Buy William Maxwell by Barbara A. Burkhardt - Bookswagon
close menu
Bookswagon
search
My Account
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Book 1
Book 2
Book 3
Home > Biographies & Memoire > Literature: history and criticism > Literary studies: fiction, novelists and prose writers > William Maxwell: A Literary Life
William Maxwell: A Literary Life

William Maxwell: A Literary Life


     0     
5
4
3
2
1



Available


X
About the Book

Known as a beloved, longtime fiction editor at The New Yorker, William Maxwell worked closely with such legendary writers as Vladimir Nabokov, John Updike, Mary McCarthy, and John Cheever. His own novels include They Came Like Swallows and the American Book Award-winning So Long, See You Tomorrow, and many consider him to be one of the twentieth century's most important writers. Barbara Burkhardt's William Maxwell: A Literary Life represents the first major critical study of this Illinois writer's life and work.

Writing with an economy and elegance befitting her subject, Burkhardt addresses Maxwell's highly autobiographical fiction by skillfully interweaving his biography with her own critical interpretations. She contextualizes his fiction in terms of events including his mother's early death from influenza, his marriage, and the role of his psychoanalysis under the guidance of Theodor Reik. Drawing on a wide range of previously unavailable material, Burkhardt includes letters Maxwell received from authors such as Eudora Welty and Louise Bogan, excerpts from his unpublished manuscripts and correspondence, and her own interviews with Maxwell and key figures from his life, including John Updike, Roger Angell, New Yorker fiction editor Robert Henderson, and Maxwell's family and friends.



Table of Contents:
Acknowledgments   ix
Credits   xiii

Meeting Maxwell   1
Introduction   7
1. Childhood: A Lifetime of Material, 1908-33   19
2. First Fiction: Bright Center of Heaven, 1933-34   48
3. Breakout Novel: They Came Like Swallows, 1934-38   61
4. Mature Novelist 1: The Folded Leaf, 1938-45   79
5. Mature Novelist 2: Time Will Darken It, 1945-48   135
6. Turning Point: The New Yorker and The Chateau, 1948-61   171
7. The Novelist as Historian: Ancestors, 1961-71   205
8. Maxwell's New York, 1974-76   219
9. The Masterwork: So Long, See You Tomorrow, 1972-80   229
10. Summing Up: Late Short Works, 1980-92   257

Conclusion: Stand, Accepting   270
Notes   275
Index   297
Illustrations follow page 170

About the Author :

Barbara Burkhardt is an associate professor of English and a University Scholar at the University of Illinois at Springfield. A close acquaintance of William Maxwell, she organized his correspondence for the Maxwell archives at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.



Review :
"Maxwell gets his due in this combination of biography and critical study . . . this solid book will work as a guarantee against future neglect."--ALA Booklist "In deeply layered, supple, and clear prose, Burkhardt captures the dramas of Maxwell's life. . . . Burkhardt explores Maxwell's fiction as though opening a door to a new world, a world as wide as the prairie skies that define Maxwell's imaginative universe."--Chicago Tribune "A valiant attempt to chart the relations between the stories Maxwell told and the stories he lived. . . . William Maxwell rises splendidly to the occasion of his best novels and stories."--New York Times "Very capably opens discussion of a long-overlooked writer, and sheds much useful light on his coming-of-intellectual-age."--Washington Post "Required reading for any devoted Maxwell enthusiast."--Publishers Weekly “William Maxwell is a timely and important book, created out of Barbara Burkhardt’s perceptive vision of the man and his work, her painstaking scholarship, and her unique access to Maxwell himself.”--Penelope Niven, author of the award-winning Carl Sandburg: A Biography


Best Sellers


Product Details
  • ISBN-13: 9780252075834
  • Publisher: University of Illinois Press
  • Publisher Imprint: University of Illinois Press
  • Edition: New edition
  • Language: English
  • Spine Width: 28 mm
  • Weight: 513 gr
  • ISBN-10: 0252075838
  • Publisher Date: 26 Jun 2008
  • Binding: Paperback
  • Height: 229 mm
  • No of Pages: 336
  • Sub Title: A Literary Life
  • Width: 152 mm


