Autograph letter signed ("Mary Heaton Vorse") to Seymour Halpern in response to Halpern's query regarding the key to success in life

New York, 1931. 1 p. on "Hotel Brevoort" letterhead. 8-1/2 x 11 inches. Tears not affecting text or signature, some loss to leaf edges, fair/good. 1 p. on "Hotel Brevoort" letterhead. 8-1/2 x 11 inches. A letter from an author better known for her advocacy of social justice. Reading in part: "To work, opportunity and curiosity about life. Have you read my last book Strike!? Sinclair Lewis reviewed it...."

Author, journalist, and novelist Mary Heaton Vorse (1874-1966) was a prolific writer whose novels include The Breaking in of a Yachtsman's Wife, The Heart's Country, and The Ninth Man. However, she is probably best remembered as an outspoken pacifist and activist whose causes included civil rights, women's suffrage, infant mortality and most notably workers rights and the labor movement. In 1962, she received the first UAW Social Justice Award.

As a high school student, Seymour Halpern (1913-1997), wrote letters to many notables of the day inquiring about their ideas to the keys to success in life. He would later go on to serve as Republican from New York to the 86th, 87th, 88th, 89th, 90th, 91st and 92nd United States Congresses, holding office from January 3, 1959, to January 3, 1973.