FANNIE HURST - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 11/24/1927 - HFSID 80738

FANNIE HURST
Fannie Hurst signed this letter, typed in New York City in 1927, to explain why she dedicated her 1923 novel Lummox to Pauline Rehbein.
Typed letter signed "Fannie Hurst" in orange crayon. Lead pencil marks at top edge and lead pencil correction in body of letter, both in unknown hand. 1 page, 8½x11. New York City, Nov. 24, 1927. Addressed to Mr. Carson C. Hathaway, Washington, D. C. In full: "My dear Mr. Hathaway: There move through the four under graduate years of my life as a student in Washington University, St. Louis, a woman called Pauline Rehbein. I am not quite sure how she drifted into my experience, but I am sure that her personality shed its glow over all subsequent days up to this present. By what sixth sense this woman, whose neice [sic] was a roommate of mine in the dormitory, came to understand every nook and cranny of my mind and heart is something I shall never know. Long before I was ever able to articu-late for myself she was articulating for me, helping me, en-couraging me, believing in me before there was anything much to beleive [sic] in. For several years after I had left college Pauline Rehbein, although a thousand miles seperated [sic] us, still stood at my elbow - a light in the dark if ever there was one. She is dead now, some thirteen years. Her memory is as luminous as she was. That is why I dedicated my lummox to Pauline Rehbein who walked in beauty-". Hurst graduated from Washington University in 1909. She published the novel Lummox in 1923. Hurst (1885-1968), one of the most popular novelists in America from the 1910s through the 1940s, wrote 17 novels, nine volumes of short stories, three plays and numerous articles. Between 1918 and 1971, over 30 movies and TV shows were adapted from her works, including Back Street (1932, 1941, and 1961) and Imitation of Life (1934, 1948, 1959 and 1960). Her autobiography Anatomy of Me was first published in 1958. Lightly toned, stained and creased. Tape residue at left and right edges (do not touch signature). Paper loss at bottom edge (does not touch signature). Light tears, separations and chipping along left and right edges. Lightly rounded and creased corners with missing bottom corners. Folded twice vertically and thrice horizontally and unfolded. Otherwise in fine condition.