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Extraordinary archive of nine ALSs by John Steinbeck to actress Ann Sothern, signed "J.," "J. S.," "John," and "John S.," totaling 13 pages on 10 sheets, ranging in size from 7.25 x 10.5 to 8.5 x 14, with five hand-addressed mailing envelopes postmarked from June–August 1949. In these warm, intimate letters written during a brief relationship with Sothern, Steinbeck discusses a lawsuit related to the film rights for his novel Cannery Row, speaks of his garden, mentions his sons Thom and Catbird, and makes arrangements to see the actress. Notably, he also mentions Sothern's friend, Elaine Anderson Scott, who he would later marry; at this time, she was married to actor Zachary Scott. Excerpts are as follows:
- "Dear Annie Wannie—Do you know the sky is falling and a piece of it fell on my tail? Well then all hell broke loose and not least among it—me. Loose but not broken—I mean. My suit comes up the 27th. My att'y at law flies and the 25th I'll have to be with him a couple of days. If I can I will drive down earlier because I will need a car, and I want to bring some blab mouths to you. I have petted some and they are punchy but jabbering…I'm so excited about seeing my boys—the little shits."
- "Dear Annie: Can't call you because you will be working. Finished up yesterday late and am catching the morning plane home to catch frogs with my boys. Thanks for all…Won't know outcome of my suit for about 6 weeks."
- "Dear Annie—Jesus Christ what a day. Tom's birthday and because Catbird didn't have one, a gigantic double birthday with two cakes and chocolate, strawberry and vanilla mayhem. The days have been full of fun and noise and the devils have pooped me so completely that I get to bed at dark too, and need it. This day began at 6 when they serenaded me…with a song in praise of their own birthday. And it just ended a few minutes ago when they dropped as though shot through the heads. I am still a little breathless. I've been shot with arrows, beaten with a small ball bat, hooked with new fishing tackle, bruised with a bicycle. But it was fun you understand…No word from my lawsuit yet. The judge has to go on his vacation and then I think he wants to write a learned opinion because while my affair was for peanuts—it is a precedential case and is or should be of great interest to the picture industry…How go the pictures?…I was so surprised and pleased to see Elaine although with my little private rat race…I didn't see as much of her as I should have liked. She is such a nice girl."
- "Dear Ann…It was good to hear from you and I shall be so pleased if you will come up. I don't know how you travel and I only offer this as a suggestion. Across the street from me lives a little old French lady. She has a cottage and a rose garden. She was Sam Blythe's housekeeper until he died. She does all of my mending etc. and sometimes cooks wonderful things for me. She is about seventy and I think she loves me a little. On occasion when a relative has been in Town she has let me have her little baroque bedroom. And I am sure she would let you have it if you liked. If you would talk French to her she would be so delighted but it isn't necessary. It is only a suggestion. She could take care of you and I will surely find you. However, if you need more space and grandeur—that would be out. Do bring some rubber soled shoes and let us walk on the rocks. The spring tides are still running and if you don't know about them already, I will show you beautiful things."
- "Dear Ann: It would be a very pleasant thing to me if you would come up and play with me."
- "Dear Annie: Your sweet letter this morning. The trouble with these things is that they are never correct. Of course it's a lousy way to make a living but the people doing it are in the open. The people I detest are the friends who turn you in. One time Lennie Lyons had a pipeline into my private life. I narrowed it to about ten people then told each one a different story and it turned up Roark Branford's wife...Since each story was only told to one person, I had to bring out the real one. When Lyons printed the story I told her—it was obvious. I'm glad you wouldn't deny. The Paulette thing is pure revenge because P. G. wouldn't make L. P. a confidant regarding her divorce. So L. P. will snipe at her for yours. This invasion of privacy used to bother me a great deal but now there are two people—the straw man they write about and me whom they don't know anything about. You must have made some such adjustment too. Otherwise, there would be no sense of privacy at all. Don't worry about it. The peanut munchers believe everything—particularly the bad things and one's friends only believe the good and the truth lies somewhere between where it belongs."
- "Dearest Annie: Probably the saddest and bravest and most frustrated plants in the whole garden are the milkweeds and dandelions. They have the same series of shocks. For see—they look like flowers, they act like flowers, they are golden and beautiful and just when they are feeling wonderful and yellow someone says—'get those god damned nerds out of here.' And so they start all over again…It really seems that the most delicate, hysterical neurotic flowers are most liked. Like girls—if they can't stand pain, or weather, if they always need a wrap around their shoulders and manure around their feet—always complaining always hurt and a little unhappy—why people think they are very precious when in fact they aren't even any good at being flowers or girls. Like the Woodbury girls—all they need is a complexion and no one will even look further…I'm going to bed now and I will complete this learned paper later. But it occurs to me that my passion vines are a little over sexed…In vain have I told them that quote them as lives by the vagina dies by the penis unquote…Makes no difference…How I do run on. And darn it—this is the way I make my living. Oh! Well—its better than cleaning cesspools. Night, dear."
- "Dear Annie: You know when you said you were making slippers, I had visions of my own grubby handicrafts. But these are beautiful. Golly—I had no idea. I am very grateful and moreover I need them. Honey, you are quite wonderful. Thank you. We had a kind of moody week…Catbird got first an ear ache and then pains in the neck. In any other season, this would have been simply an ear ache but during polio time I was very nervous until there was an absolutely clear bill of health. I must say he was patient but resentful at having to stay in bed for a couple of days. I don't blame him. That's a couple of years to a little kid…How much longer is it that you are on the picture? Don't you ever get any rest?"
- "Dear Annie—I can't tell you how I've missed you. It was a good time and I liked every bit of it. Give my love to Elaine and very much for yourself. Do you recognise this paper? Well it ain't." In overall fine condition.
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