, I ' THB NEW YORK TIMES
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Atlantian Gets Bancroft Prize
,. For Writing Miss Elizabeth Stevenson, Parker Ave., SE, and one oi lanta'• Women o! the Year 1955, was an nounced 1\londay mght at b I Univers1 The 19~ Baacroft Praes, !dent or Columbia, presented a New York, rtven annually ainee 11148 by the awards at a dinner 1n the winner of Columbia University "for dis· Men'a Faculty Club, 400 West 1955 B an c r o ft tlngulshed writings 1n Amer• 117th Street. Thf' awarda Prize. She won tcan history," were awarded carry a stipend ot $2,000 for the a ward for lut Dliht to the author• or each book. The apeaker at he r biography, "Henry Adarna" and to "Last the dinner waa Oscar Ham· "Henry Adams," Full. Meuure: Lineohl the mersteln 2d. August Heck· p u b li shed last Pre~ldent ." acher, chairman of the Council N o v e m ber byl , 1 "Henry Adams" wu writ-· ot the Frienda of the Colum ten by Elizabeth Stevenson bia Libraries, wu master of the Macmillan li!:llraMUI Ste•' r1110n and waa publlshed by the Mac eerel'rn)nies. The council wu Company. -. , . Imillan Company. Mias Steven· sponsot ot the dinner. Columbia University gives two son Is the first woman to win . Miss Stevenson ill a library Bancroft Prizes annually "for dis the Bancroft award. assistant at the Carnegie Ll t inguished writings in American "Last Full Measure: Lincoln brary in Atlanta. Professo h istory." They. carry a stipend I the President," wu written by Current 11 head ot the Hlsto of $2,000 each. The other 1955 tbe late J, G. Randall and and Polltlcal Science Depart F).lll ment of the Woman's Coolleg prize went to "Last Meas Richard N. Current. It was ure," by the late J. G. Randall ' published by Dodd, Mead A: Co. at the University of No and Richard N. Current It was Dr. O~ySGn KirK, the pres· Carolina. published by Dodd, Mead. • • • STEVENSON'S first full· \. length book was "The Crooked Corridor: A Study of Henry J ames." It was publislled ln 1949. Miss Stevenson Is a grada ate of Agnes Scott College. " Henry Adams" was the rtrst comprehensi\e account of Adams' liCe and work that has been written of this most enigmatic American. He was historian, novelist and author ot one of the rreat autobio&nphies. ELIZABB'nl STBVBNSON•. loq-dme Atlanta resident and the &rat woman to will tbe coveted Bancroft Prize (for her 1qraphy of Henry Adams)
"Miss Stevenson's nconstnction of tills tonnated, irritatint, dauntless· little man is an admirable piece of work." -THE ATlANTIC Elabeda Stmuoa aow lanllller ualque taleata to dilatory of pedlaps the IDOit ecaatric, IDOit IOIDIDtic --IDOitlllllected-lauN iDA..-IitllntUre...... allnlted..., .....,.. IOIJa of ...... ,._..., Yilltecl Ill lbl far..... places ... Wllldedq lllbjec:t IMd. to briq JOU tbia cWnitiYe padralt ol: • the loaely, ODMJed aepcnr of OaciaDatra laity bact .... • die -- daniDicler of colorful Creak !MD& iD New Orlelu and Mutiaiq• • tbe restless romantic wbo foancl bawD at last iD Japaa and became that country'a eatbusiutic dis coYCrer for moat of the West- LAFCADIO HEARN llluatrllted .....
...... ,.,. ~ 10 ri"M AVINUI. NIW•. '\'Oitlt ll, N.Y. A Dlw.. lell of TM Ctewiii.COHier 1'111111thlnc ~' '"' PAPER/A.. 7Z~37A
DAft ~/~.f J- Henry Adams Was a Man Who· Looked Idler Than He W tu Intimate tilde within whk:b -·._. s.u..-...... ,.as t: .. ,. ttt.y "'* Nlax T'IUa circle In· ,,_. .... J • h n HaJ Clarence ...... ~ Henry Hobeon Jllt.lcftllrd eoft •;a .Joh'l'l T..a P'arce. -.He ..... tonthe -- •• ._.... I •ae•• pUWiahed two.,...._. 41uietly wo"'-1 ...... ,. W. Wlllwy of the Utdte4 ...... _ file aAd ht. wife were ...... extrwDiiy ~ ~ ...... '-'• ,.._ ...-and she nev• ==~=- hlna r •• al • • 4 lflel' happlne.a. Tn -.. • thit • ...._ ....er ..,.... - · 11M ._ltted 1ulclde. ... t'M ...... , ...... _. waa CT. N. didn't c.re .., atr•••• •• t • :ot'r ~ he ltved or 41e4. He ...... --. ~ to U'lle • lonr tu.e, alone ..... -- ... ~ To an ou...._ tw .eemed St~ h .. Mt •t ~al. JIQII~. auoertle IAI. But fw wu a true fr~nd . .. --... fNt q ...... c-. ~~Adam~ ttv.-1 Jo11c w..n Oaftf'lce Xln~ n~d to ..._.... Wl38 to 1918 to pi'Oo c: • n v a 1 • 1 c t' ln Cuh.i It wu YiM ..,.. '"• t@rlal fOf" her H~nry Who took him thH"e He ~thn~ had plenty of hm~ to ...... A'r .• A a V A a D, Henry ran-y out his t!Wnc1a' requests. • Brooa Adams. •rand110n of to write lt'tters. to .