Will leave it up to Mr. Reynolds whether to serialize the book. Off soon on a long pack trip by horse. Willa Cather [Stout #833]
Enjoyed his letter, but his memory failed him: "A Chance Meeting" was republished in Not Under Forty, and Sedgwick wrote a very pleasant review of it in the Atlantic Monthly. He understood Mrs. Fields and her milieu more than most. Van Wyck Brooks, who is usually so careful, even credited Cather with editing a book of Mrs. Whitman's letters; Miss Jewett was the one who did that. Had not heard the story of Henry James encountering Flaubert before, but recalls that James said he used to send Flaubert and Turgenev copies of his books and never got a response. It was big of James to divulge it. Willa Cather
Hopes he reads the review in the "Atlantic Bookshelf" section of this month's Atlantic Monthly [Ethel Wallace Hawkins, "The Atlantic Bookshelf" {review of Shadows on the Rock}, Atlantic Monthly 148 (August 1931): 8, 10]. Has turned down so many offers from the Atlantic. The editor was gracious to give her such a long review. Though the review is a bit cloying, it does basically catch her main idea: the novel was meant to feel like a translation from French. If readers get that, they will get the novel. The initial sales have been terrific—the best of her career. Has sent copies to Roscoe. Would send a copy of the Atlantic Monthly, but can't get hold of American magazines on Grand Manan. The Saturday Evening Post is now thirty-five cents! Willie.
