LAWRENCE LANGNER

47 West 12th Street

NEWYORK

Dear darling adorable sweet charming and lovable Rebecca,
It's a Sunday night, and I don't want to go to bed. I want to write a
letter and so I said I would write to my dear darling adorable sweet
and charming Rebecca, and so this is the letter I am writing to her.

Well, old dear, here I am back in New York, back with the Theatre
Guild, back with The Office, and back with all the other things which
go to make up the life of Lawrence Langner.

First of all I have a charming apartment - everyone says how lovely
and cosy it is - there a spare bedroom for you any time you want to
come and stay here, and all it will cost you is your reputation - and
as you've lost that already ( so some say) it won't really cost you
anything. ( Oh dear, Rebecca, why did I say that last - perhaps it will
hurt your feelings - forgive me if it does ). I'm really very happy and
my Armina loves me very much, and I'm so thankful that Providence kept
me an honest man all the time I was in Europe. I'M sorry that these
lines are so close together, but you can no doubt read something between
them.

Last week I lunched with two of your men - who eagerly questioned
me as to your doings - Konrad and - oh, damn my memory - he is a novelist
and first introduced you to Konrad. He looks just as Berkovici as ever,
even more so, in fact. And now to tell you all the scandals - outside
of my own - I am really quite a topic at the moment.

First of all, Bernadine and Otto Liveright have separated. The story
on one hand is that Otto was -well, Maxish - while the other story is that
Konrad got Otto thinking he was a devil with the women. As you will observe
there is a slight conflict between the two stories - the fact is that
they are living apart and Bernadine has given up wearing bright colors.
This seems to me to indicate that she is being emotionally satisfied
at last, to say the least, and I hope it's quite all right. I see that I
have quite a talent for gossip. Rebecca, I'm ashamed of myself. But its
just between ourselves. I feel like Mrs Aria.

Carl was delighted with your photograph, though he had to agree
with me that the bear was singularly unresponsive. And little Henriette
Metcalfe is full of malice against Carl, and whispers about how he was put
out of all the Clubs in New York - nobody knows why, and she won't tell,
but it's just too terrible. She has settled down to love her husband and
all seem well on West Fortyninth Street. But her crowning thrust against
Carl was this. That people see him with Negroes all the time, and when
Rebecca West was over here, he used to take her up to Harlem etc to
see his friends. Can you imagine ?

When I arrived here, I found the Theatre Guild most tremendously
prosperous. They are making over nine thousand dollars a week, with
two of the leading financial successes in New York. We are literally
rolling in money for the first time in our history, and we may send
two companies to London, just to show that we don't care how we lose it.
Our new theatre will open in March. And now, Rebecca, comes a solemn
moment.

Do come back and visit all your little friends in America. I miss
you and so do all of us. I'm quiet serious. We'll love you! We all love
you here.

Fond love from,
Maurice

P.S. I am being 'Hinkled.'

Cable address The guild, New York

The THEATRE GUILD, Inc.
Reg. U. S. Pat. Off.

245 West 52nd Street
New York City

Telephones

Theatre Guild Business Office
Columbus 5-6170

Guild Theatre Box Office
Columbus 5-8229

June 2, 1933

Dear Rebecca:

The next time you want to adopt a nom de plume and get the reaction of your friends, you must not make changes in your own beautiful handwriting. When I read the play, I did not know that you had written it, and I formed my conclusions in the way you intended, but a few days later, when thinking about the play and furnishing my opinion to the Guild, I took up the play again and on Page 82 I saw some handwriting which to me was unquestionably that of my darling Rebecca, and I put the handwriting and the fact that I had arrived at the conclusion that a very brilliant person had written the play -- and guessed.

The Board, however, gave their opinion on the play without knowing that you had written it, so you may be interested to know what they think about it. They think that it is beautifully written, the characters well done, and they would like to do it. However, they are troubled about one part in the play. It is that part beginning from Act III, from which you get the impression that Nicholas was a kind of hero who had set out to destroy the capitalist system. This is especially hard to believe over here, because, for example, the rocking of the boat by the collapse of European industries was as nothing to America as compared with the collapse of the Insull and other regimes. There (1) it is hard to believe that any brilliant financier, such as Nicholas, could think he would be able to destroy the capitalist system by doing what he does, (2) it creates the impression that Nicholas, having been found out, is rationalizing his crookedness.

