Typed Letter Signed by MELLEN, Kathleen Dickenson (1895-1969)

The "Grand Dame of Hawaiian Literature" produced such books as "In a Hawaiian Valley" (1947), "The Lonely Warrior: The Life and Times of Kamehameha the Great of Hawaii" (1949), "The Magnificent Matriarch: Kaahumanu Queen of Hawaii" (1952), "The Gods Depart: A Saga of the Hawaiian Kingdom" (1956), "An Island Kingdom Passes: Hawaii Becomes American" (1958) and "Hawaiian Heritage: A Brief Illustrated History" (1963). Nice content TLS, 1p, 7¼" X 10½", Honolulu, HI, 9 March 1954. Addressed to Arnold F. Gates (1914-93, noted Lincoln/Civil War scholar). Near fine. On her imprinted letterhead, Mellen send this book reviewer thanks "for your fine review of my book... You are most kind, and I feel very pleased that you enjoyed it. It -- THE MAGNIFICENT MATRIARCH -- was published in London this month under the title of Hawaiian Majesty...." Gates had been stationed in Hawaii for a time during World War Two, which prompts Mellen to add: "When your letter arrived I thought at first that it was of your regiment that I wrote a war-time poem... but on second reading I see that yours was the 'Old 54th'. My poem was about the 69th. I'll give a verse to see if you get the meaning...." and she quotes a 4-line stanza. Signed boldly in blue ballpoint.