Emerson among the Eccentrics: A Group Portrait
by Carlos Baker
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"When Carlos Baker died in 1987, he had completed all but the finishing touches on what will be considered his masterpiece. An esteemed literary critic and mentor to several generations of younger scholars, Carlos Baker had a lifelong interest in the writers of the American Renaissance, particularly in Ralph Waldo Emerson, its intellectual centerpiece, but also in Henry David Thoreau, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Amos Bronson Alcott, and Margaret Fuller, all of whom made Concord a mecca for American show more intellectuals, with Emerson undoubtedly its foremost citizen. Lucky for us that in his last years Carlos Baker poured his resources, wisdom, and affections into this remarkable book." "Emerson Among the Eccentrics is that rarest of accomplishments: a magnificent biography that functions equally as a group portrait and a highly detailed reconstruction of an entire area. Carlos Baker was indefatigable in going through all of the principal characters, journals, and correspondence to reconstruct, minutely, entire days; the result is a vivid and textured mosaic not just of the group's interrelationships but of their daily lives - what they ate, what they wore, what they did for entertainment, what they valued and what they did not, how they "managed" life. All of this, though, went to serve Baker's larger aim and hope of bringing Emerson to life in his quotidian relationships: as young man and old; husband, father, son, and brother; preacher, lecturer, editor, and clubman; farmer, householder, host, and guest."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved show lessTags
Recommendations
Member Recommendations
bezoar44 Baker's book offers a group biography of a circle of writers -- Thoreau, Emerson, Hawthorne -- who were key contributors to the Atlantic in its early years. Goldman's history moves faster and traces cultural transitions from that circle to subsequent generations.
Member Reviews
2927 Emerson Among the Eccentrics: A Group Portrait, by Carlos Baker (read 15 Nov 1996) This 1996 book begins in the 1830's, after the death of Emerson's first wife, and goes to his death on April 27, 1882, at the age of 72. There were parts of the book which were not too interesting, especially in the early part. I have never been too interested in Emerson's prose or poetry (the one poem of his I know by heart - his "Concord Hymn" - gets only the fleetest of mentions in this book) and this book is more scholarly than popular and it uses few of the popular biographers' devices to whet interest. When Emerson was about 70 he began losing his memory and when he went to Longfellow's funeral on March 27, 1882, he looked in the casket and show more asked "Where are we? What house? And who is the sleeper?" One is amazed at how much contact Emerson had with famous people--Concord, Mass., in his day was a veritable wellspring of literature. show less
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sibyx and labwriter read an Emerson biography in 75 Books Challenge for 2011 (September 2011)
Author Information
22+ Works 1,105 Members
Awards and Honors
Distinctions
Common Knowledge
- People/Characters
- Ralph Waldo Emerson; Bronson Alcott; Henry David Thoreau; Nathaniel Hawthorne; Margaret Fuller; Walt Whitman
- Blurbers
- Mellow, James R.; Reynolds, David S.; Reynolds, Micheal
Classifications
- Genres
- Biography & Memoir, Literature Studies and Criticism, Fiction and Literature
- DDC/MDS
- 814.3 — Literature & rhetoric American literature in English American essays in English Middle 19th Century (1830-1861)
- LCC
- PS1633 .B34 — Language and Literature American literature American literature Individual authors 19th century
- BISAC
Statistics
- Members
- 188
- Popularity
- 173,563
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (4.09)
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Media
- Paper
- ISBNs
- 4
