The Man Behind the Book

Literary Profiles

Fiction & Literature
Cover of the book The Man Behind the Book by Louis Auchincloss, HMH Books
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Louis Auchincloss ISBN: 9780547971162
Publisher: HMH Books Publication: December 2, 1996
Imprint: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Language: English
Author: Louis Auchincloss
ISBN: 9780547971162
Publisher: HMH Books
Publication: December 2, 1996
Imprint: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Language: English

For Louis Auchincloss, life and letters are not two things but one. It therefore comes as no surprise that when he writes about writers, their lives are considered as closely as 'their works. He takes what today is a refreshingly unpopular position: that the artist and his art carinot be teased apart, that biography fe criticism and criticism biography. For Mr. Auchincloss, it all boils down to that maxim of Buffon's: "the style's the man," the man behind the book.

The twenty-three writers discussed here are a mixed lot — English, American, and French; novelists, poets, and playwrights; Jacobeans, Victorians, and moderns — yet each has meant a great deal to Mr. Auchincloss as a reader and a writer. Some of them are classics, and familiar Auchincloss subjects: Sarah Orne Jewett, Henry James, Ivy Compton-Burnett. Others, among them Prosper Merimee, Harold Frederic, and Amy Lowell, were famous once but are now obscure. In their cases it is Mr. Auchincloss's self-described task "to explore the reasons for their fall from grace," reasons that prove to be unfailingly personal as well as artistic. But as Mr. Auchincloss would rather praise and share than damn and dismiss, it is also his task "to seek the portions of their work that may still merit attention."

Alfred Kazin once noted that Mr. Auchincloss's essays are marked by "perfect literary grace and wit." These qualities have never been so evident as in this volume, an informal study of some of the author's favorite books and the fascinating artists behind them.

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

For Louis Auchincloss, life and letters are not two things but one. It therefore comes as no surprise that when he writes about writers, their lives are considered as closely as 'their works. He takes what today is a refreshingly unpopular position: that the artist and his art carinot be teased apart, that biography fe criticism and criticism biography. For Mr. Auchincloss, it all boils down to that maxim of Buffon's: "the style's the man," the man behind the book.

The twenty-three writers discussed here are a mixed lot — English, American, and French; novelists, poets, and playwrights; Jacobeans, Victorians, and moderns — yet each has meant a great deal to Mr. Auchincloss as a reader and a writer. Some of them are classics, and familiar Auchincloss subjects: Sarah Orne Jewett, Henry James, Ivy Compton-Burnett. Others, among them Prosper Merimee, Harold Frederic, and Amy Lowell, were famous once but are now obscure. In their cases it is Mr. Auchincloss's self-described task "to explore the reasons for their fall from grace," reasons that prove to be unfailingly personal as well as artistic. But as Mr. Auchincloss would rather praise and share than damn and dismiss, it is also his task "to seek the portions of their work that may still merit attention."

Alfred Kazin once noted that Mr. Auchincloss's essays are marked by "perfect literary grace and wit." These qualities have never been so evident as in this volume, an informal study of some of the author's favorite books and the fascinating artists behind them.

More books from HMH Books

Cover of the book The Vanishing Point by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book Cat Goes Fiddle-i-Fee by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book A Wolf Called Romeo by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book Curious George Discovers Plants by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book Betty Crocker 20 Best Frozen Pops Recipes by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book Follow That Car by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book Read for Your Life #18 by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book The Year of the Fortune Cookie by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book Splash and Bubbles: Penguins! by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book Swoon at Your Own Risk by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book Orbiting Jupiter by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book Better Homes and Gardens Baking by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book CliffsNotes on Lawrence & Lee's Inherit the Wind by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book The Frog Book by Louis Auchincloss
Cover of the book A Secret Sisterhood by Louis Auchincloss
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy