HANDWRITTEN LETTER BY SARA TEASDALE (signed with her married name Sara Teasdale Filsinger), written while in the Cromwell Hall Sanitarium for a nervous breakdown. Written on Cromwell Hall stationery with the "CROMWELL HALL / Cromwell, Connecticut" letterhead. Sara Teasdale is known to have spent five months confined there in 1907 and to have subsequently returned there at various times for periods of "rest". In 1920 Sara Teasdale's husband was often away on extended business trips, including overseas, leaving her quite lonely. She finally divorced him in 1927. She committed suicide in 1933.

RARE 1920 letter written on Cromwell Hall stationery (indicating Teasdale was there), stating: "I am very much sorry that my absence from the city will prevent my attending" (also an indication that she was "away" at Cromwell Hall). As the American National Biography biography of Sara Teasdale states:

"Teasdale's health suffered a severe setback in 1907 and she was sent to Cromwell Hall, a sanitarium in Connecticut, where the treatment for nervous ailments was to forbid all activity and all social contacts. She remained there for five months, after which she returned to her family home in St. Louis. Despite her irritation with the regime at that time, Teasdale found it a haven to which she returned many times over the next fifteen years."

This letter shows that November, 1920 was one of those times.

The letter was laid into a small booklet published by Macmillan c.1937. It has a brief Teasdale biography, various praise for her works, and a chronological list of her works; basically a memorial tribute. Paper covers, 24 pages, frontispiece photo of Sara Teasdale. It is included with the letter.

CONDITION: The letter is in VERY GOOD condition, a horizontal fold for fitting into an envelope (no envelope present), overall solid, bright, clean and clear. The booklet is in good condition, with foxing (especially to the first few pages), a bit of an overhang from an improperly cut page (printer's error), and light signs of handling.

The following poem was written by Sara Teasdale in 1915. Though written 18 years before her death, many still consider it her suicide note:

I Shall Not Care

WHEN I am dead and over me bright April Shakes out her rain-drenched hair, Tho' you should lean above me broken-hearted, I shall not care.

I shall have peace, as leafy trees are peaceful When rain bends down the bough, And I shall be more silent and cold-hearted Than you are now.