Charlotte's Web, 1952-1954 Summary and Analysis

In this productive period of White's life, his correspondence reflects the publication of his second children's book, "Charlotte's Web," his ongoing battle against communist witch-hunters, and his enduring love of the land and his farm in Maine. In a letter to his editor at Harper & Brothers, Ursula Nordstrom, White agrees to an annual limitation of income of $7,500 for tax purposes—a sum that he finds unimaginably large. Later, White finds the earnings of the book far exceed even those expectations. Several letters concern the development of drawings for the book by artist Garth Williams, who did the illustrations for "Stuart Little," White's first children's book. He sends Ms. Nordstrom a field guide to American spiders and points to certain traits of various types that he says characterize Charlotte.

In another letter to his publisher in May...