Letter from Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, to James Ivory, New York, New York, 1967 February 18: autograph manuscript signed.

Teling Ivory his letter containing warnings about what not to say to Merchant came too late [see MA 23840.337], but that it worked out positively, as she discovered that Merchant is "as keen to make the very films you think he doesn't want to make as anyone," that he is actually enthusiastic about the "Shakespeare Wallah" sequel, and about "Esmond in India," and they were in agreement about "Vertical and Horizontal"; imagining that Lillian wrote the script "with the same joy & abandon as I did that first script-- you feel this from the bounce & delight in the dialogue"; observing that the dialogue in the V&H script is "far, far, far too much-- 10 sentences for every one needed-- I'm saying this though I'm still keeping in mind that a script set in New York necessitates a hundred times more speech [...] than one set in Delhi where we mainly deal in silences"; outlining her notes on the V&H script in great detail; observing "Lillian's forte, it seems to me, is the negative! All the negative scenes are superb [...] but the positive ones are not quite strong & convincing enough. You will have to see to them yourself"; admonishing "don't be inhibited-- take what you want from the script & throw the rest away"; ordering Ivory to throw the letter away after he has read it; apologizing for the apparently lost buttons; wondering if she should use the material she bought to make trousers instead of a coat-- "I mean, when do I wear a coat?"