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The Sons of Maxwell Perkins: Letters of F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, and Their Editor
A unique look at a legendary editor and the literary giants he fostered
In April 1938 F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote to his editor Maxwell Perkins, "What a time you've had with your sons, Max—Ernest gone to Spain, me gone to Hollywood, Tom Wolfe reverting to an artistic hill-billy." As the sole literary editor with name recognition among students of American literature, Perkins remains permanently linked to Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Wolfe in literary history and literary myth. Their relationships, which were largely epistolary, play out in the 221 letters Matthew J. Bruccoli has assembled in this volume. The collection documents the extent of the fatherly forbearance, attention, and encouragement the legendary Scribners editor gave to his authorial sons. The correspondence portrays his ability to juggle the requirements of his three geniuses.
Perkins wanted his stars to be close friends and wrote to each of them about the others. They responded in kind: Fitzgerald on Hemingway and Wolfe, Wolfe on Fitzgerald, Hemingway on Wolfe and Fitzgerald. The novelists also wrote to each other. But contrary to Perkins's hopes for a brotherhood among them, their letters express rivalry and suspicion rather than affinity. Perkins encouraged the writers professionally but never took sides in their sibling rivalries.
Addressing an overlooked aspect of literary study, the letters center on the acts of writing, editing, and publishing, and on the writers' relationships with Scribners and one another. In addition to providing insight into the personalities of these literary heroes, the correspondence reveals how editing and publishing have changed since the twenties and thirties—a golden era for Scribners and for American literature. In particular, the letters correct the incomplete, oversimplified popular image of Perkins and his function as an editor—especially his relationship with Thomas Wolfe.
In April 1938 F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote to his editor Maxwell Perkins, "What a time you've had with your sons, Max—Ernest gone to Spain, me gone to Hollywood, Tom Wolfe reverting to an artistic hill-billy." As the sole literary editor with name recognition among students of American literature, Perkins remains permanently linked to Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Wolfe in literary history and literary myth. Their relationships, which were largely epistolary, play out in the 221 letters Matthew J. Bruccoli has assembled in this volume. The collection documents the extent of the fatherly forbearance, attention, and encouragement the legendary Scribners editor gave to his authorial sons. The correspondence portrays his ability to juggle the requirements of his three geniuses.
Perkins wanted his stars to be close friends and wrote to each of them about the others. They responded in kind: Fitzgerald on Hemingway and Wolfe, Wolfe on Fitzgerald, Hemingway on Wolfe and Fitzgerald. The novelists also wrote to each other. But contrary to Perkins's hopes for a brotherhood among them, their letters express rivalry and suspicion rather than affinity. Perkins encouraged the writers professionally but never took sides in their sibling rivalries.
Addressing an overlooked aspect of literary study, the letters center on the acts of writing, editing, and publishing, and on the writers' relationships with Scribners and one another. In addition to providing insight into the personalities of these literary heroes, the correspondence reveals how editing and publishing have changed since the twenties and thirties—a golden era for Scribners and for American literature. In particular, the letters correct the incomplete, oversimplified popular image of Perkins and his function as an editor—especially his relationship with Thomas Wolfe.
- GenresNonfiction
396 pages, Hardcover
First published June 1, 2004
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About the author
Maxwell Evarts Perkins
8 books13 followersAmerican editor Maxwell Evarts Perkins helped to develop the talents of a number of great writers, including Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald, Ernest Miller Hemingway, and Thomas Clayton Wolfe.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maxwell...
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
February 24, 2018
Arguably the three most influential writers of their time--their backgrounds, personalities and styles so different that together they coveted and captured a wide array of readers--Fitzgerald, Hemingway and Wolfe had the kind of steep, dramatic and ultimately tragic arcs as their characters. Many of whom were autobiographical. And at the center of the maelstrom was their Scribner's editor, Maxwell Perkins. Father to five daughters and a man who seemed to hunger for and revel in the large part he played in the lives and works of these three writers. The editors of this collection of their letters, telegrams, and other forms of correspondence, do a fine job of picking, choosing and editing the letters. They also craftily leave uncut the exceedingly long, rambling, paranoid and grandiose letters that Wolfe (never succinct) wrote to Perkins as their personal relationship and the writer-publisher relationship was falling to pieces. All three writers died tragically, although the letters in the books only cover the deaths of Wolfe (tuberculosis of the brain) and Fitzgerald (heart attack). Perkins' sorrow is clear. Although most of the letters are light on the "how to" of writing, their are plenty of insights for the practitioner.
partially-read
April 1, 2013Used this as a bit of background research for a discussion of The Great Gatsby I led at the library in March 2013; I used approximately the first 50 pages. Interesting back-and-forth between Fitzgerald and Perkins regarding edits to the manuscript, changes to the title and dust jacket (FSF's concerns that there should be no blurbs from other authors, and that plot points not be given away), and reactions to the initial sales.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews