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#1066: Willa Cather to Mary Virginia Boak Cather, August 10 [1931]

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My Dearest Mother1;

The weather has been all sun and blue sea for the last week, and I have been taking some splendid long walks along the high cliffs where there are no houses for many miles and one never meets a soul. The islanders keep that stretch wild to pasture their cows in. Next week I won't have time to walks much, for hundreds of letters have been pouring in about my new book3. My secretary4 in New York5 answers most of them, but there are many from old friends and important people that I must answer myself—enough to keep me very busy all next week.

I'm sorry that horrible picture of me got onto the front page6 of the magazine called "Time"7, but I couldn't help it. One just has to grin and bear such things. If I mourned about accidents like that, and about the things jealous, disappointed newspaper men write about me, I could just mourn my life away - - which I don't intend to do. When the "Archbishop"8 first came out, all the reviews were unfavorable and many of them savage. Now those same newspapers and call it a 'classic'.

My dearest love to Elsie9, and I will write her as soon as I get caught up with my mail.

With my dearest love, Willie

Dear Elsie and Douglass10; please be sure to read the sketch and review11 in the Atlantic Monthly12. It is in the "Atlantic Bookshelf"13, in the front advertising pages.

W