THE LETTERS OF RALPH WALDO EMERSON

A stupendous and definitive piece of scholarship, this six volume work including 2, 313 letters never before printed and 271 first given in full. The sources of other already published letters are given, and these volumes comprise, therefore, the whole picture of Emerson as the most voluminous letter writer of his time. The letters reveal the man, the philosopher, the divine, the student, the mystic. They show, in fact, the whole man, with a humor unsuspected by many, with the nucleus of ideas later developed. They give an intimate picture of his daily life, of his family and friends, of his moods and theories. The introduction by Professor Rusk, indicates the approach made to his subject, and the analysis of the relation of the man and the letters. This is definitely a specialized item, for those who want a complete library of Emersonian material, for well-equipped college libraries, for public libraries. They are important not only for their contribution to the understanding of Emerson, but for the light they throw on important literary figures of his day.