Similar Products

Add Photo
Add Photo

Customer Reviews

REVIEWS      0     
Click Here To Be The First to Review this Product
William Maxwell: A Literary Life
University of Illinois Press -
William Maxwell: A Literary Life
Writing guidlines
We want to publish your review, so please:
  • keep your review on the product. Review's that defame author's character will be rejected.
  • Keep your review focused on the product.
  • Avoid writing about customer service. contact us instead if you have issue requiring immediate attention.
  • Refrain from mentioning competitors or the specific price you paid for the product.
  • Do not include any personally identifiable information, such as full names.

William Maxwell: A Literary Life

Required fields are marked with *

Review Title*
Review
    Add Photo Add up to 6 photos
    Would you recommend this product to a friend?
    Tag this Book Read more
    Does your review contain spoilers?
    What type of reader best describes you?
    I agree to the terms & conditions
    You may receive emails regarding this submission. Any emails will include the ability to opt-out of future communications.

    CUSTOMER RATINGS AND REVIEWS AND QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS TERMS OF USE

    These Terms of Use govern your conduct associated with the Customer Ratings and Reviews and/or Questions and Answers service offered by Bookswagon (the "CRR Service").


    By submitting any content to Bookswagon, you guarantee that:
    • You are the sole author and owner of the intellectual property rights in the content;
    • All "moral rights" that you may have in such content have been voluntarily waived by you;
    • All content that you post is accurate;
    • You are at least 13 years old;
    • Use of the content you supply does not violate these Terms of Use and will not cause injury to any person or entity.
    You further agree that you may not submit any content:
    • That is known by you to be false, inaccurate or misleading;
    • That infringes any third party's copyright, patent, trademark, trade secret or other proprietary rights or rights of publicity or privacy;
    • That violates any law, statute, ordinance or regulation (including, but not limited to, those governing, consumer protection, unfair competition, anti-discrimination or false advertising);
    • That is, or may reasonably be considered to be, defamatory, libelous, hateful, racially or religiously biased or offensive, unlawfully threatening or unlawfully harassing to any individual, partnership or corporation;
    • For which you were compensated or granted any consideration by any unapproved third party;
    • That includes any information that references other websites, addresses, email addresses, contact information or phone numbers;
    • That contains any computer viruses, worms or other potentially damaging computer programs or files.
    You agree to indemnify and hold Bookswagon (and its officers, directors, agents, subsidiaries, joint ventures, employees and third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.), harmless from all claims, demands, and damages (actual and consequential) of every kind and nature, known and unknown including reasonable attorneys' fees, arising out of a breach of your representations and warranties set forth above, or your violation of any law or the rights of a third party.


    For any content that you submit, you grant Bookswagon a perpetual, irrevocable, royalty-free, transferable right and license to use, copy, modify, delete in its entirety, adapt, publish, translate, create derivative works from and/or sell, transfer, and/or distribute such content and/or incorporate such content into any form, medium or technology throughout the world without compensation to you. Additionally,  Bookswagon may transfer or share any personal information that you submit with its third-party service providers, including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc. in accordance with  Privacy Policy


    All content that you submit may be used at Bookswagon's sole discretion. Bookswagon reserves the right to change, condense, withhold publication, remove or delete any content on Bookswagon's website that Bookswagon deems, in its sole discretion, to violate the content guidelines or any other provision of these Terms of Use.  Bookswagon does not guarantee that you will have any recourse through Bookswagon to edit or delete any content you have submitted. Ratings and written comments are generally posted within two to four business days. However, Bookswagon reserves the right to remove or to refuse to post any submission to the extent authorized by law. You acknowledge that you, not Bookswagon, are responsible for the contents of your submission. None of the content that you submit shall be subject to any obligation of confidence on the part of Bookswagon, its agents, subsidiaries, affiliates, partners or third party service providers (including but not limited to Bazaarvoice, Inc.)and their respective directors, officers and employees.

    Accept


    Inspired by your browsing history


    Your review has been submitted!

    You've already reviewed this product!
    Hello, User