-nter1111n .J•n Q u l n c: y AdarM ....ct f'\lt=Stl a.tdly, ct.heted, wrote for the He and John LaFarge vlsltt'd Harvard M a r a z l n • · made Japan, thf'n Samoa. On Af'"eral frWndahl~ that would Lut a oc:culona. Henry and R L S. JiltttJM. met. They apparentlv d•shkPd .Afteor Harvard, he ~arnad one another on sight Henry c.nn.n bv attendlnc a !(Tam also trawlled to Hammerfut mar ~ool lft Berlin. He re and other outlylmr t>olnts. He turned to Waahln«ton only to could take only a little of cl'-'ili· zatlon. Washlnlrtnn pollt •rs. tlnd hla father wttln~ out for or London u Minister to Bntatn. at a time, then hf''d !'lave to get away from It au. Henry went all'nf as hl.a eec But M always came ba<·k. ~ry. 1118 • I 8 T 0 K V long ... ,, ce In London. Henry'a pl"edOI!<: publlahC!'d. he lt't'med 1!11P. Then, tlon for wrltln~P soon P.ot him while vblltlng. like anr. othn Into troub~ . He ~u ldn' t re· touriat. churchf'!l In Chart rN al.tt •ndln« back artie~ crlt1- and :Wont-Saint ·Micht>l. he h11d dzlnr the British. He Intend· an &n.piratlon Ht> would w rite ed anonymity, hut a Bnston about ttoese churchu ani! ~ ' nt IW'Wifllel"t!r u~ hla bylln<' they had mf'ant to the un f l'd Tht> London ,m.. a took him society of the 11th anrt 12t h to task. HenrY's father was centur1Ps Whf'n the \'II rln .,..... tmbarraa..ed; Kftlry, c:haf!rln· predomJnantly powerful ed An oflleto m a t t' trtf'<'l to He apent tht> next M"VI!'n sum cheer Henry by polntlnv out, mers Ill Fa anoe w •> rk iu~: or has *It'a not ewry boy of 25 who book. When "Mont-Salr•t·Mict-.,.1 can In alx month · residence and C"tu•rn·ea" ap(X'ared, Ita h..-. extort a leader from the first re.dt'n lwlrdly kl"lew 'lio h.at n-.H to make of It· ~Beton? he aot WWKN Henry's father re well Into the! book. the re•der tumed to AIIW'rict, Henrv be was pemaps qulzzJcal; after e.me a Wutlbltrton repOrter ward. aur.ly half 'ltunned and but found lt le6cftnc to a dead shocked tly ~aatlon and Idee.'" end After his a1stft' Louisa's Not oa{y cUd Henry Adanw death ln Italy (h. waa at her ~ntraat hla own century with bedside) hie iunllv penu,.df'd the 11th and 12th, thua galnlnf him to tMch history at Har penJ)«'tlve, but also tnc!udt'd, vard tor food measure a C! ..~!ll.lon He found that 14-arnln~t to o! belard. Saint Franca ot tMdl ~uw ""' fun. Each night AM!al, .ad Saint Thomas Aqu he cerrlect horRe armload~ ot lML books. In onWr to 1<~ 'lhead ot hls C'laiiiH. At thi111 time he WBD thia book was tln· _.. alto f'dltor of th~ "lorth !shed M benn Its S('q~l and Amerinm R.vl..,, anti'*· tie tamoua .. Educa· Soon he m a r r I • d Marian ttoa.• HOOI)er and took a wave from . ~years ln w...a.. Harvard They went to Europe 1naton. filled a cert&bl and Africa. W h • n they re rUeba. John Hay •• tumfd Henry taucht a '"' Seera~ of State, he relied on Yftft lon1er, then dewrted ~ t-ar. a walk with him Harvard to live In Washlnflon. e a e h aftemoon. Ustenln• but For awhl~. the Wuhlnrton not ac~Qina, u he talked over aodal whJrl almost awallowed hla problema. When President I!Mr and Mrs Adami espedally ftooaeovelt wantl'd to see a Marten bUt thf-v had their own diplomat unoffldal4', he asked 1 epor t by Walter Paschall Elizabeth Stevenson
Elizabeth Stevenson, a native Atlantian, locally educated and locally employed, has in her second book "Henry Adams, a Biography", brought forth from the most significant group of critics a national recognition of Southern scholarship. Perhaps the most significant way to present the impact of the favorable publicity she has produced for her city and state is simply to summarize the reviews which have already been published: three full columns in the New York Times Book Review; a two-column review · in the Daily New York Times; three columns in the New York Herald Tribune Book Review; significant space in the Chicago Tribune Magazine of Books, the Cleveland Press, Associated Press Newsfeatures the Boston Sunday Post; and impressive reviews in American Heritage Magazine, Newsweek, Time Magazine and the Library Journal. Among the critics who have recognized Miss Stevenson•s work as a major contribution to American letters are Allan Nevins, Henry • Steele Commager, Louis Gannett, Katherine Thompson and Orville Prescott. Miss Stevenson is strictly an Atlanta product and got her English training at old Girl's High and at Agnes Scott College wherP she wrote for the student newspaper and magazine and graduated Magna Cum Laude with membership in Phi Beta Kappa. In the statement accompanying Miss Stevenson's nomination is
