Synopsis
Arthur R. G. Solmssen (1928-2018) was a prominent Philadelphia lawyer whose five novels won favor from critics and readers alike. Originally published in 1975, The Comfort Letter generates drama from the dilemma of a lawyer retained by a hyperkinetic takeover artist rolling up businesses so fast that neither his finances nor his financers can keep up. As is often the case in Solmssen’s novels, there is a lost love uneasily re-encountered, and a perceptive focus on the tensions between Philadelphia’s WASP elite and the talented Jews they embrace, fear and disdain. Solmssen himself knew both groups; a product of the Main Line, Harvard and Penn Law (like his protagonist Ordway Smith), his first language was German and his family came to America in flight from the Nazis. The Comfort Letter, like three other Solmssen novels, is set in the context of the fictional Philadelphia firm of Conyers & Dean, a legal analog of the ad agency at the center of Mad Men. Drinking, smoking and philandering are as common as suits and ties, and all the work is done on paper. It’s a world the erudite author conjures vividly and even movingly thanks to his immersion in it, his great sensitivity, and a rather unexpected gift for handling passion on the page. His modus operandi was to bedevil his mid-century lawyers with agonizing moral choices. Their world has vanished, but the ethical and personal dilemmas endure, just like Arthur Solmssen’s art.
Arthur R. G. Solmssen (1928-2018) was born in New York City to Marguerite and Kurt Solmssen, both members of prominent German banking families. Just two months later, the Solmssens took their new baby home to Germany and remained there until he was eight years old, at which point a reverse migration became urgent. Hitler had risen to power, and Kurt, whose father was at one point chairman of Deutsche Bank, had a Jewish background.
Young Arthur quickly learned English and at Harvard reviewed films for the Crimson. He took time out for Army service at the end of the Second World War, finally graduating in 1950. After law school at the University of Pennsylvania, he joined what was then Saul, Ewing, Remick & Saul, one of the city’s leading law firms.
Despite his demanding career as a securities lawyer, to say nothing of fatherhood, he found time to write novels, book reviews and a history of his colorful and accomplished family. “I don't play golf, tennis or squash,” he told the New York Times in 1982, “and I don't play bridge or mow the lawn.”
Arthur Solmssen’s literary gifts, psychological acuity and erudition were on display in all of his books, but his novelistic skills were at or near their peak in The Comfort Letter. He died in 2018.
“Solmssen knows what he’s talking about and furthermore he can write. His dramatization of the ways of corporations and the practice of corporate law, his portrayal of what goes on behind the scenes… is exceedingly well done, readable, exciting and, in its own way, exotic.” — Publishers Weekly
“A fictional gem…” — The Philadelphia Inquirer
“Can one distill literature from the taut, dry world of corporate finance, or drama from the ethical crises of middle-aged lawyers? The Comfort Letter answers with a tingling yes. Solmssen's book is a sociology of power.” — Louis B. Schwartz, Philadelphia Magazine
“An exciting novel of business intrigue interlaced with the real-life work of real-life lawyers.” —Robert M. Landis, The Philadelphia Bulletin
“An interesting and readable novel that provides the layman with an accurate picture of the workings of big business and corporate law.” — Library Journal
“Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to discuss the imaginative plot, the skillful characterizations, the Philadelphia background, and, of course, the reason why I recommend it with such enthusiasm. But a large part of the enjoyment would be spoiled for you.” — Theodore Vorhees, American Bar Assn. Journal
Solmssen takes his reader through the agony of decision to a dramatic conclusion in a fast moving, clever novel.” — Orvel Sebring, The Business Lawyer
“The Philadelphia Auchincloss… ” — Kirkus
