Sean O'Faolain

Born in Dublin in 1900 and educated at the
National University of Ireland and at Harvard
University, Sean O'Faolain now lives in Dublin.
His best known work in the United States is his
novel, *A NEST OF SIMPLE FOLK*, published in 1934
by Viking Press. Widely known as a short story
writer, a biographer, a critic, and a reviewer,
his article in *Life*, "Love Among the Irish,"
caused considerable comment two years ago. Mr.
O'Faolain gave a series of lectures at Princeton
in the spring of 1954. "Narcissa and Lucifer"
will be published in a volume of essays titled
SEVERAL AUTHORS IN SEARCH OF A HERO.

(c) 1956 by Sean O'Faolain)

NARCISSA AND LUCIFER:
An Essay on Virginia Woolf
and James Joyce

NARCISSA AND LUCIFER

Seán O'Faoláin

Born in Dublin in 1900 and educated at the
National University of Ireland and at Harvard
University, Sean O'Faolain now lives in Dublin.
His best known work in the United States is his
novel, A NEST OF SIMPLE FOLK, published in 1934
by Viking Press. Widely known as a short story
writer, a biographer, a critic, and a reviewer,
his article in *Life, "Love Among the Irish,"
caused considerable comment two years ago. Mr.
O'Faolain gave a series of lectures at Princeton
in the spring of 1954. "Narcissa and Lucifer"
will be published in a volume of essays titled
SEVERAL AUTHORS IN SEARCH OF A HERO.

(© 1956, by Sean O'Faolain)

The New American Library
OF WORLD LITERATURE, INC.

INTER-OFFICE MEMO

TO: VW, KE, TMT, EDITORS

DATE 2/14/57

FROM: JBC

RE: THE FINEST STORIES OF SEAN O'FAOLAIN, L/B

This casts off to 320 pp. in 9 9/16 IN. This is out of the question for us, I think. However, we could do a 111/16 page volume at 25¢, or 192 pages at 35¢, and come out very well. We could call our volume:

MIDSUMMER NIGHT MADNESS and ten other stories from
THE FINEST STORIES OF SEAN O'FAOLAIN

In my opinion, the following should be included in a 111/16 page book.

<table><thead><tr><th></th><th>NAL PAGES</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>MIDSUMMER NIGHT MADNESS</td><td>31</td></tr><tr><td>FUGUE</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>A BORN GENIUS</td><td>23</td></tr><tr><td>DISCORD</td><td>7</td></tr><tr><td>THE CONFESSIONAL</td><td>4</td></tr><tr><td>THE MAN WHO INVENTED SIN</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>TERESA</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>UNHOLY LIVING AND HALF DYING</td><td>9</td></tr><tr><td>THE FUR GOAT</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>IN ENDURING FRIENDSHIP</td><td>6</td></tr><tr><td>GILLYDRAWN</td><td>10</td></tr><tr><td>FRONT AND BACK MATTER</td><td>8</td></tr></tbody><tfoot><tr><td></td><td>104</td></tr></tfoot></table>

At 192 pages, we should include the above plus the following:

<table><tbody><tr><td>THE PATRIOT</td><td>17</td></tr><tr><td>THE SILENCE OF THE VALLEY</td><td>18</td></tr><tr><td>LORD AND MASTER</td><td>13</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>45</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>144</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>192</td></tr></tbody></table>

JBC:pab

INTER-OFFICE MEMO

TO: PC

DATE 3/7/56

FROM: PB

RE: Castoff: O'FAOLAIN, Sean: NARCISSA AND LUCIFER

May we please have a castoff of Sean
O'Faolain's NARCISSA AND LUCIFER for
NWW #10.

No particular rush.

You already have a castoff of this.
This is a revised version--considerably
shortened. Your last castoff was 60,024
characters (21½ pages).

