Letters of E. B. White, Revised Edition

by E. B. White

Overview

Originally edited by Dorothy Lobrano Guth, and revised and updated by Martha White. With a foreword by John Updike.

These letters are, of course, beautifully written but above all personal, precise, and honest. They evoke E.B. White’s life in New York and in Maine at every stage of his life. They are full of memorable characters: White’s family, the New Yorker staff and contributors, literary types and show business people, farmers from Maine and sophisticates from New York-Katherine S. White, Harold Ross, James Thurber, Alexander Woolcott, Groucho Marx, John Updike, and many, many more.

Each decade has its own look and taste and feel. Places, too-from Belgrade (Maine) to Turtle Bay (NYC) to the S.S. Buford, Alaska-bound in 1923-are brought to life in White’s descriptions. There is no other book of letters to compare with this; it is a book to treasure and savor at one’s leisure.

As White wrote in this book, “A man who publishes his letters becomes nudist—nothing shields him from the world’s gaze except his bare skin....a man who has written a letter is stuck with it for all time.”

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780061374593
Publisher:	HarperCollins
Publication date:	12/18/2007
Edition description:	Revised and Updated
Pages:	768
Sales rank:	696,260
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x 1.42(d)

About the Author

E. B. White, the author of such beloved classics as Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan, was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1921 and, five or six years later, joined the staff of The New Yorker magazine, then in its infancy. He died on October 1, 1985, and was survived by his son and three grandchildren.

Mr. White's essays have appeared in Harper's magazine, and some of his other books are: One Man's Meat, The Second Tree from the Corner, Letters of E. B. White, Essays of E. B. White, and Poems and Sketches of E. B. White. He won countless awards, including the 1971 National Medal for Literature and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, which commended him for making a "substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children."

During his lifetime, many young readers asked Mr. White if his stories were true. In a letter written to be sent to his fans, he answered, "No, they are imaginary tales . . . But real life is only one kind of life—there is also the life of the imagination."

Date of Birth:

July 11, 1899

Date of Death:

October 1, 1985

Place of Birth:

Mount Vernon, New York

Place of Death:

North Brooklin, Maine

Education:

B.A., Cornell University, 1921

Website:

http://www.harperchildrens.com/hch/author/author/white/

Editorial Reviews

In the original edition of E.B. White's letters (edited by his goddaughter, Dorothy Lobrano Guth, and published in 1976), White noted in his introduction that "ideally, a collection of letters should be published posthumously"; as his new editor (his granddaughter, Martha White) notes, White "got his wish." This enjoyable collection by one of the English language's greatest writers has been reedited to reflect White's and his wife Katharine's deaths. Additionally, some of the previously selected letters have been removed. This was presumably done to make room for the two new chapters, "Goodbye to Katharine, 1977-1981" and "E.B. White, a Biography, 1982-1985," which cover the years between the original book's publication and White's death. These are interesting additions; however, it seems a shame that any of the original letters were cut. The new introduction by John Updike is also worth reading. Recommended for academic and public libraries, even those already owning the original edition. Felicity D. Walsh, Emory Univ., Decatur, GA Copyright 2006 Reed Business Information.

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