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Club and the Reader's Digest Condensed Club and then selling it to the movies and watching overnight some unknown become a big star. Then, of course, they leave for Hollywood and you never see them again! But while it's going on, it's mighty thrilling.

The Snake Pit is the story of an intelligent girl of medium circumstances, like you and myself...

Me, not you.

...whose mind suddenly snaps and has to be committed. This is what happened to the author of this book. The book was obviously autobiographical.

I called this young author up--Mary Jane Ward in Evanston. She turned out to be an absolutely lovely young woman.

She lived in Evanston?

She lived in Evanston. I told her that we wanted to do her book. I told her very gently because I was worried about her and asked her to come to New York. We'd pay her trip to New York. Her husband worked for Sears, Roebuck, and she was doing something on the side--teaching or something or other.

She came to New York and admitted that this was more or less her own story. Then I spent about an hour and a half