this passage 11 It has been pointed out that Henry Adams would be in line for the Pulitzer Prize for 1955. It would seem that with such national recognition already started, it would be fitting that Miss Stevenson's home town might recognize her as Atlanta's Woman of the Year in Arts". P.S. The Committee is lndeb~ed to Mr. Frank ~owzey, editor of the Coca Cola Bottler, for sending us photostated copies of l~ss Stevenson•s reviews. · THB NEW YORK Tl
Atlantian Gets Bancroft Prize For Writing Miss Elizabeth Stevenson, 502 Parker Ave., SE, and one ot At· lanta'a Women ot the Year for 1955, ~as };Iizabeth Stevenson Richard N. Current nounced mght at Co 'nle 1155 Bancroft PriZes, tdent of Columbia, presented b i a University, New York, as rtven annually since lMI by the awards at a dinner in the \\-inner of the Oolumbla University ..tor dis· Men'a Faculty Club, 400 We1t 1955 B a n c r o l t Ungutllhe4 wrttiDgs 1Jl Amtr· 117th Street. The awarda Prite. She lean hlatory,'' were awarded carry a attpend of $2,000 tor the award Jut. ruJht to the authora of each book. The apeaker at her bi<>~:r "Henry Adama" aad to "Last the dinner waa Oscar Ham· ''llrnry Adams, Full Measure: Lincoln the merstaln 2d. August Heck· p u b ll shed last PreslMnt." acher, chairman ot the Council N o v em ber by t • "Henry Adams" was wrtl· of the Friends of the Colum· ten by Elizabeth Stt'fMJOn bla Libraries. was master or the Macmillan 1m.. ~ stn"""" and wu published by the Mae· ceremonies. The council wa.s Company. mlllan Company. Mt11 Steven• apon.sor of the dinner. Columbia t;nlversity gives two aon Is the first woman to wtn Miss Stevenson is a library Bancroft Pritea annually "for dis· the Bancroft award. assistant at the Came(le Ll· tmguishPd writings in Ameri<'an "Lut 11'\lll Keuure: Lincoln brary in Atlanta. Profeuor h istory." They carry a stipend the Preaident," was written by Current Ia head of the History of $2,000 each. The other 1955 tilt .late J. G. Randall and and Political Science Depart· prize went to "Last Full Mea<>· Rkhard N. Current. It wu JMnt of the Woman's Coller• ure." hy th~ latP J . G. Randall publiahld by Dodd. Mead 1J Co. at tha Uniftnslty of North Dr. G ...yiGJl Kirk. t.be pru· Carolina. and Richard N. Current It was .p ublishtd by ])odd, ~lead . • • • IIISS STEVENSON'S first fllll· leneth book was "The Crooked Corridor: A Study ot Henry James." It Wl\s published In 1949. Miss Stl'venson ls a iradu· ate of A&nes Scott College. "Henry Adams" wa1 the flr.!lt romprchen!>ive account ot Adams' IJCI' and work that has been written of th1s most enigmatic Amerlran. He was histOrian, novelu;t and author of one of the Jreat autob io~:ra phics. THE UST OP' prize-winnlnc Southern writen must now be extended to in ~ * dude the name of Miu Elizabeth Stevenson, a modest Atlanta woman who has written Elizabeth Steve11sou one of the moat distinguished biocraphiea of recent years. Wi1u a Literar~y Awllrd Miu Stevenson has captured the Another honor has come to Miss eoveted Bancroft Prize for 1955 with her Elizabeth Stevenson, Atlanta librarian ••Henry Adams," a work of broad scope and writer and scholar of real note. and penetratln& insi&ht. Columbia University has announced In her book, the authoress has sought she is a winner of one of its two Bancroft to illuminate a figure who haa always been Prizes, awarded annually for outstanding somewhat mysterious for most Americans works .in the field of American history. a thorou&h-going intellectual who made hia Her winner was "Henry Adams," a deep mark as a sort of lone wolf in the 19th cen study of a little-understood figure. tury. Mills Stevenson also is the author ot a study ot Henry James, "The Crooked The writer has already been honored in Corridor." This book was published in her own city by being named one of At 1949 and attracted the attention of Eng~ lanta's Women of the Year tor 1955. lish speaking literates everywhere. National honor has now come, bringing Cel"tainly one ot the most distin well-deserved recognition to Miss Steven guished of Southern writeu, which menns son and deep-felt pleasure to all who re- national distinction in these days ot joice in her auccesa. (u/ ~ Southern literary leader::hip. Miss Ste venson wears her honors lightly. For she ill as mode:.t as she is de~n·ing.
