JG Farrell in His Own Words : Selected Letters and Diaries

Troubles (aptly named): London 1969–70

Troubles (aptly named) London 1969–70 To Deborah Rogers 1 J.G. Farrell PAR 8296 [handwritten] 23 June 1969 Dear Deborah, I very much enjoyed your party a few days ago and, in particular, meeting you. I’ve now finished my book and given it to Tom Maschler to read. If he thinks it has any merit I’ll seize it back from him and bring it along to you to read. I thought of giving it to you first but decided I’d feel foolish if it’s no good: besides, it’s extremely long and reading it will take you an age. Looking forward to seeing you again if all goes well. Sincerely, Jim Farrell To Sarah Bond Stanley House Hotel [undated] summer 1969] Dear Sarah, ... You’ll hardly believe this but I still haven’t heard the reaction of anyone who has read my book from beginning to end. People keep falling out on me. An American friend read the first four hundred pages, murmured ‘Smashing’ and rather shiftily went off to America before finishing it. Then Janet Dawson, 2 the film critic of Sight and Sound, who claimed that she had hypnotised some American film producer to the extent where she would have no trouble getting him to buy the film rights, took a week to read the first hundred pages 165 assuring me that it was merely because she was frantically busy, her boss was going mad etc., but that it reminded her of Henry James, Scott Fitzgerald and Ford Madox Ford (all of them at once?). In a fit of impatience I have now seized it back from her temporarily to give it to my swinging new agent (she wears one of those fashionable chain belts and, no doubt, has dark glasses on top of her head like Rommel the Desert Fox), Deborah Rogers. Meanwhile, from the publishers, an ominous silence has been prevailing ... For once we seem to be having a decent summer in England as I guess you’ll have heard from your parents. All the same I feel very much at a loose end since finishing my book and find it hard to get going on my modern Robinson Crusoe 3 without knowing the fate of Troubles. I suppose I’ll hear next week. What a life! Either one is agonised or bored stiff. Love Jim To Deborah Rogers Stanley House Hotel July 1969 Dear Deborah, Very glad to hear that you enjoyed A Girl on your weekend at home. My weekend was spent showing my parents round London ... it was nerveracking . We kept passing notices which said things like ‘Vagina Rex’ ... ... In a way my feeling is that, though better than nothing, it isn’t enough for [Troubles] to be saleable. It has to be seductive enough to publishers for them to agree to give it some promotion and put me on the map. Girl was given virtually no advertising at all, none that I saw or heard of beyond the de rigueur ad. in the Bookseller . My conclusion is that, marvellous publisher that Tom Maschler no doubt is provided he has decided to promote you, for people like me his virtues remain entirely of a mystical nature. In fact, though I like the Cape imprint, it wouldn’t worry me to change if I could screw some modest advantage out of it. It seems to me that the question of the advance is trivial (though my financial situation is precarious, to put it mildly). The promotion is the important thing. Provided of course that Cape even want it at all, I thought that I might make some really excessive demands ... and perhaps J.G. Farrell in his Own Words 166 allow you to compromise on my behalf later.* The other thing, if only the book turns out to be a desirable property, might be to hold a limited auction. Well, enough of these ravings. Obviously the sooner you read the book the better ... Yours, Jim * It’s obviously better for me to make excessive demands than you, since you have to live with these people. To Carol Drisko Stanley House Hotel 7 July 1969 Dear Drisk, ... I was delighted that both you and your bagages arrived safely ... I don’t know what it is about you, but you always seem to be lurking near a metaphor for the human condition. I’m thinking of how lots of...