TLS signed in pencil, “Margaret,” one page, 7 x 11, personal letterhead, November 12, 1937. Letter to Herschel Brickell, a noted book reviewer from Mississippi who served on the New York Herald Tribune book section and who, at the time of this correspondence, was a reviewer for the New York Evening Post. In part: “As it appears that today is going to be ‘one of those days’ when all hell busts loose, I do not know how long this letter will be. But I wanted to tell you that I am violently interested in the literary row about Hemingway. Of course I want the Saturday Review of Literature for I missed it. And I want your reply and anything else you may write on the subject. If convenient, I’d like anything interesting other columnists may have written, for I have not seen a New York newspaper in weeks…I have heard no more from Katharine Brown, and so, I do not know what they decided to do about Belle's accent. My modest and old fashioned family have become accustomed to anything in the last year and a half and, like the Queen in 'Alice in Wonderland,' get up every morning ready to believe six impossible things before breakfast. Even Father was convulsed at the idea of someone telephoning from New York to discover how the madam of a Confederate bordello talked." In fine condition.
As the uproarious success of Gone With the Wind and rumors of its impending movie adaptation overwhelmed Margaret Mitchell in July of 1936, she quietly slipped out of Atlanta for a few days to catch her breath. During her reprieve, she wrote several letters to reviewers across the country who had commented on her book, including Herschel Brickell of the New York Post, who had written a glowing review. The two quickly forged a strong friendship, and Brickell remained a voice in Mitchell’s corner through the stresses of her newfound celebrity. After selling the rights to GWTW to Selznick International Pictures with the understanding that she would play no role in the production of the film, the studio continued to reach out to her for advice, information, context, etc. “I have heard no more from Katharine Brown [Selznick’s assistant], and so, I do not know what they decided to do about Belle's accent,” she writes with an air of unconcern. With her casual discussion of the film and the additional literary association to Hemingway, in whom she is “violently interested,” this is an excellent letter from Mitchell at the height of her fame. Pre-certified PSA/DNA and RR Auction COA.
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