First published 2013
Maxwell Perkins wielded more influence over American literature than perhaps any editor before or since, yet he deliberately stayed in the shadows. Berg reveals how this enigmatic figure at Scribner's transformed raw manuscripts from F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, and Thomas Wolfe into literary classics. The biography exposes Perkins as far more than an editor. He became psychologist to his neurotic authors, lender when they faced financial ruin, and confidant during their personal crises. Berg uncovers the complex man behind the professional facade, including his troubled marriage and his quarter-century affair with Elizabeth Lemmon. The book shows how Perkins formed unusually close bonds with his writers, relationships that blurred the lines between professional duty and personal devotion. This National Book Award winner captures both the golden age of American publishing and the private struggles of the man who helped create it.
Genres: biography, literary-fiction, american-fiction, 20th-century
Vibes: emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: found-family, mentor-mentee
Period: 20th-century
640 pages · Kindle Edition · Simon & Schuster UK