NEW ENGLAND: INDIAN SUMMER, 1865-1915

by Van Wyck Brooks ‧ RELEASE DATE: Aug. 5, 1940

We are going to do something of which we don't approve --but there is no alternative that is satisfactory. We are going to report on the sequel to The Flowering of New England, on the basis of the sections that have appeared in The Saturday Review of Literature, for want of the advance galleys... Subsequently, we shall supplement this report with a final one, but we don't want to seem to ignore this obvious leader among late summer publications... Singularly enough, one has a sense of unfamiliarity regarding the notables included in this continuation of Van Wyck Brooks' study of New England. Our school days gave us something of Emerson, Hawthorne, Holmes, Thoreau, but little of Howells, the Jameses, Henry Adams, Marion Crawford. We read them -- but we didn't know much about them as personalities. Now, with his sharp perception, his rare gift of fitting his individuals into a pattern, while keeping them individuals, Van Wyck Brooks rounds out the picture presented in The Flowering of New England, and brings it down to our own day. Once again one feels a part of the life, one senses the changing rhythms, the post-Civil War problems, the new links with Europe, the awakening social consciousness, the modern spirit, on the verge. It is a journey of discovery -- of rediscovery , another great contribution to our critical literature, our historical and biographical background.

Pub Date: Aug. 5, 1940

ISBN: N/A

Page Count: -

Publisher: Dutton

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Aug. 1, 1940

Categories: NONFICTION