In 1955, a woman named Betty Hester wrote a letter to Flannery O’Connor, beginning what would become a nine-year friendship. Hester, a reclusive woman, requested that her name be omitted from Sally Fitzgerald’s 1979 collection of O’Connor’s letters, and appears in the book only as “A.” Here, five years into their correspondence, O’Connor writes to her friend to discuss the work—and personalities—of Cecil Dawkins, Elizabeth Fenwick, William Golding, and Elizabeth Bishop.
To Betty Hester,
I agree with everything you say about Cecil’s story [“The Quiet Enemy”] and I will tell her she has a fan. It would mean a lot to her if you would just drop her a note yourself, because she apparently can’t write right now and it might give her a lift or something.
[A mutual acquaintance] finally got around to her duty, which I enclose for your edification. I will admit it is very hard to thank an author for his book when you didn’t like it. Doubtless the Devil has a whole roomful of penmen in hell practicing such letters. Henry James was very good at it. You either do like Cecil, or you do it with art, or you fall in and start struggling like [the acquaintance].
I also enclose another… I would hesitate to show this to anyone but you, but I think it puts him in a better light than our conversation about him did. I requested the Devil’s side, so that will be forthcoming too. I can imagine it. This is a fine man and one in need of your prayers.
Elizabeth is Elizabeth Fenwick…She writes novels, writes one to suit herself and then one mystery novel to make money, then one to suit herself, etc. She lives by a kind of rhythm, has nothing to say but is full of lovely feelings, giggles, is a big soft blond girl and real nice to be around except that she bats her eyelashes. She has lupus like me. Or at least several doctors tell her she has it and several have told her she hasn’t. I believe she has. I met her at Yaddo and lived next door to her in New York. Her reactions to my books are always peculiar. For instance, she didn’t like Enoch at all. Didn’t understand why he was even in the book. And in this one she doesn’t understand the voice…She is a kind of complement to me, and we get on famously. I’ll send you one of her mysteries and one of the ones she writes to suit herself if you would like to see them.
Did you read the article about Golding in the last Commonweal? If not, do. The last time Ashley was here he brought me the Lord of the Flies. Good old Ashley is a fan of people like Golding usually ten years before anyone else knows they exist, so for so long, he has been talking about Golding. I haven’t finished LOTF but so far, it reminds me of you…
The only picture I have seen of E. Bishop is one Cal had one time. A very pretty mature brunette sitting on an open porch in a rocking chair. Last year he wrote me she had sent him one of herself standing next to a naked Indian woman and the caption said, “One of the rare photographs of the poet, Miss Bishop.”
FURTHER READING
For more on Flannery O’Connor’s relationship with Betty Hester, click here.
For more on the correspondence of Flannery O’Connor, click here.