The Lesson of the Master

Litstack Rec: The Lesson of the Master and A Land More Kind Than Home

The Lesson of the Master, by Henry James Colm Tóibín, in his introduction to the 2007 edition of Henry James’ classic novella, cites a note James made in 1888—an idea that came to him after reading the memoir of a colleague: “…it occurred to me that a very interesting situation […]

LitStack Rec: The Lesson of the Master & In Great Waters

Birthdays

On this day, April 13, in 1909, was born in Jackson, Mississippi. Author of over forty short stories, five novels, three works of nonfiction, and one children’s book, she was awarded a Pulitzer Prize, a National Book Award and numerous O. Henry Awards, and was honored with a Presidential Medal of Freedom, a National Medal of Arts, the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, as well as being named a Chevalier de la Légion d’honneur by the French government. Her works captured the quintessential Southern voice with an emphasis on family and customs, with a strong sense of place. She died from natural causes in 2001; she was 92.

Birthdays

On this day, December 3, in 1857, Joseph Conrad was born in Berdichev, Imperial Russia (modern
Ukraine, then a part of Poland). While he settled in England and wrote in English, he always considered himself a Pole. Heart of Darkness, one of the most famous of his 20 novels (which explores colonialism and the attitudes regarding what constitutes a barbarian versus civilized society) is considered one of the best English novels of the 20th century, as is his novel Lord Jim, which chronicles a crew’s abandonment of its disabled ship. Conrad died in England in 1924 at age 66.