ALS signed “John,” one page, 8.5 x 11, no date [but circa September 1938]. Handwritten letter to friend and filmmaker Pare Lorentz, commenting on the culmination of his work on the landmark novel The Grapes of Wrath. In part: "I should never have put a time deadline on this book. I'm afraid it will not be done by the 15th. Probably will by the 1st of November. It is impossible for me to tell. Anyway I'm going on at the regular pace and while it may possibly end by the fifteenth I would rather have the extension for fear the pressure to get through might make for a feeling of hurry in the book. Do you like the title we have chosen 'The Grapes of Wrath'—from the Battle Hymn? It satisfies me completely…My people—in the book—have just spent some time in a government camp and are now headed for Shafter where there is a strike now—led by a woman—200 pounds—captain of the picket line. Good story. From there they will go to Tulare for the cotton, work there and get caught by last winter's floods and that is the end of the book. Carol is typing it now, 2nd draft and has near four hundred pages in type." In fine condition.
Past sales history: Bonhams, Fine Books and Manuscripts, June 20, 2007.
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