No City for Dreaming: A Memoir on the Murder of Marilyn Monroe [The Long Time Ago: A Missing Journal of L.A. Detective Pat McIntosh; No City for Dreaming: The Unpublished Journal of Pat McIntosh; The Most of Everything: The Missing Journal of Philip Marlowe]

N.p. N.p., 1978. Archive of three typescript drafts relating to author Don O'Melveny's novel, "No City for Dreaming: A Memoir on the Murder of Marilyn Monroe." Each draft is accompanied by an autograph letter signed explaining the premise of its manuscript. Though the drafts date between 1978-1979, the novel was not published until 2002.

From the archive of publishing agent Paul Kohner.

The archive reveals that O'Melveny's concept of the novel began as a 1970s revival Raymond Chandler's character Philip Marlowe, by way of a story involving a fictitious, "rediscovered" manuscript, and a related murder mystery.

As the story evolves through the three drafts, Marlowe is reimagined as "Pat McIntosh," and in the third draft the focus of the mystery comes to involve the death of Marilyn Monroe. Other evolutions include the detective's name changing from Marlowe to Pat McIntosh. Ultimately the detective would be named Lou Beach in the 2002 version of the book, and the story has expanded to involve not only Marilyn Monroe, but the President of the United States and the Cuban Missile Crisis.

Each draft in its original mailing envelope, accompanied by an introductory letter by O'Melveny (two autograph letters signed, one typed letter signed), and the three typescript drafts are 33 pages, 44 pages, and 44 pages, respectively; the last two drafts ending with an outline that is 3 pages and 4 pages, respectively. All material Very Good or better.

[Book #129280]