IBSEN: LETTERS AND SPEECHES

This first English edition of Ibsen's letters to appear since 1905 includes 276 letters (129 not included in the earlier edition), four prefaces, a few speeches and a very brief autobiographical memento. The letters predicate an interest in the man and his work and do not form- per so- a very stimulating correspondence; his letters to his family are rather formal in nature and actually those which deal with his work, its reception (hostile), his ideas, are far more revealing. The letters are written over many years and during his ""exiles"" in Dresden, Munich and Rome and one comments on ""the mean and hopeless spirit that prevails in my home country"". They are arranged chronologically and annotated where necessary and are important for reference and background.