James LORD (1922-2009). 15 L.A.S., 1952-1961, to André Fraigneau; 34pages various sizes, including 7 postcards, with 2 drawings. Beautiful, friendly and intimate correspondence. The letters are written from Paris, New York, Englewood, Quebec, Egypt, Amsterdam, Greece, Germany and Florence... -1952 "Te voilà dans les fleurs, à l'ombre des jeunes filles. It's still raining here. But Paris is getting ready to be at its most beautiful when we leave"... - "Already Quebec is far away. Here I am, permanently established in Englewood. And you in the complicit "wings" of the Queen Mary. I hope you haven't been crushed by the filthy world I thought I glimpsed. All to Dachau! And what were your cabin mates like? I hope they deserved you! [...] Tomorrow morning I'll start writing my "report" - poof! - But I regret that nothing, but if I wanted to, could communicate the enchantment, the madness and the truly profound pleasure that this whole adventure has given me. I only hope that you've enjoyed being with me as much as I've enjoyed being with you - and that you feel, as I do, that even if this feeling hadn't been born before, now we're bound by it in affection forever"... - "I think so often of our adventures together. It was, it is fantastic, both in memory and in anticipation and reality. So many things! My goodness! [...]. I'm working on redoing my novel, and I'm very hopeful that it will be published. I don't get out much, but I think I'll go and live in New York towards the end of autumn; I can't stay under the family roof forever. Have you seen Jean [Cocteau]? We write to each other often, and he wants me to translate Journal d'un Inconnu into English, which I'll do if I can. [...] I think very, very often of our exquisite evenings away from the Rhumerie - how I wish I could be there tonight!"... - "I'm working like my own executioner to redo this damned novel, but it's coming along and I think I can hope for the best: that it will finally be published [...]. Jean writes me that Bââââchus was a triumph in Düsseldorf (38 encores). The darlings will never betray us! He returns to Milly around November fifth, he says [...] Give him a kiss for me when you see him. Ned [Rorem] is in New York [...]. I must see him this week. We'll talk about you at length, and it will be delightful to reconnect with everything I love about Paris. New York isn't much fun. I've been to the theater and the ballet several times. I've seen Chaplin's new film Limelight, which is sentimental and all that, but still wonderful as only he can be. Barrault is coming this month and I'm going to see him play Scapin and Le Procès"... - 1953. "I'm working, having just finished a tiny novel of about 27,500 words. Yes, I intend to translate Journal d'un Inconnu and also La Difficulté d'être, if I can arrange an edition of both in the same volume, which would make a fine book [...]. I think I'll go and see d'Anus and Marschall soon. I want them to give some money - what shall I say? - a lot of money to my Cézanne museum in Aix - the project is progressing well. I've already raised a million, but I still need four"... - 1954. "I was very happy to receive your kind letter. You know so well how to establish in words that intimate contact that was so delightful to me during our weeks together. That's what being a writer is all about, I think. You can't imagine how often I think about everything we did, especially the rich ladies [drawing] we met. Seriously, this trip has left me with one of those diverse and exquisite memories that form the true fabric of life. And even if we don't see each other for another five years (a contingency I can scarcely envisage), we'll still be instantly intimate as we've always been. And that counts"... Etc.