To John Hall Wheelock
C/o Brown Shipley & Co. 123, Pall Mall, London, S.W.1
Venice. June 9, 1935
It is a great satisfaction to hear that The Last Puritan recommends itself to you. One of my friends—himself rather a puritan—who saw a part of it, thought it ought to be burned; and I am still afraid that some sides of it may give offence in certain quarters. However, you are a better judge of that than I; and in any case, a small scandal, if it arose, might help the book to retain people’s attention. I think this—to retain people’s attention—is more important and more appropriate in the case of my books than either a large immediate sale or unmixed approval. I have never expected everybody to sympathise or to buy. I am satisfied if a few people continue to do both.
As to the form and price of the American edition, my feeling—which it is very kind of you to take into consideration—inclines towards one volume rather than two and to the lowest possible cost. I am very glad you think it possible to offer so long a book for $2.50; and ten percent for my royalty will amply satisfy me. If I am not wrong, you have spontaneously increased my royalty in books that still sell after a good many years, and Constable & Co, in their contract for The Last Puritan have offered me twenty-percent for any sales exceeding 5000. If this book should have any such success—and it is just possible—perhaps it would be fair that you should make a similar concession; but it is not a matter of importance to me personally; I sha’n’t be alive to profit by it, and have no heirs.
From The Letters of George Santayana: Book Five, 1933–1936. Cambridge, MA: The MIT Press, 2003.
Location of manuscript: Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Princeton University Libraries, Princeton NJ.