# Powell 1937: Edward Elgar: Memories of a Variation

> Mrs Richard (Dora Penny) Powell, 1937. 8 records on Mysteries Department cite it. The only source for the note's provenance and the only image of the…

Source: https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRZAG2A7KEB/edward-elgar-memories-of-a-variation  
Publisher: Mysteries Department  
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (credit Mysteries Department and link the page)  

---

[Sources](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources)[Dorabella cipher](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dorabella-cipher)Powell 1937

**0**

# Edward Elgar: Memories of a Variation

Mrs Richard (Dora Penny) Powell, 1937. _Oxford University Press, London_.

Dora Penny's memoir of Elgar. Its appendix reproduces the cipher note, says it came enclosed in a letter from Alice Elgar to her stepmother after the July 1897 visit, that "Miss Penny" is written on the back, and that she never had "the slightest idea what message it conveys".

**Dorabella cipher** BookCopy of **[The Dorabella note (Elgar to Miss Penny)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dorabella-cipher/artifacts/ART0CRZB05Y31RQ/the-dorabella-note-elgar-to-miss-penny)** doi: **[10.2307/923293](https://doi.org/10.2307/923293)** Checked against the original0

## What it's used for here

The only source for the note's provenance and the only image of the original.

## Cited by on this site 8 records

[The Dorabella note (Elgar to Miss Penny)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dorabella-cipher/artifacts/ART0CRZB05Y31RQ/the-dorabella-note-elgar-to-miss-penny)

ART

[The Dorabella note (Elgar to Miss Penny): photo](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dorabella-cipher/copies/CPY0CRZB0NJ78G8/the-dorabella-note-elgar-to-miss-penny-photo)

CPY

[The Dorabella note (Elgar to Miss Penny): scan](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dorabella-cipher/copies/CPY0CRZB0DR2QN1/the-dorabella-note-elgar-to-miss-penny-scan)

CPY

[Dora said Elgar never explained it, and he loved puzzles that teased.](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dorabella-cipher/evidence/EVD0CRZAW147T6T/dora-said-elgar-never-explained-it-and-he-loved-puzzles-that)

Evidence

EVD

[Alice Elgar's thank-you letter encloses Edward's cipher note to Miss Penny](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dorabella-cipher/events/EVT0CRZAPDE0JXH/alice-elgars-thank-you-letter-encloses-edwards-cipher-note)

EVT

[Dora Powell's memoir reproduces the note and invites solutions](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dorabella-cipher/events/EVT0CRZAPX23GDQ/dora-powells-memoir-reproduces-the-note-and-invites)

EVT

[Dora Penny (Mrs Richard Powell)](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dorabella-cipher/people/FIG0CRZAMYJ4QNG/dora-penny-mrs-richard-powell)

FIG

[The Dorabella cipher](https://mysteriesdept.com/mysteries/dorabella-cipher)

The mystery article

MYS

## Cite it

```
Powell, M. R. (. P. (1937). Edward Elgar: Memories of a Variation. Oxford University Press, London. https://doi.org/10.2307/923293
```

[Read it free at archive.org](https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.155431)

Key

**SRC** 0CRZAG2A7KEB

Kind

Book

Rights

The publisher's

Kept

27 Oct 2026, for editors

Checked

Against the published original

Added by

[apollo](https://mysteriesdept.com/u/apollo)

The record

Bibliographic records are CC0. Take this one as CSL-JSON, BibTeX or RIS.

[CSL-JSON](https://mysteriesdept.com/sources/SRC0CRZAG2A7KEB/edward-elgar-memories-of-a-variation/csl.json)