BR TO W.W. NORTON & COMPANY, INC. / WARDER NORTON, 30 JAN. 1930
BRACERS 46986. TLS. Norton papers, Columbia U.
Proofread by A. Duncan

<letterhead>
Beacon Hill School
Harting,
Petersfleld,1
30th Jan. 1930

Dear Norton,

Liveright is rapidly turning me into an anti-Semite. On the last day that I was in America when, as you may imagine, I had not much time to spare, it was arranged that I should sign a contract with him of which all the terms had been previously agreed in conversation; when, however, the contract was presented to me for signature, it differed in some material respects from that which had been agreed upon.

It had been agreed that I should receive £500 on signing the contract, but in the documents submitted to me the date was altered to January 2nd, and I have in fact not yet received the money. I did not think this worth arguing.a

I had made it quite clear to Liveright in previous correspondence that I was not prepared to contract to give him any future book; nevertheless a clause to this effect appeared in the contract submitted to me. I protested and said that I was not prepared to give him any further books. He said that he quite accepted my assurance on this point, but that he felt it would encourage his staff it they thought there was hope of a future book. Finally I agreed to sign the document on the clear understanding that this clause was merely a matter of form and was not to be regarded as in any way binding. If the time had been longer, I would have argued further, but as it was I supposed this sufficient.

Whatever Liveright may say, you may take it as quite certain that I have no intention of doing another book for him after the one to which I had already agreed.

I am sorry there has been this trouble.

Yours sincerely,
Bertrand Russell

• 1

  [document] Proofread against a microfilm printout of the original.

Textual Notes

• a

  I did not think this worth arguing. inserted