January 2024: Epistolary Novels and Letters

Epistolary Novels and Letters composed the theme for the January 2024 meeting.  Modern novels were featured for the epistolary fiction—not by design but simply by what the collectors chose to present—while the published collections of nonfiction letters ranged more broadly from the early 1800s to the present.  Several unpublished letters held in private collections were also shown.

Epistolary Novels

The Screwtape Letters

Lewis, C. S.  The Screwtape Letters.  New York: Macmillan Publishing Company, 1943.  First American edition.  Screwtape is a senior demon living in Hell who holds a bureaucratic post in the "lowerarchy" of demons.  He is tasked with mentoring his nephew Wormwood, an inexperienced and incompetent tempter living among humans.  Wormwood must secure a man's damnation, and Screwtape writes a series of letters offering advice for tempting the man, known only as "the Patient," away from God.  Lewis's satirical, fictional story is a Christian apologetic for resisting evil.  The Screwtape Letters was originally published in England in 1942; the first American edition was released a full year later.

The Screwtape Letters, Rev. Ed.

Lewis, C. S.  The Screwtape Letters.  New York: Collier Books / Macmillan Publishing Company, 1982.  Revised edition.  This revised edition includes The Screwtape Letters (1942), the coda "Screwtape Proposes a Toast" (1959), Lewis's Preface to The Screwtape Letters (1960), and a previously unpublished Preface to "Screwtape Proposes a Toast."  This omnibus was first published together in 1960.

 

The Father Christmas Letters

Tolkien, J. R. R.  The Father Christmas Letters.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1979.  Tolkien began writing Christmas letters to his children when his oldest son was three, in 1920.  The letters, stories from Father Christmas to the Tolkien children, continued annually for the next 20 years.  Tolkien also illustrated each letter and delivered it each Christmas in an envelope bearing North Pole stamps and postmarks.  Tolkien's letters from Father Christmas were gathered and edited for publication by Baillie Tolkien, his daughter-in-law, and posthumously published in 1976.  Some letters and drawings were absent from the 1976 book.  The book was republished in 1999 to include the omitted material and retitled Letters from Father Christmas.

 

Last Days of Summer and Almost Like Being in Love

Kluger, Steve.  Last Days of Summer.  New York: Harper Perennial, 2002.  First published in 1998.  The story follows Joey, a twelve-year-old Jewish boy growing up in an Italian Brooklyn neighborhood in the 1940s, and the pen-pal friendship he develops with Charlie, the third baseman for the New York Giants.  As their letter-writing friendship develops, Charlie becomes a surrogate father figure for Joey and the relationship changes both of their lives.  The story is told primarily through their correspondence but also includes, postcards, newspaper headlines and clippings, a psychiatrist's session transcripts, and other letters and documents.  Last Days of Summer received a 1999 Alex Award from the American Library Association, recognizing "books written for adults that have special appeal to young adults ages 12 through 18."

Kluger, Steve.  Almost Like Being in Love.  New York: Harper Perennial, 2004.  First edition.  The story begins with high school seniors Travis and Craig meeting on the set of the school's production of Brigadoon.  They begin a whirlwind romance that continues throughout the summer after they graduate.  They fall out of touch, however, as they depart for separate colleges, but twenty years later Travis realizes he still loves Craig and sets off on a cross-country journey to rekindle his relationship with his one true love.  The story is told through diary entries, letters and emails, inner-office memos, and post-it notes.  Almost Like Being in Love won the 2005 Lambda Literary Award for Romance.

 

World War Z

Brooks, Max.  World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War.  New York: Crown Publishers, 2006.  First edition.  World War Z is a sequel (or prequel?) to Brooks's The Zombie Survival Guide (2003).  It details a global apocalyptic zombie plague and the resultant political, economic, social, religious, and environmental impacts on the planet.  The story is told through interview transcripts from a series of personal accounts from individuals all over the world who experienced and survived the zombie plague, as told to an agent of the United Nations Postwar Commission.  The agent is a fictionalized Max Brooks, who authored (authors?) The Zombie Survival Guide.