WOMAN GIVEN BANCROFT P R I Z E FOR F I R ST T I M E ~R her biography of Henry Adams, Ellrabeth Eltevenaon 1a the wtnntr o! a 1955 Bancroft Pr!U. the first woman to recelu • this top literary award TWO BANCROFT Prlr:rs of equal rank and carrymg a atl~nd of $2.000 each, are given annually by Columbia Unlverblty •·tor dis· tmguished wrlllnes In American blBtory." HENRY ADAMS was published laat November by The Macmillan Company. The other 185~ winner, LAST FULL MEASURE: LIN COLN THE PRESIDENT, by J. 0. Randall, and Richard N. Current, wu published by Dodd, Mead. HENRY ADAMS haa been wide- ly commended by ertua for Ita freah evaluation ot the mind and peraonaUty of Ita enltmaUc aub- Ject, u well aa for Ita criUcal judi11\enta. Her first book, THE ~ CROOKED CORRIDOR: A STUDY OP HEI'I"RY JAMES, pub- ~ llahed In te•e attracted tmmedl· ' ate attention to the work ot this ~ younr author and acholar. '0 Miss Stevenaon live~ in J.tlanta, '- Ga.. and works In the Atlanta ~ Pubhc Library. Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Libruy-Emory University Archives - This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code) Name: f3ree_ 6-e- l Date: (0 ,. I ~ --z_o I ':1 Collection number: · M ~ 5 't '3 '1· Box: S: Folder: 11 fl+vi e'-'S '' Henry James Item No.: j q (From your list) THE CROOKED CORRIDOR: A. Study of Henry James, SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: By Elizabeth Stevenson, l7Z pp. Ne~~~ York: The Macmillan Cm"· pan;r. $2.15. Reviewed by MILTON RUGOFF AS JAMES himself describes 1\. tt, the crooked corridor was the long way around that he de libera~ly took his readers before he led them into the "Presence" which was the Heart of his story. The ann of lighting the way through this corridor and into the sanctum is hardly a novel one in literary criticism; in fact, the cor ridor has for some years been so crowded with guides that there is a danger we shall soon not be able to see the master'for the disciples. .,., T \lt What is novel about this partic ular exploration is that it tends to ignore those that have preceded it, disdaining all floor plans, keys, clews and .figures in carpets prof fered in the last twenty-odd years ""by Messrs. Brooks, Lewisohn, Blackmur, Matthiessen and others. Working from within the mass of James's work, the author prefers to 'go it alone. Approaching James as though his work ·had only recently been rediscovered; the author eonside:rs his life and then proceeds to his scope, themes, attitudes and means. After a brief but discern ing analysis of his background she flrst sums him up negatively as not a Bohemian, a man of a particular class, or a democrat, and then positively, in h1a own words, as "that queer beast the artts,t," the alchemist who murmured to himself, "Convert, convert." Concerning James's scope Miss Stevenson points out that it Jay in the drama of relationships among the few wflo had the leisure to'de velop such relationships fully; but this is a section of the corridor that is not obscure and about which it becomes increastnely dif ficult to say anything• fre.sh. James's underlying theme she de fines as the colllsion resulting when an individual, generally an uninitiated person, "attacks the citadel of society in order to enter it and complete himself." Pasci nated by this relationship James turned it over and over llke a precicms stone, making it yield new lights and depths with each turn. The chapter of James's attitudes is concerned not so much With his · reactions to the world as with his use of reality, his transmutation of fact into fiction, his fusing of the beautiful and the tragic to achieve the ambiguities of a world in which NOTICE: · ·. This material may be . ev~ry quality partakes of every U.~. other one. Finally, in ~aling with protected. by . eopyrlaht.law (Title 17. Code).. his means and techniques. Miss Stevenson avers that James's so called difficult style is always a disciplined attempt to meet the challenges presented by his mate rial, but she is somewhat less ef fective than others have been in demonstrating the many ways in 1 which his style is a, function· of I his approach. She recognizes in him a weakness for the melo dramatic but makes interesting use of this as part of her proof that he is much more the pure story teller than is commonly reall,zed. Miss Stevenson generally nails her quarry with sure,.ftrm thruats, but here and there she resorts to a· combination of slow stalking, , feints, and frontal assaults that smack, s0 to speak, of critical op. -portunism. As an exercise in cr-iti cism "The Crooked. Corridor" is re freshing and perceptiv~: as a book about Henry Janiea it suffers from its 'self-imposed disregard of what others have said about him. Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library-Emory University Archives- This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code) Name: t3r-ee ~ I Date: (0 ..- I ~ - "2.-0 I '3. Collection number: M S ~ ;g '3 '1- 11 Box: S Folder: fl..t II) ( ~,...;~S ' I Item No.: __1a....5..___ (From your list) ----·------SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: NQTICE: . ·_ Thia material may be . pro_tected bf copyrlaht law (l'itle ~ 7 U.~. Cod~).
