The Uncommon Reader

During the course of a career spanning half a century, Edward Garnett{u2015}editor, critic, and reader for hire{u2015}wo... (more)

During the course of a career spanning half a century, Edward Garnett{u2015}editor, critic, and reader for hire{u2015}would become one of the most influential men in twentieth-century English literature. Known for his incisive criticism and unwavering conviction in matters of taste, Garnett was responsible for identifying and nurturing the talents of a generation of the greatest writers in the English language, from Joseph Conrad to John Galsworthy, Henry Green to Edward Thomas, T. E. Lawrence to D. H. Lawrence. In Helen Smith brings to life Garnett{u2019}s intimate and at times stormy relationships with those writers. All turned to Garnett for advice and guidance at critical moments in their careers, and their letters and diaries{u2015}in which Garnett often features as a feared but deeply admired protagonist{u2015}tell us not only about their creative processes, but also about their hopes and fears. Beyond his connections to some of the greatest minds in literary history, we also come to know Edward as the husband of Constance Garnett{u2015}the prolific translator responsible for introducing Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Chekhov to an English language readership{u2015}and as the father of David g2sBunnyg3s Garnett, who would make a name for himself as a writer and publisher. An absorbing and masterfully researched portrait of a man who was a defining influence on the modern literary landscape, An Uncommon Reader asks us to consider the multifaceted meaning of literary genius. -- modified book jacket. (less)