The uncommon reader : a life of Edward Garnett, mentor and editor of literary genius / Helen Smith.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Smith, Helen, 1965- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Garnett, Edward, 1868-1937.

Garnett, Edward.

Book editors--Great Britain--Biography.

Book editors.

Critics--Great Britain--Biography.

Critics.

Authors.

Great Britain.

Authors--Great Britain--Biography.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

440 pages, 8 unnumbered pages of plates : portraits, illustrations ; 24 cm

Edition:

First American edition.

Place of Publication:

New York : Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2017.

Summary:

During the course of a career spanning half a century, Edward Garnett-editor, critic, and reader for hire-would become one of the most influential men in twentieth-century English literature. Known for his incisive criticism and unwavering conviction in matters of taste, Garnett was responsible for identifying and nurturing the talents of a generation of the greatest writers in the English language, from Joseph Conrad to John Galsworthy, Henry Green to Edward Thomas, T. E. Lawrence to D. H. Lawrence. In An Uncommon Reader, Helen Smith brings to life Garnett's intimate and at times stormy relationships with those writers. ("I have always suffered a little from a sense of injustice at your hands," Galsworthy complained in a letter.) All turned to Garnett for advice and guidance at critical moments in their careers, and their letters and diaries-in which Garnett often features as a feared but deeply admired protagonist-tell us not only about their creative processes, but also about their hopes and fears.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Local Notes:

Athenaeum copy: Sargent fund bookplate.

ISBN:

9780374281120

0374281122