R. W. B. Lewis (1917–2002)

There could hardly be a more fitting biographer for Dante than Pulitzer Prize-winning literary critic Lewis, who has called Dante's native city of Florence his second home for 50 years. In this newest offering in the Penguin Lives series a fraction of the size of Lewis's previous biographies of Edith Wharton and the Jameses Lewis shows an uncanny ability to capture crucial moments in Dante's life and development as an artist. Whether he is presenting the intricacies of Florentine politics or show more the living woman behind Dante's immortal vision of Beatrice, Lewis manages to provide just enough context to illuminate the known facts of Dante's life without losing the thread of his narrative. Lewis is especially effective in tracing the artist's tormented relationship with his native city, including his banishment from Florence in the political intrigues of the 1300s. In one memorable passage, he describes the "Purgatorio" (in which Dante consigns whole populations of Tuscans to eternal suffering) as the "exile's furious song" an attempt by an all-too-human artist to pass celestial judgment on his malefactors. show less

Through her correspondence, we peer into a literary life of a successful author living mostly in France. The travails of her personal life come through, such as an unstable and problematic husband and a stand-offish affair with William Morton Fullerton. As become more of a francophone, French creeps into the letters and I wish this was translated. Fortunately, in the case of a handful of letters to André Gide this is done.

As WWI begins to emerge, it is interesting to read of her feeling show more that her homeland should participate against clear wrongs:

The "atrocities" one hears of are true. I know of many, alas, too well authenticated. Spread it abroad as much as you can. It should be known that it is to America's interest to help stem this hideous flood of savagery by opinion if it may not be by action. No civilized race can remain neutral in feeling now.

She stays in France during the war, overseeing a workshop offering deployment. Also shared are letter on her price and publication negotiations with Charles Scribner and others. show less

Beginning with Wharton's genealogical background and ending with her funeral R.W.B. Lewis's Edith Wharton: a Biography is at once both extensive and entertaining. Wharton begins her life as Edith "Pussy" Jones, the daughter of a socially well-to-do family. Her life is surrounded by all the things the culture of 1870s cherished - multiple family estates, social gatherings with citizens of good standing and trips abroad to places like Italy and France. With access to letters, diaries and show more manuscripts Lewis is able to give animated details to Wharton's upbringing and subsequent literary career. It is no wonder he won a Pulitzer for his work. It also is easy to see how Wharton was drawn to a writing career when you consider the wealth of influences in that era: Henry James, Theodore Roosevelt, William Vaughn Moody, Charles Dickens, Gustave Flaubert, and George Eliot to name a few. What is amazing is her inability to stay the course of confidence. The slightest criticism could send her career out of commission for months at a time. show less

This is a really nicely written history/memoir on Florence. I read this just before my (absolutely wonderful) visit there in 2000, and it made the city so much richer for me. Lewis does a terrific job of mixing the history, the architecture, and the art with the city geography and current feel of the city.