Letter from James Ivory, New York, New York, to Ruth Prawer Jhabvala, Delhi, India, 1974 January 6: typescript signed.

Telling her how much he liked her short story, "Prostitutes"; saying that things are moving quickly with "The Wild Party"-- James Coco is committed to act, and Walter Marks' contract allows for them to hire additional writers; listing three points he feels are very important for their version of the story; expressing some concern about the "multiple murder climax" of the story, and wondering if Marks will cause problems-- "he keeps using expressions like 'universal relevance' and 'Armageddon' and such like"; recounting how they [presumably he and Merchant] had drinks with Joan Kahn and clarified her expectations for the book: apparently when she said Harper's wanted a book like "Civilisation," she meant a book in the format of "Civilisation" rather than the content; asking if she is interested in being involved in the book; telling her about a book he's surrently reading that might offer a sort of model, Kevin Brownlow's "The Parade's Gone By."