AUTIIOR · ! PAPER ~""7· .)~7~ TITLE C"~.t-<. ~..?.thL..'-DATE /Y" Y7 ANew Study of Works of Hen~~J~s
«THE CROOKED CORRIDOR, A Study of HmT'JI James," bit EUsabeth Stevenson. [Macmii Zota, $1.75.] Reviewed by Edward Wagenknecht Tho Henry James' 1lction world is less a " crooked corridor .. -the phrase is his own-than a winding one, Miss Stevenson has published under this title a book which is, I think, the best general ex• 1 tended commen tary upon his work that has yet been made. BlballeUa • ...,_ W h e n o n e thinks of the weird ideas that have been expressed with regard to certain other writers-and the labor lt has taken to get them cor rected-one cannot be sufticlently gratefuf that James, upon his re vival should, with one or two ex ceptions, have had the good for tune to attract such sane critics. As a matter of fact, he always did this. He was such a sane writer himself that it never became pos sible to build a eult around him. This is one reason why he had such hard sledding for so long. Fol! the cult is always the easiest refuge of the writer of limited ap. peal. • • • But if l4iss Stevenson's book is comprehensive, my review cannot be; I must therefore content DJ¥· self by giving but one or two ll• lustrations of her fine quality. Some persons have tried to read a sexual signification into James' Civil war time accident. The acci• dent was to his back, but such a little detail never stops a really advanced critic. On this point Miss Stevenson remarks very sen sibly that "in the stories and novels the tone of his treatment of the sexual relations is normal... Moreover the normal sexual rela• tionship " h~ the place of cen tral and decisive importance in his fiction." " His fiction grows out of the passions. It feeds upon them as a source of vital good," • • People who know• nothing about James generally reproach him for lack of action. Those who have read him with understanding know that he has so much action that he leaves· himself open to the charge of .being a melodra matist. Miss Stevenson is never more perspicacious than in her exami nation of James' melodrama, which manifests itself' in "excessive ln~ terventlon, unusual mystery, CQin cidental or fortuitous circum stance, instrumentation of a 11'081 tb1q. arbitral}' violence." MAt--.TUSCRlPT, ARCHIVES, k\0 RARE BOOK LIBRARI (MARBL) EMORY UNIVERSITY NorJCE: THIS MATERIAL MAY BE BY COPYRIGHT LAW (TITLE 17 U.S. COD_.,_...... ~
f~ 3 I f& ~ t~
I I.. Elizabeth Stevenson is awarded one of rwo 1955 BANCROFT PRIZES by Columbia University
Thu dutinguuhed award u for her magnificent biography HENRY ADAMS A BIOGRAPHY
"Those interested in history. letters, and art will find Miss Stevenson's study not only full in its presentation of biographical fact, but rewarding in its critical judg· ments and psychological insights." $6.00 -Allan Nevins, American Heritase
Other recent Macmillan authors who have been Biven this award include: 1951 1954 Leonard D, White Merlo Pusey J. author of author of The Jaeksonians Charles Evans Hughes A Study in Administrative History 1829·1861 2 volumes S7 .95 ss.oo On sale at all bookstores /!Tiw vlfacmillan ~~ 60 FIFTH AVENUE, NEW YORK 11, N.Y.
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MAGAZINES American Historical Review July American Scholar June Yale Review June f: l)y .tUI'IIlan WOGIIC, • ...... , by Elizabeth Bt.v• · enaon (lilaemtu.n U> , A.lthouch his autoblo&T&phy Sa an . American eluate, Henry Adams us · remained aJmoat a eomplete m:vateey to the pUblic. Illes Stevenson hu · reetttled this eituatton with her ftne, · acholuly, :vet hll'bly readable 8toi'T about tbe historian and novelist 1rboae complex, paradoxical character makes lim one ot the saoat latereat lnctory, ttcurea 1D America's. literary. hJa. ------...
~Henry Adams' Biography Of American Historian Life Story of Member of Diatinruiahed Family Told By Elizabeth Stdve1110n, With Emphasis On Writinrs, Travels and Aaaociationa
he was first of all an Adams, and, like all Adamses, clever, and, like all Adamses, "he mad& (l_ sort of profession of ec <~entricity." This is too brief a characterization; it may l!.UQ'I!'I!!;t\ a elue to Adams' lively ropm manner as a young Har vard professor of history, but hardly to the bewildering course of his thought in his voluminous historical writing. He had a keen mind, a bril· liant and soariiig imagination, a aenius for atsorbing knowledge and an exceptional gift oi ex- ' pression. He had a host of im· · k LibrarY - 'Bmot'Y portant friends; a list of them, would look like a complete ros Manuscript, ArC~ves, ~~may be protcotcd ter of the leading American · ' ArChiVe&- This Code) lights in politics, history, litera UmverSJ.ty . gbt law (Title 11 U.S. ture, science and art of his gen eration. Many of them are pen bycopyD ~· ee fSe.o t : pictured in this book. Name: .. 