at that time. Not sure how he supported himself, by the way; I've not yet found any record of him holding down a non-writing job in his lifetime.

In 1949, though, Anderson published only four short stories. What else was he doing at that time? No idea. But, by 1950, he certainly seems to have moved onto other things -- published 9 short stories and, according to his college transcript, entered grad school (though he left without taking a degree). Thus, his time was pretty well occupied, and I don't see how he could have done any serious work on The Broken Sword. So, did Anderson finish the fantasy classic in 1948 or 1949? Gaw, this question is really aggravating me now.

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