With the publication of the General Theory in February 1936, the scene shifted somewhat to new matters of defence, exposition and further development. However, this period was relatively short because Keynes's heart attack in 1937 meant that he was out of action in varying degrees until the outbreak of war in 1939.

The earliest period appears to have been largely taken up with commenting on early reviews and expositions of the book. Thus the papers that survive contain comments on early discussions of the book by, among others, Hawtrey, Champernowne, Reddaway, Hicks, Harrod and Robertson.

The earliest exchange, however, was with Gerald Shove of King's, who wrote to Keynes on 15 April 1936 as follows:

From a letter from G. F. Shove, 15 April 1936

I have enjoyed reading the General Theory very much. I shall have to read it again before I can get hold of the detail, but the broad lines seem to me very clear, undoubtedly right and extremely helpful. I thought you were too kind to the ‘classical’ analysis as applied to the individual industry and firm. Unless very artificial assumptions (e.g. perfect and instantaneous fluidity of resources) are made, it seems to me either wrong or completely jejeune. I have been groping all these years after a re-statement of it on lines similar in some respects to your solution for the system as a whole, stressing in particular ‘expectations’ and the influence of current and immediately past experience upon them. But I can't make it precise.