February 26, 1970: Virginia Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
Just returned from the hospital, and Bob was trying to eat lunch…he ate his whole egg for breakfast, and I don’t know how much more, but he’s still getting IV feeding, and is very unsteady on his feet. But at least we’re away from the wheelchair, and he goes out into the corridors to walk. He’d refused to leave his room for about a month, and this is [a] considerable breakthrough. Also, I gave him The Insult Dictionary, and he started reading it, which is better than the detergent dramas and quiz shows, etc., he’s been watching on TV.
I urn also sending a letter from Lady Gollancz. Robert read this letter, and said firmly, “No bowdlerization.” So will you please tell [her] politely to go to hell? The passage referred to is the one in which the hero feels sorry for the victim rather than the criminal. She wanted to take it out.
EDITOR’S NOTE: By this time, publishers in many countries were putting out Robert’s work, especially his juveniles.
Several British publishers had contracts for books, among them Gollancz. The chief of that firm had been knighted by the crown-Sir Victor Gollancz. When Sir Victor died, his wife took over the firm.
When they were about to publish one of the juveniles (and I am not sure now just which one it was), Lady Gollancz asked whether she might omit several sentences dealing with punishment of a character for a crime he had committed. The law on this point is firm, both here and in the UK: no publisher of a reprint edition may make changes in copy once the sale is made, without the written consent of the author.
So Robert refused her request to make the change.
Yesterday, over in Santa Cruz, I ran across a note Robert had made about the new book. Sorry I can’t quote it in full, but he said, “This may be my last novel. I am not going to let some editor cut it when he doesn’t understand it completely.” He’s always said that this story couldn’t be cut because of its complexity…although I thought it should be. It is possible that he’s right. In any case, this is something that will have to be done cautiously rather than trying to fit it into a Procrustean bed. He did do some cutting before the final typing and Xeroxing. I read it and proofed and made changes, where the typist had made mistakes. And the cut version is a lot faster than the first one was!
March 7, 1970: Virginia Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
I know that [Robert] has definite ideas about what he wants in the new book contract, bul*he just says, “You and Lurton handle it,” so we’ll have to stall a while longer.
March 31, 1970: Virginia Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
Robert is pleased with the serial sale [of / Will Fear No Evil to If]. He had every intention of having serial publication on it, if possible.
The doctors are very pleased with Bob’s progress, but he still spends most of the time in bed, and is really not up to doing any work at all. Besides, sometimes his mind isn’t as sharp as it usually is, and we hope that by the time this copy-editing is completed, he’ll be up to looking at it…And having had the close brush with eternity he recently had, he’s going to make some changes in his way of living. Just what those changes will be remains to be seen. It will probably include such things as no speeches (he finds them quite disturbing), no interviews, etc.
April 8, 1970: Lurton Blassingame to Virginia Heinlein
Rush me Xerox of your power of attorney. We need to attach it to the new Putnam contract.
November 20, 1970: Virginia Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
The reviewers seem to be complaining about the lack of explicit sex in / Will Fear No Evil. One said, “The Victorian Mr. Heinlein — ” Does any book ever please reviewers?
January 14, 1971: Virginia Heinlein to Lurton Blassingame
Thank you very much for the article from the New York Times. I will salaam to the Boss every morning from now on. How does one person get to be the hero of the New Right, Women’s lib, and the hippie culture all in the same breath? We must all be schizophrenic!