1q ?,0\"1 . Aliams'. youth was spent larg~ ly in Wlli&tAgton, ~ he was Date: v • M S £ i ~.> '\· ~ secretary to his father, Rep. Charles Francis Adams. Later Collection number. Folder: h fU= vie ~S he accompanied him as secre tary· -when he became minister Box: • ~ \ q _(From your list~ to England at the outbreak of the Civil War. After the war Ad ItemNo.. ' · ams was active in Washington . as a political reform wri~er. He ----IAL-----INSTRUCTIONS:-- traveled aftd studied in France and Germany, ,climbed the! SPEC Rocky Mountains and toured Ja pan and other tar larsds. 1 During hJs whole career he J wrote much, frankly and often J eolorfully, to bis brothers and friends. Here is an extract from a, letter he wrote from London I in 1862 when he was 28 to his brother Charles : "Our great country the Unaed I States is left t.o a career that is positively unlimited . except for the powers of the imagination. And for England there is still greatness and safety if she will draw her colonies around her and turn her hegemony into a confederation of British na tions... j "I firmly . believe that before many centuries more science! will be the master of man. The engines he will have invented will be beyond his strength to eontrol. Some day science may I NQTICE: ·. This material may be . have the existence of mankind In its power, and the human I pro~ected bf copyrlchtlaw (Title 1_7 U.~. Cod~). race commit suicide by blowing up the world. •• 1 lUCHARD S. BR Manuscript, Archives, and Rare Book Library- Emory University Archives - This material may be protected by copyright law (Title 17 U.S. Code) !ManuscriPt.~~. atfl{~
SPECIAL INSTRUCTIONS: NQTICE: . ·_ Thii mate~al may be pro_tected br ctpyrtght law (Title 1_7 u.~. co~~>· ~~~~~~NE~W~Y~O~R~K~ Books.of The Times··rl~ 1 By ORVILLE PR~COTT HlS has been a good year in the world of "Not Honour More," by Joyce Cary, a psy books. More good books were published chological triumph and a gUttering technical T than usual and far more books of all tour de force by one of the most brilHant .of kfndl were sold than -usual. Fiction may still contemporary British novelists. be selling Jess well than nonficUoR, but the "An l!lpts.ode of Sparrows,'' by Rumer God total volume ot business done by publhlbers den, a Wise, gentle and altogether enchantjng and booksellers was much more than laat y~ar's, story about two children In the London slums. which was excellent, and waa the bestslnce'the · "Apes, Angels and Victorians," lly William peak of the war years. The paper·boWld boOk Irvine, i.n elegant and witty double biography bullness has weathered· its overprOduction of Dai:win and Huxley. C\'lsls and has won an astonishing auccesa with "Sir Walter Scott,'' ~r, ¥es!_teth P~ a half•dozen different series of superior and. an ente~ act-wrtty biographt 'Of-a JJ,t- often scholarly books. er~g'enius who was also a good man. This wq the year the Nobel Prize went to "Henry Adams," by Elizabeth Stevenson, a relatively unknown Icelandic author, .Baldo~; an admirable biography of one of th~ most Laxness. And it was the year in which three intellectually pl'Civocative of American writers. of the most eminent of modem writers died- "Inside Africa," by John Gunther, superb Thomas Mann, Bernard DeVoto and Robert €~al journalism. fC, Sherwoo(l. Probably the most controversial · ••'tft. ~pans~qn oL .Jiab:IIMthan England," book of the year, at least .among parent:i and by A. L. Rowse, lhe second volume c.! a mod teachers, was ''Why Johnny Can't ;Rel4," by e~ masterfl.ece of historicar writing. =:1~~~:~rh'~!hf:':f~~nt~:si:::.~e~~: S«Une Other Good Novels beautifully expressed the frustrations of hordes Among the other good novels of the year ot women. . were: ''The Man in the Gray Flannel Suft," Next in popularity' was Norm11-n VinCI!nt by Sloan Wilson; "Cash McCall," by Cameron Peale's ''The Power of Positive Thinking," Hawley; "'Waterfront," by Budd Schulberg; Which was first published in 191i2 arid h&li :ft()w "Band of Angels," by Robert Penn Warren; · aold more than 2,000.000 copies in bookshops "The Stefmother," by R, C. Hutchinson; "Re· &Dd through book-club distributions. Other tum to tile Wood," by James L. Hodson; "The prosperous best sellers were: "How to Live 361i Siege," b1 Jay Williams, and "My Life for 'My Days a Year," by Dr. John A. Schindler; Sheep," ~.Alfred Duggan. ''Inside Africa," by John Gunther; "Year of This-ytar there were many more good biog Deoisions," by Harry S. Truman, and ''Secret