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FROM NOVELIST TO PHILOSOPHER, 1944–1957
Like Paterson and Rand, Lane took a hard line on compromise of any
type. As one friend remembered, “Rose used to go and talk about dead
rats, that you’d bake a gorgeous, succulent cherry pie and cut into it and
there in the middle of it would be a dead rat. She thought that Robert Taft
supporting federal aid to education was such a dead rat.” 52 Accordingly,
Lane was sympathetic to Rand’s anger. She told Rand that the problem
with Read was simple: “He simply does not possess a mind that grasps
abstract principle; he has no constant standard of measurement.” Lane
listed his many intellectual defi ciencies but defended him against any
challenge of malice. Read had also ignored advice that both she and
Isabel Paterson had offered, she told Rand, although it was certainly
“valid ground for the most extreme indignation” that he had reneged on
their ghost agreement. 53 Grateful for her understanding, Rand sent Lane
a copy of the censorious letter she had mailed to Mullendore.
In contrast to Paterson and Rand, who thrived on face-to-face contact,
Lane was a homebody who exerted her infl uence through a network
of well-placed correspondents. She was a guru fi gure to Jasper
Crane, a wealthy DuPont executive who funded many libertarian causes,
and exchanged dense philosophical letters with Frank Meyer, later an
infl uential National Review editor. For many years Lane was employed
by the Volker Fund to assess the ideological fi tness of potential applicants.
After the death of Albert Jay Nock she assumed the editorship of
the National Economic Council’s Review of Books, a slim publication
sent mostly to corporate subscribers. Within the world of libertarianism
Lane was a force to be reckoned with. In fact she played the kind of role
Rand coveted: tablet keeper and advisor, sought after for her judgment
and council.
Rand was keenly aware that Lane’s book reviews could affect her reputation.
In late 1945 she initiated their correspondence, writing to thank
Lane for a favorable mention of The Fountainhead in the NEC Review
of Books. Rand’s fi rst letter was polite and even fl attering. She acknowledged
Lane as an intellectual equal, telling her, “[I]t is such a rare treat to
read intelligent book reviewing for a change.” The next year Rand sent
Lane her “Textbook of Americanism” and in a letter responded favorably
to some of the corrections Lane suggested. 54
As she had with Paterson, Rand tested out her developing theories on
Lane, particularly her defi nition of rights. Lane was interested in Rand’s
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