William Faulkner Writes His Mother on His Family, Fox Hunting, and His Horse, ""Powerhouse"": A rare ALS: ""I go fox hunting every other day, every day when some friend can spare a horse, since a hunter has to have one day of rest between hunts.""

It is dated 1959; we have found no later letter of Faulkner having reached the market

William Faulkner is among the greatest American writers of the 20th century, and a Nobel Prize winner. Perhaps his most well known work is ""The Sound and the Fury"".

By the time he was a teenager, Faulkner was an accomplished hunter and was already displaying some of the characteristics that would mark him as a hunter for the rest of his life. He was also an avid lover of horses.

The “big woods,” as he called them, offered Faulkner an escape from the pressures of his art, a turbid personal life and, at least late in his life, fame. But the hunt and the wilderness were more than just an escape for Faulkner; they were also an inspiration for some of his greatest literary works.

In late October, Faulkner and his wife Estelle settled into their recently purchased Georgian brick house on Rugby Road in Charlottesville, VA, where they stayed till New Years. He would hunt, enjoy his time outdoors, write, and take care of his horse. In his biography of Faulkner, Joseph Blotter wrote of Faulkner, ""Outdoors in the golden fall weather he was consistently working with Powerhouse, a tremendous big strong hunter...""

On November 13, ""The Mansion"", the last of a trilogy on the unscrupulous Snopes family, was published.

In this letter, Faulkner announces his arrival in Virginia to his mother, discusses fox hunting with his horse Powerhouse, and refers to ""all three,"" meaning himself, Estelle and his only daughter, Jill. John likely refers to Johnny, his brother. Tiger Lily is almost certainly another pet.

Autograph letter signed, ""Billy,"" November 30, 1959, from Virginia, to his mother, Maud, in Oxford, MS, the envelope still present written in his hand.

""Here we all three are, 5 counting 'Power House' and 'Tiger Lily.' Dear, we expect you and Jon to come on up here when you go to N. Carolina. All well here. Weather not too cold yet. I go fox hunting every other day, every day when some friend can spare a horse, since a hunter has to have one day of rest between hunts.""

ALSs of Faulkner are not common. We found only a handful stretching back decades.