To the Life of the Silver Harbor: Edmund Wilson and Mary McCarthy on Cape Cod

by Reuel K. Wilson

The son of a legendary literary couple brings forward new biographical revelations as well as texts that have never been published, and chronicles his parents' lives on Cape Cod together and apart, in an intimate family portrait.

200 pages, Hardcover

First published October 13, 2008

Reviews

[Jessica · Rating 4 out of 5]

Reuel Wilson focuses more on his relationship with and feelings about his father (Edmund Wilson) than his mother (Mary McCarthy), which is disappointing to me, but he still manages to include things about her that I had not known about from reading her books and biographies. The best quality of this book is the rather breathless recapitulation of Cape Cod life, especially in the 40s and 50s when Wilson was a child there. He provides gossipy background of local characters and regular visitors to the Cape, laments the passing of its days as a bohemian enclave (nude pond swimming!) and glorifies its abundant natural beauties. He also includes a sharp analysis on how the Cape influenced his parents writing -- especially his father. The biggest criticism is his tendency to repeat himself throughout the book, as if he wrote it in parts, cobbled it together, and then neglected to edit out the repetitions; but that is a minor flaw in his poignant eulogy to not only the memory of his parents, but also the memory of a long-lost Cape.

[Anthony Gargiulo · Rating 3 out of 5]

Somewhat esoteric book surrounding the world of Edmund Wilson and Mary McCarthy as seen through their son, Reuel. I applaud the author in not sugar-coating the individual that EW was - often a raging alcoholic husband around his 4 wives. I read this during a trip to Cape Cod and it gave a good frame of reference for the land and nature of the place. The chapter on EM's Cape Cod related poetry was boring and the book would have been fine without it.

[Raul]

A personal and rather tpuching account of these two individuals in their roles as parents and as members of a community of friends, lovers, and intellectual sparring partners. Ruel not only brings back to life the social setting in which they lived while in Cape Cod, but also pictures the physical environment that surrounded them, with heavy reliance on the words of Ed Wilson himself. Ed Wilson fans also get to see snippets of his writings (letters, bits of unfinished novels and some poetry) that have not been published before. For me the book had added emotional significance because I belong to much the same generation as Reuel and even knew some of the characters -- it was like re-seeing certain episodes of my own youth.