MITCHELL, Margaret. Typed letter signed ("Margaret") to Herschel Brickell, Atlanta, 13 November 1936. 4 pages, small folio, single-spaced, on her stationery with her name and addressed embossed in blue at top of each sheet., with numerous ink typographical corrections by her, usual folds, with stamped, addressed envelope . "I WILL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOVIE [OF 'GONE WITH THE WIND']" After discussing for nearly a page the work of the Civil War historian Robert S. Henry (author of The Story of the Confederacy ) Mitchell comments: "...he's run up against the same problem I ran up against. War can be made interesting and peace, a muddled peace, is hard to handle. I suppose it's the war has some design to it and reconstruction hasn't ... he said he hadn't been able to catch me out, historically speaking. When you understand that I have been waking up screaming in the night after dreaming that someone has caught me out, in spite of all my efforts to my accurate, perhaps you can understand my pleasure..." Later in the letter Mitchell writes about the movie production of Gone With the Wind : "...unfortunately a letter came from the movie people that they are descending upon me around the twentieth. I have only stated publicly and privately a thousand times that I will have nothing to do with the movie and less than nothing to do with the adaptation. But Sidney Howard and the director George Cukor are coming ... It's not that I'm tough mouthed or rude. If they land here everyone in the world who wants to get in the movies (and that means everyone in the world) will be on my neck to introduce them and to get them screen tests and when I can't, then they'll be sore at me. And if the rumor gets around that I am 'conferring' with Mr. Howard, everyone will believe it and when the movie comes out, quite different from the book, everyone will land on me for 'permitting' such changes. And all the small towns, in the section, the ones who still boast of lovely old houses want the filming done in their town and if the Selznicks do not use their town, then it will be my fault and I'll never be invited to another barbecue or fish fry in that town ... Herschel, did you review William Faulkner's latest [ Absalom, Absalom !]? I will not be able to read it as my reading for months will be so limited. If you can get a copy of your review without too much trouble, please send it to me ... Stuart Rose of the Ladies Home Journal was down here. So was Kenneth Littauer of Collier's . Both were nice, both were entertaining. Both, I am sure, think I am insane for not promising to write them some thing and for not turning loose that lousy novelette I have [possibly her teenage novel Lost Laysen ?]..."
MITCHELL, Margaret. Typed letter signed ("Margaret") to Herschel Brickell, Atlanta, 13 November 1936. 4 pages, small folio, single-spaced, on her stationery with her name and addressed embossed in blue at top of each sheet., with numerous ink typographical corrections by her, usual folds, with stamped, addressed envelope . "I WILL HAVE NOTHING TO DO WITH THE MOVIE [OF 'GONE WITH THE WIND']" After discussing for nearly a page the work of the Civil War historian Robert S. Henry (author of The Story of the Confederacy ) Mitchell comments: "...he's run up against the same problem I ran up against. War can be made interesting and peace, a muddled peace, is hard to handle. I suppose it's the war has some design to it and reconstruction hasn't ... he said he hadn't been able to catch me out, historically speaking. When you understand that I have been waking up screaming in the night after dreaming that someone has caught me out, in spite of all my efforts to my accurate, perhaps you can understand my pleasure..." Later in the letter Mitchell writes about the movie production of Gone With the Wind : "...unfortunately a letter came from the movie people that they are descending upon me around the twentieth. I have only stated publicly and privately a thousand times that I will have nothing to do with the movie and less than nothing to do with the adaptation. But Sidney Howard and the director George Cukor are coming ... It's not that I'm tough mouthed or rude. If they land here everyone in the world who wants to get in the movies (and that means everyone in the world) will be on my neck to introduce them and to get them screen tests and when I can't, then they'll be sore at me. And if the rumor gets around that I am 'conferring' with Mr. Howard, everyone will believe it and when the movie comes out, quite different from the book, everyone will land on me for 'permitting' such changes. And all the small towns, in the section, the ones who still boast of lovely old houses want the filming done in their town and if the Selznicks do not use their town, then it will be my fault and I'll never be invited to another barbecue or fish fry in that town ... Herschel, did you review William Faulkner's latest [ Absalom, Absalom !]? I will not be able to read it as my reading for months will be so limited. If you can get a copy of your review without too much trouble, please send it to me ... Stuart Rose of the Ladies Home Journal was down here. So was Kenneth Littauer of Collier's . Both were nice, both were entertaining. Both, I am sure, think I am insane for not promising to write them some thing and for not turning loose that lousy novelette I have [possibly her teenage novel Lost Laysen ?]..."
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
