American Classicist : The Life and Loves of Edith Hamilton / Victoria Houseman.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Houseman, Victoria, 1969- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Hamilton, Edith, 1867-1963.

Hamilton, Edith.

Women classicists--United States--Biography.

Women classicists.

Genre:

Biographies.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (529 pages)

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Princeton, New Jersey : Princeton University Press, [2023]

Summary:

A biography of the remarkable woman whose bestselling Mythology has introduced millions of readers to the classical worldEdith Hamilton (1867-1963) didn't publish her first book until she was sixty-two. But over the next three decades, this former headmistress would become the twentieth century's most famous interpreter of the classical world. Today, Hamilton's Mythology (1942) remains the standard version of ancient tales and sells tens of thousands of copies a year. During the Cold War, her influence even extended to politics, as she argued that postwar America could learn from the fate of Athens after its victory in the Persian Wars. In American Classicist, Victoria Houseman tells the fascinating life story of a remarkable classicist whose ideas were shaped by-and aspired to shape-her times.Hamilton studied Latin and Greek from an early age, earned a BA and MA at Bryn Mawr College, and ran a girls' prep school for twenty-six years. After retiring, she turned to writing and began a relationship with the pianist and stockbroker Doris Fielding Reid. The two women were partners for more than forty years, and entertained journalists, diplomats, and politicians in their Washington, D.C., house. Hamilton travelled extensively around the world, formed friendships with Gertrude Stein and Ezra Pound, and was made an honorary citizen of Athens. While Hamilton believed that the ancient Greeks represented the peak of world civilization, Houseman shows that this suffragist, pacifist, and anti-imperialist was far from an apologist for Western triumphalism.An absorbing narrative of an eventful life, American Classicist reveals how Hamilton's Greek and Roman worlds held up a mirror to midcentury America even as she strived to convey a timeless beauty that continues to enthrall readers.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgments

Chronology

Introduction

1. Saxony and Indiana

2. To Be a Classical Scholar

3. Academic Ambitions

4. Among the Philological Gods

5. Miss Garretts School for Girls

6. A Razor to Sharpen a Lead Pencil

7. Suffragist

8. Headmistress and Student

9. The Whole Wonder of the East

10. I Shall Take Up My Greek Again

11. The Greek Way

12. The Roman Way

13. Jerusalem and Troy

14. The Miracle of Greek Mythology

15. Witness to the Truth

16. Attic Nights

17. An Age of External Greatness

18. A Citizen of Athens

19. A Year with Plato

20. Conclusion

Appendix: Friends of Edith Hamilton

Notes

Bibliography

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on publisher supplied metadata and other sources.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

9780691236193

0691236194

OCLC:

1390562252