raphles than last year. Some of them were: of Happiness," by Billy Graham. "Jeffe~n: Davis,'' by Hudson Strode; "Young Favorites in Fiction Sam Jahnson," by James L. Clifford; "The D!!sert and the Stars," a biography of T. E. In fiction the Wldisputel. populi.r favorite LawreiJCe, by Flora Armitage; and "Alexandre was ''Marjorie Momlnp(ar," by Merman Duma~(," by Andre Maurois, and "Julius Wouk. Also enormously successful were Caesa:t," by Alfred Duggan, two of the best "Auntie Marne," by Patrick Dennis; "Bonjour in. an excellent new series called Great Lives Tristesse," by Fran~;oise Sagan; "Anderson In Br1ef. _ . vUle,'' by MacKinlay Kantor; "The Tontine," .M~e good histories were published this ~y Tbom&s B. Costain, and "The Man in the year than I can mention here. Four of the Gray Flannel Suit," by Sloan Wilson. best were: "The King's Peace 1637-1641," by How-to-do-it books continued to multiply. c, V. Wedgewood; "Cortez and Montezuma" like rabbits in Australia. Books about the by ~i.urice Collis; ''A Little Rebellion," by Civil War were more numerous than ever (at Mar1on L. Starkey, and "The Day Lincoln Was least twenty-two biographies and histories and Shot,'' by Jim Bishop. nine novels), a.nd so were books about AfricA. Books on war, p~ace, politics, racial con· (at least thirty ceneral work11 and ten novels). filets and "the cold wa.r'' were as numerous as Of all the books I read in 1955 the two 1 ever. Outstanding were: "France Aga.inst disliked most were "Something, ot l~e_;J~y Herself," by Herbert Luetky; "The African R~ ftuam,""P'tt Hl1ll • D•r. " - Giant," by Stuart Cioete: "The P·ubllc Phi· "fnan Mailer. · ophy," by Walter Lippmann, and "A Demo· Of the books I read (so few of those pub~ · era: Looks at His Party," by Dean Acheson. ll1hed) the ten I remember with most personal ,pleasure and admiration are: · d, as always, there were many fine books tiT ~ oL .Mall..:' ~~l;t'' II 'l"'ilih1 at I did not read or which I read and rell!lc majestic and beautifully written novel abOut tantly omit from thia column because of lack an Inarticulate couple on the· Australian tron-' of space. But I can't conclude this brief salute tier. to the books of 1955 without mentioning three "The Cornerstone," by Zoe Oldenbourg, a exc~lent and engagingly written volumes of vast and stately historical novel about medie llterary criticism: "The Republic of Letteu;," val F:rance. by Louis Kronenberger; "How Not to Write & "Sincerely, Willis Wayde," by John P,. Mar Play," by Walter Kerr, and "The English quand, an expert novel about bic business in Novel," by Walter Allen. the old master's usual sardonic vein,· not one ~ry book mentioned here would make a of Mr. Marquand's best but still VMY rood; fhie Christmas preaent, and so would hundreds indeed. of others I have had to omit. . . ·v and Rare Book LibrarY -Emory Manuscnpt, Arc~ es, This JJ]Iterial may be protected 9.f4iwscript,-ft~ -~ 0oo(Ldw~ University Archives- ,.._..~_) £ilwry '{)nWersjty . . ' . by copyrigbt law (fitlc 17 U.S. \.A1U'> lame: J}!ee f.S e I - •ate: ~ 1 ~ -C.-0 '~ .. ~ 12!\- ~ "ollection number: • M ~ .( :S ,, "' S J'older: '\ fU--111 1,.../ · ~ox: N • '\ 5 (From your list) tem o.. ------;i;";~;"SW~~;-~-· NOTICE:. . ·. This maiet;lal may be . . protected by ~pyrlcht law (Title 1_7 u.~. ' .
Was. Power · That F~scinated HENRY ADAMS. A t::t"J.· 1y deal of impatleace with overly for a tboalbttul cU...._ ol Eliubdh se....-.. I • 425 much~. or with too ".John Ruadolpb," for an aaab' pp. New Yorl: Tire MeCIIIillen C-· Jle&loua a IMI&I'Ch tor minutiae. u of the neglected poem. peny. $6. Thwl Adanul te11a ua that had "Buddha and Braluaa." ... the ly HENRY STHI.E COMMAGER he beea born In the 8)'11&80CU8 '"Prayer to the VlrliD ot auu- 1 ONG before he came to wor and clrcumclllecl by hla UDcle trea" and tor 110111e of the more L llblp the VirBin u a II)'Jilbol the lficb Priest be could not fragmentary contnboatto. to of power, Beary Adams made a have been mon marked thaD he periodical& ApiD and ...... cult of admiratloa. for woman. waa by belDg born an Adams In .... Uhun1natea the aatun of He often admired the wlv• of Qutacy, aud be aeema to want Ad&IU' Wl'ltbl&'. Tbe ''R&D bl8 triende more · tban the us to agree that it ta aot only dolph,'' for exaaaple, takes GD a frleoct. tbemllelvea. It wu a career but a tate to be a dark br1JUance, tor '"RuuJ.olpb a woman. wbo dominated bl8 po Adams what a traumatic ex· f~ bt passion. a.ry .A.dala8 Utlcal DOvel, "Democracy," and pertence the ~Y had. after all. aiiiO . I*SMred pride, bn,.. the lleCODd novel, "Esther" But lllu BteveDIIOD takes him tteace with cluiJaea, deldre to any page of tt wu. .worth more brlakly throulh hla cblldboocl, IMlt--but wldcb. uaJike Baa tban a volume of biB "Biatory," remark1na' that all ill all tt waa dolph. he kept under contr'OL be aald-celltered entirely on a a very plearaat one, aviDg her 'l'be terariCIIl In tbe book Ia a woman who waa palpably bl8 ~ and her apace, for couequence ot the farelnrtiDD wife. Tbere Ia a certain propri the more mature yean. whlcb Adams felt. abDollt u If ety, thea. In the tact that be pviDg ill to Yl.ce--at tile ,.,.. • found biB ftrllt btocr&Pher, SBB give8 more emphula than peet of Jre&t &Uta unued." ~ Ida moat IIJIIlpathetlc. in a 18.customary to Adams' normal 11188 . 