Letter from James Ivory, London, England, to Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, 1971 July 17: typescript signed.

Replying to her assertion that she might not like her new novel when she looks at it again, and wondering "what if you didn't like 'Savages'?"; explaining his reasoning for being confident she will like "Savages"; shifting subjects to "Adventures of a Brown Man in Search of Civilization" and the problem of its narration, which he has decided to have Barry Foster read, since John wouldn't be available in time; telling her Barry's voice reminds him of Leo Genn, who did the narration for "The Delhi Way"; saying they will show the film to the BBC for final approvel next week; discussing "The American," which Jhabvala had said she no longer liked; telling her he is now reading "The Golden Bowl"; telling her his "grand plan for a holiday" at some friends' house in Tangier and possibly Spain; complaining that "Joe Saleh is making noises and Ismail is now sending me off with his blessings and a promise to keep Joe Saleh in check while I'm gone"; congratulating Ava on her exam results; telling her he "really want[s]" to make the trip to Tangier; announcing that he wants to make a trilogy, and describing the story and its three characters: a young woman "of good family" in New York, who is "a failure at everything she turns her hand to"; an "artist manqué-- someone like Cary Welch"; and a charming young man who is "in fact totally futile."