To Mimi Sutton [Letter 184]

Mimi Sutton was AR’s niece, a daughter of Frank O’Connor’s sister, Agnes Papurt.

10,000 Tampa Avenue
Chatsworth, California

December 2, 1945

Dear Mimi:

Thanks for your letter. I’m answering hurriedly, but not too late as usual. We had a nice trip back—though the Superchief did shake unmercifully. The weekend at Frank Lloyd Wright’s house was extremely interesting—it would take an article to describe it—but Taliesin looks magnificent—I am more crazy about his architecture than ever—and he promised to design a house for us, even without our having bought the land; he’ll design it in advance, for the future—and that made me very happy. We found our home here in perfect order and have just about settled back to rest after our vacation in New York. Frank feels and looks wonderful—and is delighted to be back with his chickens.

I hope you will be happy in whichever of the two jobs David decides to take. I wish him a great success and lots of happiness to both of you.

I’m glad that Doc [Mimi’s sister Marna, a.k.a. “Docky”] approved of our plans for her—I hope she’ll work very hard—and don’t let her marry the first boy she sees—I strongly suspect that she’s much better than that and she should not end up as a housewife before she’s even started to live. Let me know when you’re settled and all the details.

I presume the poetry which you said was “by my dear little sister” is by Connie [Mimi’s other sister]. We howled, reading it. It’s really not bad at all, you know, in fact some of it is quite good—but it was very funny to see her writing about “Time changes us all until only a fragment of the old is left”—at her great old age.[*]

Tell the family to look for the illustrated condensation of “The Fountainhead” in the Hearst papers beginning December 24th. I think they’ll get a kick out of it—because the artist has done a wonderful job of making Roark look like Frank. I’ve seen the advance proofs—and everybody here gasps, seeing them, without any warning from us: “Why, it’s Frank!” Don’t tell them about it—let’s see if they discover the resemblance themselves, I think it might be a funny surprise, particularly for Connie, if she’s movie-struck and such.

Love to both of you from both of us,

Your Auntie,

*Connie was 14 years old at the time.