EDMUND WILSON, THE MAN IN LETTERS. Edited and Introduced by David Castronovo and Janet Groth.

by Edmund Wilson

Among the major writers of the Hemingway and Fitzgerald generation, Edmund Wilson defied categorization literary essays, stories and novels, cultural criticism, contemporary chronicles, as well as journals and thousands of letters about the literary life and his own intimate world. Here for the first time in print is Wilson's personal correspondence to his parents, lovers and wives, children, literary comrades, and friends from the different corners of his life. Various writers and thinkers - including Alfred Kazin. Vladamir Nabokov, and Isaiah Berlin - take their place with upstate New York neighbors in this gallery of letters that extends from the teens to the early 1970s. These letters complete the picture of Wilson the man, offering unguarded moments and flinty opinions that enrich an understanding of a complex and troubled personality. Four times married and many times in love, travelling through Depression America, the USSR, postwar Europe, the Mideast, and Haiti, writing on a Balzacian scale, Wilson as a correspondent reveals the exhiliration and chaos of being himself. Arranged by correspondent and moving through the phases of his career, Edmund Wilson, The Man in Letters constitutes an exemplary autobiography cum cultural history. The writing itself is vintage Wilson - a blending of classical and conversational styles that stands as part of the modern American canon and is filled with the emotions and tastes of a master.

Hardcover

First published January 31, 2002

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database. See also physicist Edmund Wilson.

Edmund Wilson Jr. was a towering figure in 20th-century American literary criticism, known for his expansive intellect, stylistic clarity, and commitment to serious literary and political engagement. Over a prolific career, Wilson wrote for Vanity Fair, The New Republic, The New Yorker, and The New York Review of Books, shaping the critical conversation on literature, politics, and culture. His major critical works—such as Axel's Castle and Patriotic Gore—combined literary analysis with historical insight, and he ventured boldly into subjects typically reserved for academic specialists, including the Dead Sea Scrolls, Native American cultures, and the American Civil War.
Wilson was also the author of fiction, memoirs, and plays, though his influence rested most strongly on his literary essays and political writing. He was instrumental in promoting the reputations of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, William Faulkner, Vladimir Nabokov, and many others. Despite his friendships with several of these authors, his criticism could be unflinching, even scathing—as seen in his public dismissal of H. P. Lovecraft and J. R. R. Tolkien. His combative literary style often drew attention, and his exacting standards for writing, along with his distaste for popular or commercial literature, placed him in a tradition of high-minded literary seriousness.
Beyond the realm of letters, Wilson was politically active, aligning himself at times with socialist ideals and vocally opposing Cold War policies and the Vietnam War. His principled refusal to pay income tax in protest of U.S. militarization led to a legal battle and a widely read protest book.
Wilson was married four times and had several significant personal and intellectual relationships, including with Fitzgerald and Nabokov. He also advocated for the preservation and celebration of American literary heritage, a vision realized in the creation of the Library of America after his death. For his contributions to American letters, Wilson received multiple honors, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom. His legacy endures through his extensive body of work, which remains a touchstone for literary scholars and general readers alike.

Reviews

[Gerald · Rating 3 out of 5]

book is poorly organized. The editors should have just got out of the way and kept the letters as they were with out trying to over-organize.

[Charlotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed these letters more than The Twenties (edited excerpts from Wilson's working papers and diaries). The generous and funny personality of this razor sharp man comes through strongly in his friendly and intimate letters to friends, family, enemies (only a few), and business associates.

There were (thankfully) minor notes explaining context for the letters, which the other book did not include, much to its detriment. There were also quite a few typos, and I do not think, in most cases, that they were Wilson's. So only 4 stars...