I think you must have been feeling something of this sort yourself, because on Page 76 Clarissa says "You've told me why, but it doesn't seem real". I think this puts it in a nutshell, and the question which Clarissa raises is never answered by the play. Phil Moeller and Theresa Helburn both voiced the same opinion as I did. It was, in fact, unanimous that one did not believe Nicholas at this juncture. What he was saying seemed entirely dissonant with his actions. Finally, his suicide for the purpose of "dealing an effective blow

Producers of JOHN FERGUSON → JANE CLEGG → MR. PIM PASSES BY → BACK TO METHUSELAH → SAINT JOAN → HE WHO GETS SLAPPED → FATA MORGANA
THE GUARDSMAN → THEY KNEW WHAT THEY WANTED → GOAT SONG → PYGMALION → THE BROTHERS KARAMAZOV → THE SILVER CORD → THE
SECOND MAN → THE DOCTOR'S DILEMMA → VOLFONE → FORGY → STRANGE INTERLUDE → CAPRICE → WINGS OVER EUROPE → THE APPLE CART
A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY → HOTEL UNIVERSE → ELIZABETH, THE QUEEN → GREEN GROW THE LILACS → MIRACLE AT VERDUN → THE LONELY WAY

-2-

at the public's belief in me and my kind as miracle workers" does not seem worthy of a man of Nicholas's astuteness. People are going on doing exactly the same thing at this moment after the death of Kreuger, after the exposure of Insull.

Unfortunately the audience is going to find several better reasons why he is going to commit suicide, especially the one that he does not want to face prison and disgrace.

Now, Rebecca, please do not be offended with me for giving you this frank criticism, but it seemed to me, after I talked with Mr. Bye, that the best thing I could do was to write you frankly what we feel about the play. We are really enthusiastic about it, and they talked about having you come over in the Fall and working with us. Phil Moeller is going to be in Paris during August, and would love to meet you there. In other words, we are keenly interested. My writing you this letter is the measure of our interest.

The criticism given is only a small portion of the third act of a very finely written three act play, beautifully constructed, beautifully felt and entirely convincing in everything except this one place.

We were disappointed that you did not come over in the winter. I do hope you may be able to make it in the Fall. We would love to have you stay at our place in the country for a little while in September.

Anthony did not come to see me, and when I was in Boston it was only for two days, and I was frightfully rushed, so I did not look him up.

By the way, do you know a good English actor who could play Nicholas? The only one we could think of here is Philip Merivale, who may or may not be interested.

Will you drop me a line, telling me what you feel about revisions, in which case our business manager, Warren Munsell, will get in touch with Mr. Bye to arrange about the contract, etc.

14 WEST ELEVENTH STREET

November 13, 1935

Dear Rebecca:

Your play, like Hamlet's ghost, continues to haunt me; or to carry the Shakespearean further, I keep saying, "Out, out, damned spot," but the damned spot continues to reappear.

I read it over during the summer, made up my mind to write you a long letter about it, and then got involved in other matters. I read it again today, and decided I would write you again about it.

I think the play has improved tremendously on the last re-working, especially the last part of the last act and the way in which you have definitely brought the audience into the secret early in the play, which I think essential in view of the Kruger affair.

I thought I would send over my comments to you in the hope that you might be still interested enough in the play not to abandon it, and by making the play completely *out* of date, bring the play completely up to date. Indeed, I almost wish you could lay the scene of the play in the year of the panic of 1907. However, I realize that is impossible. We have an actor over here who would be splendid in this play named Philip Merivale.

I thought of you when I heard of the shooting of Hughey Long. There is a story for you. Thus perish all dictators.

My best love to you, and regards to your
husband,

Miss Rebecca West.
15 Orchard Court
Portman Square
London, W. 1