Product Details

Library Journal

Maxwell Perkins was an obscure figure to the reading public until A. Scott Berg's Max Perkins: Editor of Genius (LJ 6/1/78) told the story of his heroic efforts in developing the work of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, and other important 20th-century writers. Here Tarr, a Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings scholar, publishes the entire correspondence between the editor and Rawlings, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Yearling. Some 698 letters, notes, and telegrams are annotated and set in chronological order, starting with Perkins's encouraging response to Rawlings's submission to a short story contest in 1930. These wonderful letters reveal the intricate working interplay between an author and editor and the unfolding of a personal friendship between two remarkable people. Additionally, the reader is treated to a first-person account of the workings of the legendary publisher Charles Scribner's Sons and candid gossip about Perkins's other authors. Perkins's immense correspondence has resulted in a number of fine books: Editor to Author: The Letters of Maxwell Perkins (Cherokee Pub., 1991), Dear Scott, Dear Max: The Fitzgerald-Perkins Correspondence (S. & S., 1991), and The Only Thing That Counts: The Ernest Hemingway/ Maxwell Perkins Correspondence 1925-1947 (LJ 10/1/96). This contribution is highly recommended for larger libraries collecting American literature.--Paul A. D'Alessandro, Portland P.L., ME Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.

The New York Times Book Review - Robert Gottlieb

...a remarkable correspondence -- and what one might call a remarkable love story (never an affair) -- between two remarkable people.

Kirkus Reviews

The editor a writer dreams of and the writer an editor yearns for come to life in this exchange of letters. Maxwell Perkins, of course, is the legendary editor of Thomas Wolfe, Ernest Hemingway, and F. Scott Fitzgerald when they were being published by Scribner's. Majorie Kinnan Rawlings, best known for her novel The Yearling, came to Perkins' attention when she submitted a story for a contest being run by Scribner's magazine. The first exchange of letters in 1930 established a pattern that would continue until Perkins died in 1947, for a total of 698 letters, notes, and telegrams, according to editor Tarr (Illinois State Univ.; Poems by Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, 1997). Perkins praises the story (eventually published as "Jacob's Ladder") and then gently offers specific suggestions for revisions, recommending a completely new ending. Rawlings responds with gratitude ("I appreciate your painstaking criticism") and complies with a rewrite. From then on, Perkins in his Manhattan office and Rawlings in her Florida backwater formed a team that would lead to commercial and artistic success, including a Pulitzer Prize. Even as Rawlings' international reputation grew, Perkins coaxed her in new directions, often urging her to rethink plot, character, and organization. She was almost always receptive to his suggestions, even as she grew more confident of her abilities as a writer. Besides literary debate, their letters were full of gossip and news of mutual friends (Hemingway stories abound), as well as mundane discussions of deadlines, page proofs, and remuneration. Perkins would often send her the latest books from the Scribner list, and she would send him crates of oranges along with funnystories and introductions to talented friends (Zora Neale Hurston was one writer she recommended). The evolution of a literary partnership at its best, with Rawlings revealing the anguish, frustration, and fulfillment of a dedicated writer's life and Perkins the empathy and unwavering standards of a remarkable editor. (Facsimiles, 6 b&w photos, most not seen.)

What People Are Saying

A treasure for anyone interested in how Max Perkins earned his reputation as the most gifted editor of all time....It equally reveals the grit and wit of his Pulitzer Prize-winning author.