Letter from Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, to James Ivory, Mumbai, India, 1970 September 12 : autograph manuscript signed.

Discussing the impact that broken down telephone lines may or may not have on sending film negatives; asking if Jennifer Kendal has correctly described his "worked up" state and his belief that "the lift-men are eyeing you strangely and that you feel they've had orders not to let you creep out with a single piece of luggage"; telling him that Kendal blames Ismail Merchant for Ivory's current state of mind; wondering if he is "being devious" with her or with Kendal and blaming "that V&H record" for making her doubt his sincerity; offering as evidence for his deviousness a recent deception about his travel plans, including telling "Lillian" that he would be staying longer in London and might be going to Tangiers ("Why Tangiers, for God's sake?"); describing the three stages of what Ivory calls his "manic mood" and telling him that she likes this mood; describing her "poor father-in-law" and the loss of dignity that she perceives he is experiencing; telling Ivory that Jhab "was struck by how many things there are Lucia says that I so often say to him," particularly about aging and not wanting to be perceived; wondering if Kendal also felt there were similarities between the character and Jhabvala.