SEAN O'FAOLAIN

Born in Dublin in, 1900, and educated at the National University of Ireland and at Harvard University, Sean O'Faolain now lives in Dublin. His best known work in the United States is his novel, *A NEST OF SIMPLE FOLK*, published in 1934 by Viking Press. Widely-known as a short story writer, a biographer, a critic and a reviewer, his article in *Life* caused considerable comment two years ago. Mr. O'Faolain gave series of lectures at Princeton in the spring of 1954. NARCISSA AND LUCIFER will appear in a volume of essays to be published in England by Elyot Spotiswoode, titled *SEVERAL ENSEMBLE AUTHORS IN SEARCH OF A CHARACTER*.

copy editor - Salamon

# NARCISSA AND LUCIFER: An Essay on Virginia Woolf and James Joyce

by Sean O'Faolain

My references for this are as follows:

* *A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man* - Signet Book, 1954
(also Tauchnitz edition)

* *The Voyage Out* - Hogarth Press (London), 1949

* *Mrs. Dalloway* - Harcourt, Brace & Co., 1925

* *Ulysses* - Modern Library, 1946

* *A Writer's Diary* (V. Woolf) - Hogarth Press, 1953 (54?)

The following notes refer to areas identified in the manuscript by a circled question mark in the left margin. Note that in my corrections on quotations I have followed the original even in those instances where the author's changes in punctuation were preferable.

Page 2 - a) In the quotation, the opening words, "I mean to eliminate" is misleading without the sentence that precedes them. I suggest prefacing the quotation with: "The idea has come to me that what I want now to do is to saturate every atom."

- b) the italicized sentences in the above quotation are not italicized in the original. It would be best to add an "italics mine" statement to the author's text.

Page 4 - Please see my first questioned change.

Page 6 - Please note my change of punctuation, etc., in the 2nd sentence.

Page 7 - American readers may not know what *brx* "bran pie" is -- a grab-bag affair, a tub with bran or other substance in it and containing presents that are to be searched out.

- haven't been able to track down quote starting the 5th line from the bottom.

Page 8 - I have corrected the punctuation of the quoted material, but the author may have re-punctuated for the sake of his free-verse presentation.

Page 9 - Could not locate the questioned quote.

- Last 3 lines leave me baffled as to meaning.

Page 10- phrase "not in the least quite as detached" is a long, tortuous road to nowhere (author added word "quite" to original typed copy); suggest rephrasing to: "not nearly as detached."

Page 12- This is an irrelevance--but the author ignores the heavily religious imagery in the first page of *Ulysses*, and further ignores the recall that the word "Chrysostomos" offers in the religious vein: the Greek name of Saint John, *Chrysostom*. I wonder if Dion Crisostomos is more than barely relevant.

(more)

salamon

narcissa and lucifer - 2

Page 12 - In 3rd line, comma could go after "eyes" or after "pages" in 4th line.
Suggest querying author if you think it's of sufficient importance.

- Can neither recall nor locate the name "Lister" so can't verify spelling.

Page 16 - a) Stephen says "I have no money" only once in those exact words.
However, his second statement abbut having no money is ~~misled by~~ phrased very similarly and the meaning is identical. If you think
it desirable the quotation could be changed to: "... he twice
says that he has no money."—without quotes, of course.

b) I noticed reference to "Stephen's Green", but not to "Saint Stephen's
Green"; however, I did not change.

Page 17 - Please note that, in the top line, an ellipsis or comma is essential
for meaning. In the book there is an interruption at this point to
identify the speaker.

- I missed the point in the text.

- I have transposed the phrases opposite my question mark, for clarity.
I hope I have not missed the point of this and transposed in error.

Page 22 - Could not locate quotation.

Page 23 - Although I can't see how to do it offhand, it would be more effective if the quotation in the first two lines *preceded* the third sentence on page 10.

Page 24 - Could not locate quotation.

* Have not completed the styling for section numerals and indentions.

