Letter from James Ivory, New York, New York, to Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, [1966] January 13 : typescript signed.

Suggesting that a trip to England might help her "ailment," and if she were to go, he and Merchant would meet her there; discussing her suggestions for the "Ustad film" [later "The Guru"] in detail; enclosing a treatment of a scene for the film [see MA 23840.264b]; saying word is that "Shakespeare Wallah" "is a hit, both critical and financial" in the U.K., and expressing his incredulity; describing his "big plans" for Foo (Felicity Kendal) in "the policiman film" they are planning; discussing recent unpleasant letters from Shashi and Jennifer, and a mutual acquaintance named Ved, which few people in the States seem to like; telling her that he and Merchant had her childhood friend Herb Gans over for dinner, then "off to see a movie with Madhur"; discussing the reception of her latest book, "A Backward Place" and asserting that she should find a new publisher, as W.W. Norton is "well-meaning, dowdy, and ineffectual"; telling her he has written a Talk of the Town piece for the New Yorker, but understands her feeling of being ignored; claiming that, in the States, "nobody gives a damn about India and things Indian"; discussing her short story "In Love with a Beautiful Girl" [New Yorker, January 7, 1966] and its connection to their Ustad story and "Shakespeare Wallah"; quoting a positive letter from their London distributor.