 

The Martian

Weir, Andy.  The Martian.  New York: Crown Publishers, 2014.  First edition.  Weir's science fiction story was originally self-published as a serialized blog in 2011.  In 2014, it was published in book format with significant textual changes.  In the year 2035, NASA astronaut Mark Watney is presumed dead as the rest of his team flees a dust storm on Mars.  Watney survives and, alone on the hostile planet, must improvise and rely on his own resourcefulness to survive until, if at all, NASA can rescue him.  The story is told through the logs Watney records to document and preserve his experiences.  The Martian earned the 2016 Hugo Award's John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer for Weir, and the Best Dramatic Presentation, Long Form, Award for the adapted screenplay.

 

The Themis Files
Sleeping Giants, Waking Gods, and Only Human

Neuvel, Sylvain.  Sleeping Giants.  Burton, MI: Subterranean Press, 2019.  Book One of The Themis Files trilogy, first published in 2016.  This edition is illustrated by Pascal Blanche and signed by the author.

Neuvel, Sylvain.  Waking Gods.  Burton, MI: Subterranean Press, 2019.  Book Two of The Themis Files trilogy, first published in 2017.  This edition is illustrated by Pascal Blanche and signed by the author.

Neuvel, Sylvain.  Only Human.  Burton, MI: Subterranean Press, 2019.  Book Three of The Themis Files trilogy, first published in 2018.  This edition is illustrated by Pascal Blanche and signed by the author.

The Themis Files trilogy came about after the author's son asked him not only to build a toy robot but also to provide a full backstory for the robot.  The son wanted to know where the robot came from and what it did.  This request inspired the first book, Sleeping Giants, and ultimately the trilogy.  The Themis Files follows a team of scientists formed to track down and reassemble a giant robot of mysterious origins whose parts are scattered across the globe.  The team is led by physicist Rose Franklin, who as a child first discovered and unearthed a giant metallic hand and now as an adult has devoted her career to solving the mystery of the colossal robot.  The story is told through a series of journal entries, transcribed dialogues, and other forms of documentation. 

 

Letters

Ray Bradbury letter

Bradbury, Ray, Hollywood, California, to Dan Miller, Saint Paul, Minnesota, 11 July 1965.  Private collection, Atlanta, Georgia.  When a 20-year-old college sophomore who wants to become a writer sends a fan letter to his favorite author in 1965, Ray Bradbury writes back.  In his reply, Bradbury compares the fan's connection to his work to his own regard for one of his writing influences:

The feeling you describe about your relationship to my work is similar to one I had years ago in reading Graham Greene.  He was my special shocker-dynamo-revver-upper.  One page of him and I was off and flying.

This letter echoes a sentiment Bradbury expressed directly to Graham Greene in a letter dated April 18, 1979, selected in Jonathan Eller's Remembrance (below):

Also, on many days of my life in the past 30 years, when I have had a touch of dry spell, I get out the short stories of Graham Greene and re-read them and prime the pump and go back to my work with love and energy.

 

Neil Armstrong letter

Pearson, Mark, Sun City, Arizona, to Neil A. Armstrong, Houston, Texas, 15 June 1969.  Private collection, Atlanta, Georgia.  Mimeographed copy of a handwritten letter to Apollo XI Commander Neil Armstrong.  Pearson became aware of an invitation for suggestions naming the Apollo XI lunar landing site.  In his letter to Commander Armstrong, he suggests the name Eldorado from a poem by Edgar Allan Poe which he quotes, "Over the Mountains of the Moon, Down the Valley of the Shadow, Ride boldly ride," the shade replied, "If you seek for Eldorado!" 

Armstrong, Neil A., Houston, Texas, to Mark Pearson, Sun City, Arizona, 30 June 1969.  Private collection, Atlanta, Georgia.  One-page typed letter from Neil Armstrong (1930 – 2012) on National Aeronautics and Space Administration letterhead to Mark Pearson, an engineer in General Electric’s Missile and Space Division.  Armstrong replied in his letter thanking him and boldly signed his name.  This letter is dated just weeks before the launch that would take the crew to the moon and Neil Armstrong would become the first man to walk on the moon.  The letter and signature have been authenticated by Zarelli Space Authentication.  Additional material was included when this collector received the letter providing provenance.

