Letter to Olivia
Olivia Howard Dunbar (1873–1953) is listed in the 1890 Smith College Annual Circular in the First Class and living at 156 Elm St. She was a noted short story author (especially known for her ghost stories) and biographer. She was married to poet and playwright Ridgely Torrence. Her book "A House in Chicago (A biography of Harriet C.B. Moody)" was published in 1947 by the University of Chicago Press.
Dunbar's article "The Decay of Ghost in Fiction" was published alongside Edith's article "In Garden and Orchard" in volume 38 of The Dial (1 June 1905).
Sacramento, Calif., April 28, 1948
My dear Olivia,--
I had just finished your new book, “A House in Chicago,” and I was thinking of you as I saw you my senior (and only happy) year at Smith, and so dreamed about you, as of now, visiting me here in California. So I was moved to write and tell you how much I enjoyed your book. The only thing I can find to criticize is that, since it is so evidently a labor of love, why did you so rigidly keep yourself out of it?
I left Chicago for California with my mother in 1906. Before that I was for many years in the reference and publishing departments of A.C. McClurg & Co, where I heard about many of your authors, and occasionally saw one; and of course heard about Mrs. Brainard. In spite of all her troubles hers must have been a fascinating life. You have made it seem so, at any rate. And I hope your book will be increasingly successful as more and more people learn about it.
Sincerely yours,
Edith Granger Hawkes
The image of this letter is reprinted with permission of the Ridgeley Torrence Papers, Manuscript Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Library.