["The New American Library\nOF WORLD LITERATURE, INC.", "501 MADISON AVENUE", "NEW YORK 22, NEW YORK", "MURRAY HILL 8-3470", "March 9, 1956", "Gentlemen:", "This will confirm the following agreement between us regarding publication of the work consisting of a critical essay \"Narcissa and Lucifer\" by Sean O'Faolain", "in NEW WORLD WRITING, a periodical published in the English language throughout the world.", "You hereby grant to us a license for such publication as hereinafter provided, and you agree to supply to us, on request, written permissions covering any material contained in the work which is extracted from any other work protected by statutory or common-law copyright.", "You warrant that you have full power to enter into this agreement, that you are", "authorized to receive all payments due hereunder and to act in all other matters connected herewith, that the work has not been published in any medium whatsoever prior to the date hereof, and that, hereafter until expiration of six (6) months after release of the issue containing the work, you will not permit publication elsewhere without our written consent.", "In consideration thereof, we agree to publish the work in NEW WORLD WRITING and to pay the sum of one hundred sixty-two dollars ($162) to you", "due on the execution of this agreement", "which will be full payment for the first 100,000 (or less) copies printed of the issue in which the work is published; and in the event that additional copies are printed, we will make additional payment in the proportion which the number of additional copies bears to 100,000.", "We further agree to apply for copyright protection for the work in the United States and Canada, and elsewhere at our option, in our name, or in such other appropriate name as you may supply to us in writing no later than three (3) months before the issue containing the work goes to press; and after publication, if copyright is registered in our name, we will assign copyright in the work to whomsoever you designate in writing.", "Please signify your approval and acceptance of the foregoing agreement by signing and returning the enclosed carbon copy for our files.", "Curtis Brown, Ltd.\n347 Madison Avenue\nNew York 17, New York", "Attention: Miss Emilie Jacobso", "APPROVED and ACCEPTED:", "CURTIS BROWN, LTD.", "Date....................................

November 8, 1955

Miss Emilie Jacobson
Curtis Brown, Ltd.
347 Madison Avenue
New York 17, New York

Dear Miss Jacobson:

We do want to buy Virginia Woolf and James Joyce, or Narcissa and Lucifer, for New WORLD WRITING—in an abbreviated form.

I doubt it would take Mr. O'Faolain long to revise and cut the chapter for our needs. The chapter now runs to some 10,000 words, including quotations. We should want it reduced to 6,000 words or less.

We think a new lead paragraph would be desirable—disassociating this chapter from the book as a whole, and starting it off as a quite independent essay. We further suggest the deletion of all direct references to earlier parts of the book as such, and, when necessary for this essay, the elaboration of points already made in previous chapters.

We hope that many of the various generous quotations from the writers under scrutiny could be cut—in whole or in part—and that the lead-ins to quotations might occasionally be made less abrupt (effective in a speech, but not always graceful in an essay).

Mr. O'Faolain's definition of the novel on page 197 (repeated from the Faulkner chapter) is a beauty! His last two pages are fine and effective, but Mr. O'Faolain might consider strengthening, or adding to, the final paragraph—probably in relation to the new first paragraph he will write.

I hope this is helpful.

If Mr. O'Faolain could work on this piece, and deliver it within the next two weeks (we could have it re-typed here if necessary) we might still be able to squeeze it into our next issue, New WORLD WRITING #9. If this is not possible, then we shall count on it for the following issue, New WORLD WRITING #10 (autumn, 1956), and for this the deadline would be in April. But do see if Mr. O'Faolain can do the job right now.

Wednesday June 2nd, 1954

New World Writing
The New American Library of World Literature, Inc,
501 Madison Avenue,
New York 22, N.Y.

Gentlemen:

Here is an overdue compliment to New World Writing, always stimulating, vital, hopeful reading, especially to those of us who would be published ourselves but find the markets sparse for our attempt at quality. Your publication is a promising thing in the field of creative literature.

Your recent contents had Sean O'Faolain's "Childybawn", a beautifully written story, which in my opinion could be excitingly dramatized by some of the better Television shows, if properly adapted. I should like to attempt this, and would be grateful if you would advise me of Mr. O'Faolain's address in order that the proper arrangements are made.

I do think this issue of N. W. W. is the best I have seen. You are making a real contribution to the viability of ideas.

PRINCETON UNIVERSITY
PRINCETON, NEW JERSEY

Victor,

Curse the man who invented Time
(chronological, not journalistic ditto) -
I seemed a slave to it. I have to miss the
wedding to get off to Minneapolis, and
I had been looking forward to seeing what a
really bang-up, posh, top-liner New York
wedding is like, apart altogether from the
pleasure of seeing you and Helen again. I
shall not be back from Minneapolis (and
Boston) until the 14th-15th. We must make a
firm date after that, when you and I will
(at least temporarily) defeat the aforesaid
Time Monster, and chat at our ease. Leave
it to me to write or phone you and make a
date when I come back, will you? Meanwhile,
tell Helen how sick I am at missing this
event, and if a complete stranger to the
happy young people may do so I wish and
pray for them the world's joy. Ever