DL/A-Z//GOTT/2 - [Correspondence with Robert Gottlieb, 1983-1988]

DL/A-Z//GOTT/2

Sub-file

[Correspondence with Robert Gottlieb, 1983-1988]

1983-1988

8 Letters (typescript and MS)
1 Invitation

New York Times

Maschler, Tom

Gottlieb, Robert

[1983]

012 is a letter from Bob Gottlieb of publishers Alfred A. Knopf to Doris Lessing regarding her corrections to If the Old Could. He expresses reservations about Lessing's misrepresentation of "Freud and Masters and Johnson" and sexuality. He also criticises Lessing's use of the characters in the novel to advance her own ideas, which he thinks makes her sound "smug". Mentions the Canopus in Argos series.

013 is a reply from Lessing to Gottlieb refuting his arguments point by point. She argues against a shallow reading of her work that takes the arguments represented within it at face value. She states that the Canopus in Argos series cannot be compared with a novel like If the Old Could.

[1984]

014 is a letter from Lessing to Gottlieb, accusing him of hypocrisy for disapproving of the promotional activities that she is involved in. She states that authors need to promote themselves using means that he disapproves of, including television, because books are sold based on the personality of the author. Mentions Salman Rushdie and Leslie Hazleton. Includes personal comments regarding Jenny Diski, Chloe Diski and Peter Lessing.

015 is a reply from Gottlieb to Lessing, refusing to respond to her criticism, since she is "determined to misunderstand" him. He alleges that she included a statement in her introduction [to If the Old Could] "about male publishers being worse than female" largely to make him feel bad. Includes personal comments regarding the health of Jenny Diski and Chloe Diski. GDPR

[1986]

016 is a letter from Gottlieb to Lessing thanking her for a "suggested list of excerpts" she sent him, mentioning some of her stories that he is reading, and stating that he read her "Canadian lectures". Discusses the difficulty of negotiating opposing ideological positions.

[1987]

017 is a letter from Lessing to Gottlieb, referring to an article of hers recently published in the New Yorker. She asks why the name of a professor she talked to, Professor Majruh [Bahāʼ al-Dīn Majrūḥ], was not included in the finished article. She states that Professor Majruh is well known and active in human rights and refugee work in Afghanistan and Pakistan. She states: "I think you should sack your censorship department".

In the margin, Lessing has hand written "Majruh was murdered shortly after this".

018 is a invitation for Lessing to attend the wedding of Tom Maschler and Regina Frederick.

019 is a letter from Lessing to Gottlieb, describing the wedding of Tom Maschler and Regina Frederick. She describes in detail her experience of sitting through the Great Storm of 1987, which occurred the night before the wedding, then driving through the wreckage to the wedding in rural Kent. Mentions David Young. She describes the wedding reception in some humorous detail, and relates her emotional reaction to the whole affair.

[1988]

020 is a letter from Lessing to Gottlieb, asking him to ensure that there are sufficient copies of her books to complement an upcoming promotional tour. Specifies the entire Canopus in Argos series, Memoirs of a Survivor and Briefing for a Descent Into Hell. Mentions writing the libretto for The Marriages Between Zones Three, Four and Five.