8tevearaa eYeD ralla woman. , and enerptlc attempt8 to play bodily Into the nine 'VOIUIIM The problem-the Uterary an important role In Alnerlcan "RIItory," notbbtC' daunted b,v problem-of _Henry Adaaut Ia a poUtlca. Adams waa ·a~waya ltr rbre. lta cnmpla:lty. or ltr twofold one. l:n the ftnt place. fuclna~ by power, aad In hla overtoue. She deala with lt Gil he wrote 110 much about ldiDaelf, youth did not tb1nk It merely erch leftl--a aanattw. .. dra and w.rote 110 well. that the bl rometh1ng to d.crlbe but SCJQle ma, and .. ~. and doer fographer de8palnl of the com thlng to exerelae. She tellll the DOt fall to note that it quaUtiM. Jpeltltloa... Who, after au. can story"'of tbe courtrhlp and mar too. .. autoblaprplly. She has mat.eb the brUuance of the "Dl· riage aDd. the yean ill w...... caqbt wllat Adams Ia drlviDC ucatlclll of lleDl')' Ad&Dul" or the ton quite .tralgbtforwardly; at-lt Ia not wboDy clru, .... wlt and charm of tbe volumbt What she does not unclentalld prQbably .... not to AdaiDa hbuelt-tbe,.... 8tUdy of ou letten' l:n the .ecoDd place Krr. Adama' suicide. tor exam- · power. the study ot the uae t1tat de Adams quite deUberately ple-llbe dot8 not tl'y to ezplaln lllmply knows mocracy makea of ...-,y, the wrapped hlDulelt In layen of but tell8. She that A.dala. wu important DOt 11tuc1y ot «UmDusloameat wlddl ot.curtty. It waa cllar'act8rUt1c only for htm8elt but for the In· had ., many IJDplieatloD8 tor that he publfahed both of hla terata he. reprellalted, aud rbe the ~ family ltaelt. novela aDODymoul.y, that he baa pv• ua a ·ptetu~e-Dot a printed both the ~'Jioa~Batat· full-leagth ODe to be sure. but BJD laat two~ wodalue lllcbel and Claartr." aud '"Tile 1Derely tni~ the Jonce a cballeap and a .U.. Blducatlon of Beary Adame" .rted Adams clrcle. tractloD to the ltlopapbe'.... privately. Adami! often thouaht 11188 ~vearon ...... _ that one Ia part of an autoiiiD8nPh that hlatory wu a COIIIDlc joke, tuclnatbqr .. Adame wu, hla lcal wllole, but oaly ~ aud as he wanted to aiaare tn ultimate alp1ftcance u. not 110 ly; tt Ia euy to .. the .,...._. tbe work of the CGmlOII be 80IDeo much ill what he war aa ill wllat iriD ill the .tully 4 Cllutrela times helped alolig the joke. he wrote. She .therefore ~ aad .A.belal'd. but dlftlault - to . take the to be awed Into a the meJor part of her book to "lldncrtloa,. tW n .. easy what Ia ,...... to be-a Ntell reverential attitude or repelled ...... JIIIDI what he wrote. '1'llelle aaalyrer do aot pretend to be lne of. life...... _ Ia Into an exasperated one by all happier with tile ...... , llooll; tbia; 11188 8teveuoD has DOt ~ they are clear, - hall not had ..... ,... that yielded to eitller temptatioa. l:n· renadble aDd retlective, and they careful dl..tloa ot tile ...... _ embrace larp body wrl~ deed. ahe benelt rewal8 a pod a ot e.tta.i1 tbat .. called fall-..e.Dd -· Not only hu 11188 Stev- that ... aot yet ...... Prof..-w of BWOf'JI Cit Oo ron COIIllllenta oa obvtou tlablp .., ...... Wllat Ia .... ,._,.1 .,.. eo.....,. ... Ulre '"'l'ltem.terJ'• .... tile t.wla poJ'tUt Ia that ...... -· GMtAor o/"2'._ 41...... •w-• ''v.t-llabat-lllcMl" ...... ,.. a ana ...... - the -tiiiJ fiiiiOIIg ..... took llducatloa"; ...... toalul .... eiMtA»U..IIGob--tlle~ .-lt..._.~l4... oMDIIt411 Ia ...... tbe cllltnlctiDI' ...... plldty wldela olltaiM Ia ...... uaa... ~ Ia tile ..... of Hairy AdaiDa. w11o wu a ~ IIPOOI" -. w111cb to wind tile .... of JaWe17. ADd .... ~too...... of Adula' tuclaatloD wiUa Jill'• er. '?ower leaped troaa ...., &tam. and ...... ot It to ..... ply tile ...... -"-...... itllelt ~to .... at~ PGN oi matter. Kua could aot lollpr llold lt oiL.. ... ,.... ~ of fane, aot ol....., 01' NaMD Uld IIOt leut of them a.ry Aduu ...... It wu for W. NUOD t11at • tumecl. in Jda old ... to the symbol of force that ...... t to have heart, aot Jut ...-.;, the VlrlbL "Her pity." ...... ''bad DO IIIDit." It Ia l'fllat that lOss Stewuon hu bnqlat ...... ,. to thla .tully ot • lll&ll wbo ... both DOble and tnctc.