Please see August Atlantic Monthly and keep clipping. Glad to have pleased this reviewer [ Ethel Wallace Hawkins ]. Enjoying quiet of the island. Willie [Stout #1065]
Please let her know whether she likes the new book and whether she received the degree hoods. Book selling well, though some critics quite negative. Enclosing review from Atlantic. Willie [Stout #1068]
So much to catch up on. Has taken an apartment with Edith. Hopes Dorothy will come to tea. Please see February Atlantic [ "A Chance Meeting" ]. Still remembers when she first read Flaubert in Red Cloud, and later with George Seibel in Pittsburgh. Has been able to save three farms in Nebraska by catching up their interest payments. So glad Dorothy likes "Old Mrs. Harris," a story that almost does what she set out to do in it. Willa [Stout #1148]
Please get copyright of Atlantic article transferred to her so it can be used in book of essays. Willa Cather [Stout #1312]
Appreciates his comments on the Autograph Edition. Never saw his article in Sewanee Review. Six of the early stories he lists are not really hers. "On the Divide" a college theme that the young professor greatly revised on his own before sending it to Overland Monthly without her knowledge. Some of the things he added—for example, all of the wood-carving parts—were not very credible. "El Dorado" also extensively revised by the same professor; she never intended to publish it. [But see letter #0070.] Others the collaborative work of a group of young newspaper people, including herself, in Pittsburgh; should not be considered her work. Her name used only because she had published stories before. Since no money involved, didn't seem to matter; were just having fun. First published story really hers was "Death in the Desert." Does not want these early stories reprinted; keeps them protected by copyright for that reason. Has even been able to stop circulation in mimeograph copies. Would prefer not to have to consult her attorney on this. No commercial or scholarly interest justifying republication. Does not consider it friendly of him to wish to do so. Like a fruit grower, a writer has the right to cull the crop. Willa Cather [Stout #1432]
Very pleased with the autobiography of John Buchan being serialized in the Atlantic. Congratulations on securing a book of such good sense that allows one to think about a different life than that in the present troubled state of the world—as different as Virgilian pastoral. Has been accused of escapism, but realizes one can't escape everything. Is utterly unable to escape the sorrow now threatening all that has made life worth living in this world. Her doctor says people in hospitals these days lack the will to get well. He has forbidden her to go to Philadelphia to accept an honorary degree from the University of Pennsylvania this month because her physical resistance is so low. P.S.: Please check current edition of My Ántonia from the Riverside Press and see what poor quality paper they are using. One side of the page bleeds through to the other. Willa Cather [Stout #1484]
Enclosing a letter from Curtice Hitchcock. Might he find a copy of the reproduction of Dickens's A Christmas Carol published by Atlantic Monthly Press in 1920? P.S.: Enjoyed his visit. Willa Cather [Stout #1613]
It was a good idea to make it to Chicago and have the party after all. Such excursions can be helpful. Jack did not come for Christmas, and she and Edith had a quiet day, nursing Edith's sick eye. Had dinner with Isabelle and Jan Hambourg Christmas Eve, and invited Joe Charter [?], a widower, and Sanborn, the New York Globe music critic, for dinner on Christmas night. Ended the night early, owing to Edith's eye. Had a wonderful Friday tea yesterday with about 30 people, including Alfred McClung and many friends from Pittsburgh in town for Christmas. Afterwards bolted to the Biltmore hotel to have dinner with Bostonian friends. Feels tired today, but still went to a concert with the Hambourgs. Had lunch on Wednesday with the pianist Harold Bauer, Mrs. Bauer, and the violinist Kreisler. Isabelle is wonderful at entertaining creative and famous people. Received two gorgeous Russian candelabras from Jan and Isabelle for Christmas, which cast a beautiful glow at tea on the new tea table. Best new things, though, are three terrific paintings of the Mediterranean and Ionian sea by Edith's friend Earl Brewster. The paintings are beautiful so large that framing them is going to be expensive. Brewster's paintings are typically selling for $200 to $500, and these are quite good. He said he they are not a gift but a long term loan. Has published a rather weak story in Harper's Monthly [ "A Gold Slipper" ], but got $450 for it, and is glad for the money: expenses are quite a bit higher than last year. Engough apples for a pie cost 25 cents, beef is 36 cents a pound, and chicken costs 42 cents a pound—$2.10 for a five pound chicken! Probably won't starve on Bank street, though. Willie