Nota bene: This letter from the first man to walk on the moon is highly desirable especially for a collector of astronaut signatures and even more so since this collector has a major collection of astronaut-signed books and a major collection of books by and about Edgar Allan Poe.  Armstrong's letter is an important bridge between the collector's two collections and a truly amazing addition and, as the collector says, "like a dream come true."

 

Michael Collins letter

Collins, Michael, Washington, D.C., to Lee D. Saegesser, Washington, D.C., 17 March 1977.  Private collection, Atlanta, Georgia.  One-page typed letter from Michael Collins (1930 – 2021) on National Air and Space Museum letterhead to Lee D. Saegesser, Chief Archivist at the D.C. NASA Headquarters History Office at that time.  Collins thanks him for a very useful volume, Origins of NASA Names.  Michael Collins joined Neil Armstrong on the Apollo XI flight to the moon and waited in moon orbit as Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walked on the moon.

 

Collections of Letters

The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution

Sparks, Jared, ed.  The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution; Being the Letters of Benjamin Franklin, Silas Deane, John Adams, John Jay, Arthur Lee, William Lee, Ralph Izard, Francis Dana, William Carmichael, Henry Laurens, John Laurens, M. De Lafayette, M. Dumas and Others, Concerning the Foreign Relations of the United States During the Whole Revolution; Together with the Letters in Reply from the Secret Committee of Congress, and the Secretary of Foreign Affairs. Also, The Entire Correspondence of the French Ministers, Gerard and Luzerne, with Congress. Published Under the Direction of the President of the United States, from the Original Manuscripts in the Department of State, Conformably to a Resolution of Congress, of March 27th, 1818.  Boston: Nathan Hale and Gray & Bowen, 1829-1830.  In 12 volumes.  Volumes 1-5 are dated 1829; volumes 6-12 are dated 1830.  Jared Sparks (1789 – 1866) was Unitarian minister, historian, and educator.  He pastored the First Independent Church of Baltimore until 1823, when he stepped down for health reasons.  He moved to Boston and turned his attention to history, becoming the editor of, and contributor to, the North American Review as well as becoming a fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences and the American Antiquarian Society.  During this time, he compiled and published The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution.  Following this massive undertaking, he turned his attention to another one, publishing The Writings of George Washington in 12 volumes (1834 – 1837), considered his most important work.  In 1849, he became president of Harvard College.  The Diplomatic Correspondence of the American Revolution, Volume 7 (shown), contains the correspondence of John Adams with such figures as John Jay, Robert R. Livingston, and Charles W. F. Dumas.

 

Letters to John Glenn

Glenn, John.  Letters to John Glenn: P.S. I Listened to Your Heart Beat.  Houston, TX: World Book Encyclopedia, 1964.  John Glenn (1921 – 2016) was the first American to orbit the Earth, circling it three times on February 20, 1962, aboard the Friendship 7 flight.  After that historic flight, Glenn began receiving letters from people of all ages and from all walks of life, and from all over the world.  The letters poured in for several years, and in 1964 World Book Encyclopedia published a selection of the favorite and best letters Glenn received.  This copy is inscribed by John Glenn to the collector.

 

84, Charing Cross Road

Hanff, Helene.  84, Charing Cross Road.  New York: Grossman Publishers, 1970.  Helene Hanff (1916 – 1997), an American writer living in New York City, had difficulty locating some obscure British books she wanted to read.  When she saw an advertisement in the Saturday Review of Literature for Marks & Co antiquarian booksellers in London, she wrote to them in 1949 for assistance; Frank Doel, the chief buyer for the bookshop, replied. Beyond the book searches and purchases, Hanff and Doel exchanged letters regularly for almost 20 years.  A long-distance friendship developed between the two, and Hanff became invested in the lives of the other employees at 84 Charing Cross Road, the location of Marks & Co.  She wrote about her life in Manhattan and even exchanged Christmas and birthday gifts with the friends in London she never had a chance to meet.  Shortly after Doel's death in 1968, the store closed.  Upon learning this, Hanff selected and arranged her collection of letters for publication.

