LETTERS: Correspondence with Doris F. Halman.
Rachel Field – Doris Halman Correspondence
ca. 1936-1943
Field, Rachel. Correspondence Archive to Doris Halman, ca. 1936-1943.
A collection of correspondence, photographs and miscellaneous items from the children’s book author Rachel Field to her friend, the screenwriter Doris Halman. This archive consists of 12 autograph letters, 4 typed letters and 7 autograph postcards from Field to Halman; 1 autograph letter, 5 typed letters, and 1 autograph postcard from Field’s husband – the literary agent Arthur Pederson – to Halman; 1 poem, titled “Poem III (Baconian)” in an unknown hand; 1 five-page illustrated poem – unattributed, however, it might have been written and illustrated by Pederson; the Rachel Field Memorial issue of Horn Book (July-August 1942); a pamphlet soliciting contributions to a “Rachel Field and Ruth Burr Sanborn” book fund at Radcliffe College; a Xerox copy of Field’s obituary notice; 15 photographs of Field and Pederson’s adopted daughter Hannah; 1 photograph of Field at age 21 months; 3 Christmas cards; 1 watercolor illustration, unattributed; 2 blank postcards; 3 postcards by an unidentified sender; and some handwritten envelopes. In a specially made cloth slipcase.
Field writes in a large, loopy script, often using several leaves of paper to compose her letters; in the instances of postcards, she often had to use two or three to complete her entire message. She writes on a variety of paper: hotel letterhead, monogrammed letterhead, white or blue onionskin paper, thick cream-colored stock, and light grey letterhead; her typed letters are on onionskin or blue paper.
Field did not put years on all of her letters; the earliest postmark is 1936, but it is likely that the correspondence began earlier; Field’s premature death – from pneumonia after a cancer operation, at age 47, in 1942 – abruptly concluded her exchanges with Halman, but Pederson continued the correspondence and sent photographs as well. All of the letters transmit warmth and intimacy; Field also talks about her writing, and her husband’s work, suggesting that Field bounced ideas off of and sought advice from Halman. Through her letters, it is clear that Field had a sense of humor, a sharp mind, and was dedicated to her craft.
Field’s work was published by Macmillan; Harold Latham, who “discovered” Margaret Mitchell and ushered Gone With the Wind into print, was her editor. In the “March 20” letter she talks about a book of hers that was controversial in Germany; she asserts,
Your letter was the first I knew on any publicity about the German edition & that suggestion about changing my first name. But I’m glad the Macmillan Co. did something about it, for I was really shocked and appalled at the idea. It certainly brought the ghastly situation home to me as only such personal applications ever do. I don’t care if the book is banned in Germany & I lose $1500, thereby. My blood is up & it is the only way I can take a stand.
Field lived in Hollywood for the last four years of her life, while she adapted some of her books for the screen and stage – The Londonderry Air (1938) and the award-winning All This, and Heaven Too (1940), were two such works that were produced while she was alive; she even was a special lyricist for the Ave Maria segment in Walt Disney’s Fantasia – and Pederson worked in the story department at United Artists. Two paragraphs of her letter dated September 12, 1936 reflect how the “industry” affected her work:
I have unexpectedly started to write a story about Hollywood. A sort of fable, which may turn into a novelette, about a Garboesque star who hates her greatness, and a stage struck “Little Man What Now” boy trying to crash the gates, and the perfectly impossible interlude they have together on a studio lot. It’s absolutely unlike anything I’ve ever done and I have no notion as yet whether it’s terrible or good. But I am writing something again and that is stimulating to me whatever it turn
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