Philip Mcfarland

A well written biography of one of this country’s most noted writers. The work centers on Hawthorne’s years in Concord, Mass. during the time he struggled to support a family on the meager earnings from his writing, even the works that made him an American icon like “Scarlet Letter.” McFarland writes the candid story of Hawthorne’s sad life during his later years. Pictures of him early in life and those later, even though Hawthorne died at the relatively young age of 59, are a stark contrast reflecting the torment he went through. Those not familiar with Concord and its history in American literature will be amazed that so many literary giants lived in this tiny town at the same time. A trip to Concord, if you have any interest in the Transcendentalists, is well worth the time and effort. You’ve visit all of these people in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery. I think this book’s audience is anyone who cares about American literature and wants to learn more about one of its most important writers.… (mer)

McFarland juxtaposes the lives of two important men at the turn of the 20th century in this fascinating read. I read in search of more knowledge on Theodore Roosevelt in particular, for research purposes, but the sections on Mark Twain were equally riveting. McFarland did a good job, I think, of showing how complicated they were: Roosevelt with all his good to conserve land and establish peace, even as he believed firmly in the science of the time that elevated Anglo-Saxons as the superior species; and Mark Twain, a showman who grew increasingly taciturn as he aged and liked to play grandfather in a way that now seems suspicious. The downsides to the book came down to organization; the material was sometimes frustratingly redundant and it constantly hop-skipped.

This was both a good and useful book, however, and one I will be keeping for future reference.… (mer)