LOUIS D. L'AMOUR - TYPED LETTER SIGNED 04/20/1974 - HFSID 157622

LOUIS D. L'AMOUR
The Western author sends this letter regarding two of his works published in 1974, including his plans to expand the Sackett series to include the Talon and Chantry families
Typed Letter Signed: "Louis L'Amour", 1p, 8½x11. Los Angeles, California. Dated April 20, 1974. To Mr. Mathisen. In Full: "Sorry for the delay. In the swift march of events time for writing letters seems to escape me. You asked about hard cover versions of my novels. Until now only a few have been in hard covers due to the fact that I wished to retain movie and paper-back rights for myself, and hard-cover authors surrender a part of these to the publishers. However, my sales are such that they are now willing to produce my books without demanding such rights. On April 25th of this month my novel THE CALIFORNIOS will appear in hard-covers, with an excellent picture of me on the back, (which I hope will not disappoint people) published by Saturday Review Press. This is an affiliate of E.P. Dutton, Pub. I suspect a book store in your town will have it, and if not they can order it. This is to be the first of a series. The next will be SACKETT'S LAND, the story of the first Sackett to arrive in America from England. He returns, but will come again. The time is 1599-1600. I had fun with SITKA. I actually navigated on paper all those voyages through the inland passage, checked weather conditions, worked with actual charts, laid out courses, etc. I could not put it all into the book, but I wanted it right. I have been in those waters, and also had the advantage of a couple of old log-books of early travels in those waters. As I believe I told you I shall do the story of the frontier in America (including Canada) through the eyes of three families, the Sackett, Chantry and Talon. To do this I must move back in history to the stories of the first Chantry and the first Talon...the latter was a corsair in the Indian Ocean for awhile, sails through the Indonesian area to the west coast of America, and then around the Horn and to the Gaspe Peninsula. This will be a swashbuckling story of sea adventure, battles at sea, landings on remote islands, etc. I will work with actual conditions at the time in the waters of which I write. I am working on a non-fiction book on ancient trade, travel and cultural diffusion between 1500 and 3,000 BC, but this is a good year away. Thanks for the kind words on the descriptions of the sea and SITKA. I went to see (sic) for awhile,and although I'd not say I was a top-notch small-boat sailor, I have done a bit of it here and there. I took one long voyage alone, once, and shudder to think how ignorant and lucky I was. I wouldn't think of it now. It's the old story of 'fools walk in where angels fear to tread.'" In the year of this letter, The Californios was published as mentioned by L'Amour, whose newfound wealth had enabled him to move into a better West Los Angeles neighborhood in 1973. Also mentioned is his 1957 novel Sitka. Prolific author Louis D. L'Amour (1908-1988), born Louis Dearborn LaMoore in Jamestown, North Dakota, is best known for his Westerns, especially his 40-book saga of the Sackett family. The first of this incredible fiction epic was The Daybreakers (1960). The series eventually encompassed four centuries of the family's history. He also published Hondo in 1953, which was turned into a film starring John Wayne the next year. Wayne has been quoted saying that the novel was his favorite Western. In the 1970s, L'Amour expanded his Sackett series to include the chronicles of the Talon and Chantry families. He signed a 30-year contract with Bantam Books that not only gave him financial independence but also committed him to a discipline of writing three books a year. The author, who was known for his passion for travel and researching his books firsthand, published his first novel Westward the Tide in England in 1953. The book was not published in the U.S. until Bantam Books obtained the rights many years later. L'Amour began his writing career with a book of poetry (1939) before writing short stories for pulp magazines. The author received the National Gold Medal from Congress (1983) and was honored by President Reagan with the Medal of Freedom (1984) for his contributions to American literature. Written on thin paper, which is lightly creased with folds, not at signature. ½-inch separation at lower horizontal fold at right margin touches 1 word of typed text. ¼-inch tear at lower right edge, chipped at lower right edge. Staple holes at upper left blank corner. Otherwise, fine condition.