Janet Malcolm v. Francine Prose

A reader writes: “what is the long game here????” He refers to this letter, in the New York Review of Books, from Janet Malcolm, to Francine Prose, regarding Rebecca West’s views on Charlotte Brontë. (You got that? ARE YOU SURE.) Malcolm criticizes Rebecca West’s views on Brontë, but finishes: “Prose’s condescending words about Nora Ephron’s brilliant elliptical essays are similarly puzzling.”

How did this come to pass? To what end was this written? Was this an impulsive blog comment of a letter? I too would be moved to defend Nora Ephron, but perhaps not to the extent of dashing off a letter. Or was this a tip of an iceberg of some seething hate or feud? Or are they right now at some tea shop laughing uproariously?