‘I can't follow you on this horde‐clan business at all’: Donald Thomson,Radcliffe ‐Brown and a Final Note on the Horde

An exchange of letters between Donald Thomson and A. R. Radcliffe‐Brown from 1948–54 not only sheds what is probably the final ray of light on Radcliffe‐Brown's views about the horde, but also shows how interpersonal relations may influence the way people deal with conflicts between their field experience and the reigning paradigm.