Is very concerned about mother's cold and thinks she should go to Yuma if it does not improve. Is pleased mother has met nice people at the boarding house; often kind but unfamiliar people are more relaxing companions than family and friends, as one tends to put on a better face for them. Is in bed for a few days with visiting "friend." Dr. Van Etten, to whom she was referred by Dr. Wiener, is helpful, and thinks he might be able to make her monthly bout less difficult over time and, by reducing loss of blood, improve her general health. Is very distraught by the war news, and has written father in detail about it. Bought a black, beaded silk bag for Auntie Sister for $1 at Wannamaker's when there to purchase curtains. Thinks Auntie will think it very classy. Monthly expenses are $50 higher this year; have [she and Edith Lewis] given up opera and most concerts (but do often get free theater tickets). Mrs. Deland solicited a $10 donation for Belgium; had to give it since Deland kept her for three weeks after the Boston operation. Jack is working in Pittsburgh now, but the job isn't likely to last long. He seems very cocky of late, so wrote him a diatribe warning him not to look silly in front of Pittsburgh friends. He'll probably soon get over the boastful mood and be a humble boy again. Will soon mail her the month's magazines and plans to send a Valentine's Day card to West Virginia and a book to Mrs. Letson. Since it is Friday, has to meet guests for tea, but hopes few will arrive today. Likes to use the lunch cloth mother gave her and Isabelle's silver every Friday. Willie
Those were just typographical mistakes and they got by both her and Edith. Should have read the first printing [of A Lost Lady] for such mistakes, but has not been well and did not suppose it would sell so fast. Did wonder about using the telephone in the novel, but no specific date was given and the events take place over a rather long stretch of time. The final section was meant to be set in 1900 or so, but it could be 1903 or 1904, and telephones were available at that time. Time was tricky in the book, as about fifteen years preceding and following the action had to be dealt with. The actual incidents of the plot took about a decade, but the reader had to feel the alterations brought by about thirty years, so was not too specific. Has Elsie seen the large advertisement in the Atlantic and the kind pieces in the Bee and World-Herald? Judge Vinsonhaler says it is fine for Mary Virginia to make the presentation of the portrait if mother is unwilling. Vinsonhaler is very kind; Shotwell, that friend of Nell McNeny's, is the problem. Bakst had beautiful photographs taken with her in his studio; would Elsie like one? Will send one to Carrie for sure. Risked illness and ventured up to cold Mount Revard, and it was marvelous. The new snow on Mount Blanc made the scene breathtaking. Paris newspapers have been printing glowing pieces on her recently. She stumbled across them by chance and sent to her publisher. Has a secret: the Figaro editor told her that she nearly received the French Legion of Honor for Claude, and would've gotten it if the full committee could read novels in English. Since it will be translated into French soon, the editor believes she will eventually get the honor. All of the French who have read the book seem to be transformed into her publicists. Would enjoy the attention very much if she were only feeling better. No, did not use Margie's knife as an ice-pick, but damaged it cutting soup bones. Is pleased Sambo's alligator is no longer living; the Mathenys have become ridiculous. Recently had word from Isabelle that her Italian cook delivered a stillborn girl and nearly died in the process. Is very saddened, as Bagina and her husband were so excited about the pregnancy. Did not see the interview mentioning Hochstein, as it appeared in the New York Herald when she was home for Christmas, and all the papers were sold out. Wonders how the Hastings paper got it. [The article, entitled "Fiction Recalls Violinist Lost In War: An Interview With Willa Cather," appeared in the New York Herald, 24 December 1922, sec. 8, p. 4, cols. 1-4; p. 12, cols. 3-4. It was reprinted in the Commercial Advertiser, 3 September 1923, p. 2, cols. 1- 4; p. 3, col. 1.] Willa
