Lawrence Durrell & Henry Miller: A
Private Correspondance
Edited by George S. Wickes
First Published:
New York, E. P. Dutton & Company, 1963. 385 pages.
Also Published:
London, Faber & Faber, Ltd., 1963
This
first attempt at ensconcing the extraordinary correspondance
between two of the most impressive and industrious writers of
the 20th century in the form of a single volume. It has a number
of deficits, including some editorial decisions to edit the letters
themselves to limit the offense taken from some of the more candid
passages. It's second deficit is that it ends with a letter of
31 October 1959 from Miller to Durrell. Therefore, considering
that Henry Miller lived for another twenty years, there is a
significant part of the story missing. I am certain that there
must be some letters present in this volume which are missing
from Ian S. MacNIven's later work, but have not the heart for
the healthy amount of cross-referencing which it would require
to know for certain. Certainly, some incidents are more fully
accounted in the later volume, and readers seeking at least an
introduction to the letters between Miller and Durrell would
be better advised to start there. However, having said as much,
the volume remains interesting, and could certainly be taken
in conjunction with the later work - at least, until the definitive,
complete collected correspondance appears...
This
first attempt at ensconcing the extraordinary correspondance
between two of the most impressive and industrious writers of
the 20th century in the form of a single volume. It has a number
of deficits, including some editorial decisions to edit the letters
themselves to limit the offense taken from some of the more candid
passages. It's second deficit is that it ends with a letter of
31 October 1959 from Miller to Durrell. Therefore, considering
that Henry Miller lived for another twenty years, there is a
significant part of the story missing. I am certain that there
must be some letters present in this volume which are missing
from Ian S. MacNIven's later work, but have not the heart for
the healthy amount of cross-referencing which it would require
to know for certain. Certainly, some incidents are more fully
accounted in the later volume, and readers seeking at least an
introduction to the letters between Miller and Durrell would
be better advised to start there. However, having said as much,
the volume remains interesting, and could certainly be taken
in conjunction with the later work - at least, until the definitive,
complete collected correspondance appears...