 

Dear David, Dear Graham

Greene, Graham and David Low.  Dear David, Dear Graham: A Bibliographic Correspondence.  Oxford: The Alembic Press, 1989.  Novelist Graham Greene said on several occasions that had he not been a writer he would have liked to be a secondhand bookseller.  Renowned Cecil Court bookseller David Low found joy in locating the books his customers sought and suggesting books he thought they might want.  The two men first met in the 1930s but formed a strong friendship during World War II as they both served as Air-raid wardens for the same post.  Collected here are the letters they exchanged from 1971 through 1984, mostly reminiscences between two friends of their mutual love for old books, the old booksellers of Charing Cross and Cecil Court, and news of the book trade.  The collection also includes behind-the-scenes work on books published by the Amate Press, including introductions written by Greene for Low's With All Faults (1973) and J. R. Fox's Bridging the Gulf (1983).  This copy is number 17 of 50 quarter leather bound copies out of the larger limited edition of 250 copies.  The specially bound copies include tipped in photos of Low and Greene not included in the cloth-bound copies.

 

Yours, etc.

Greene, Graham.  Yours etc.: Letters to the Press 1945-89.  London: Reinhardt Books, 1989.  Selected and introduced by Christopher Hawtree.  After college and before establishing himself as a novelist, Greene worked as a sub-editor for The Times and occasionally filled in for the correspondence editor, where he learned the value and role of writing letters to the press.  While Greene diligently wrote letters to correct erroneous reports or reviews of himself or his works, he more often wrote about current events, global politics, and social injustices far removed from the literary scene.  He used his fame and the power of the press to deliver concise, often biting, criticisms of persons and institutions he felt were in the wrong.  He penned letters to the press to make his stances known and a matter of public record.

 

Dear Juliette

Sherman, Susan, ed.  Dear Juliette: Letters of May Sarton to Juliette Huxley.  New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 1999.  First edition.  Selected, edited, and introduced by Susan Sherman.  Foreword by Francis Huxley.  May Sarton had a secret affair with Juliette Huxley after ending an open affair with her husband, Julian Huxley (brother of Aldus Huxley), which began in 1936.  Juliette ended the physical relationship after Julian learned of it, but she and May maintained a close relationship throughout the rest of their lives.  After the brief physical relationship, May and Juliette continued an emotional romance, mostly through letters, which Juliette ended in 1948 when May threatened to tell Julian.  After Julian's death in 1975, the women resumed their soulmate correspondence.  Susan Sherman, a close friend of Sarton, collected the private correspondence between the two women beginning in 1936 and continuing to Juliette's death in 1994.

 

Graham Greene: A Life in Letters

Greene, Richard, ed.  Graham Greene: A Life in Letters.  New York: W. W. Norton & Company, 2008.  First American edition.  Graham Greene was a consummate, life-long letter writer.  This collection focuses on his personal correspondence with family, friends, colleagues, and contemporaries; a few important professional letters are also included.  Richard Greene (no relation) selects and arranges these letters in chronological order from a 16-year-old writing to his mother while traveling abroad in 1921 to a final letter to his biographer a month before his death in 1991.  This volume includes only the letters written by Graham and does not include letters to him; Richard Greene provides a brief context to some of the letters.  This copy is signed by Richard Greene on the title page.

 

Remembrance

Eller, Jonathan R., ed.  Remembrance: Selected Correspondence of Ray Bradbury.  New York: Simon & Schuster, 2023.  Bradbury scholar and biographer Jonathan Eller selects and categorizes 70 years of correspondence to and from Bradbury, from a 17-year-old Bradbury inviting Edgar Rice Burroughs to come speak to his branch of the Science Fiction Leage of America in 1937 to a 2007 letter from the Ambassador of France to the United States congratulating Bradbury on his meritorious decoration as Commandeur in the Order of Arts and Letters.  Eller groups the correspondence with mentors and influencers; emerging writers and literary contemporaries; screenwriters, directors, and other filmmakers; agents, editors, and publishers; and friends and family.  Another category concerns letters about war and intolerance, two themes which inspired some of Bradbury's best writing.