March 1, 1937.

My dear Denis: –

I agree with you whole heartedly about agents. Nothing that happened to me was done by any agent, I dealt personally with Farrar & Rinehart for “Blind Man’s Buff” without an agent and do not intend to give the contract to an agent. I contacted McClintic personally and spoke to him about the manuscript. I gave it to him one evening and the next morning he phoned me to say that he would produce it. The contract with McClintic was negotiated through Curtis Brown, Ltd. New York. The contract reached me several days ago, several points, however, seemed to me unacceptable. The enclosed copy of a letter which I wrote Curtis Brown will give you the necessary explanation. To-day I received the following telegram from Monica McCall of Curtis Brown:

“Have reduced McClintic percentage rights foreign countries to thirty percent. Advise you sign contracts writing full Monday explaining other points. Please change and initial clause nine regards. Monica McCall.”

I thereupon in spite of certain objections signed the contracts and sent them to New York.

You will be surprised to hear that after all Curtis Brown is representing my works and not Freedman. Freedman put me off for six weeks, until I got disgusted and decided to take an agent for England and America, who is worthy of my confidence. I chose Curtis Brown and one of my reasons for doing so, was that they also represent you. As far as I am concerned Peacock may have his share of the proceeds of the productions in England, but he did nothing.

On January 29th he wrote me that he had heard that Blind Man’s Buff was a success at the Abbey Theatre. One might have expected that if he did not go on to Dublin himself, he would have taken steps to obtain clippings and would have sent London Managers to Dublin.

I can see only one way out of this dilemma, namely that the authors organize and have their own agencies. Why do we dramatists need these middlemen? Most of them have never read our works and if they have, they have not understood them; if they have understood them, they don’t know what to do with them.

My assignment with MGM is the result of personal contact with one of the leading people, who knew my works.

The only activity on the part of the agent, whom I acquired afterwards quite unnecessarily, was to send a telegram and make a call. For this service he received 10% of my fee and will continue to receive this percentage for the period of five years in the event that the Lola Montez assignment is followed by others in the next five years. It’s sheer nonsense and the fact that we always agree to such procedures, is nothing but a sign of our mental weakness.

Did I write you that during the past fifteen years plays of mine have been given in dozens of theaters, the performances being quite unauthorized by me and that my so-called agents had not the slightest knowledge of this.

Curtis Brown asked me for a declaration with reference to the non-use of the first version of “Blind Goddess”. I believed it to be unnecessary, inasmuch as I had instructed my agents not to offer “Blind Goddess” to the theatres or film companies, the moment you undertook the adaptation. In the last analysis we both are not shopkeepers, who have a partnership and one of whom wishes to cheat the other. But in order to appease the agents, who lose their heads when they don’t see a written agreement, I gave the desired declaration.

Really, my dear Denis, we must see to it that no agency interferes between us.

I think we can both be glad that McClintic has accepted the play. He is undoubtedly one of the best producers in New York. As I hear he intends to produce the play during the month of April. I shall try and go to New York for the first night.

It would be marvellous if you could come also.

I find it ridiculous the way the critics play one of us against the other. We both know that the literal translation of “Blind Goddess” was rather flat and did not express the characteristic language of every character as was the case in German, and we both know why I asked you to adapt this play in particular and to eliminate the secondary story in the “Blind Goddess”.

I should be so grateful to you if you would kindly ask the Abbey Theatre to send me leaflets, programmes and photos of the Abbey production. I should like to have them for my collection.

In your last wire you asked me to confine publishing and stage agreements to America and Canada only. Farrar & Rinehart have only acquired the book rights for America. (As soon as the advance is due, I shall have Farrar & Rinehart send you half.) The English rights have not yet been disposed of, but I am negotiating about them. The situation is the following:

As you have undoubtedly learned John Lane went into bankruptcy and the house is being administered by three publishing houses. That is a most unhealthy condition for the author. According to terms of my contract with Lane I can sever my connections with them if they change ownership. I am trying, through Curtis Brown, London, to procure a new publisher. You know that publishers want you to give them new works as well as the old ones. My new book will not be ready until fall. Therefore I wrote Curtis Brown that the new publisher could, beside my old work, print “Blind Man’s Buff”. I believed myself justified in doing so, since you gave me such permission in London. I hope I have not been in error.

I hope you are content with your new activity for B. B. C.

I shall remain in America for a while, but possibly I shall come to England during the summer and shall make every effort to take a boat which touches in Ireland.

The premiere of “No More Peace” took place at the Experimental Theatre. The Federal Theatre will produce it next.

What are your literary plans?

With kindest regards to you and Mrs. Johnston,

Yours ever,

Ernst Toller.

Just received your letter. Many thanks.

1) The Irish rights belong to Abbey in future also.

2) Be so kind to keep either my share in royalties or send it to Barclay’s Bank, 27 Regent Str. London W. 1 – as you wish.

3) Of course I want to pay my share of the expenses incurred by you. By the way I had about 15 Dollars expenses.

4) Concerning your discussions with Cape about the book-edition, I should be thankful if you leave the whole matter to Curtis Brown, who is trying to find a new publisher for me. Perhaps we will both get the same publisher.