“Henry James joyously engaged in the act of writing. A good day's writing gave him a sense of strength, of control over chaos, a victory of order and clarity over the confused battle of existence.” WritingOrderExistenceVictoryBattleChaosClarityEngagedConfusedGood Day Book:Henry James: the conquest of London, 1870-1881 Source: Henry James: the conquest of London, 1870-1881
“The answer to old age is to keep one's mind busy and to go on with one's life as if it were interminable. I always admired Chekhov for building a new house when he was dying of tuberculosis.” IfsMindAgeDeathHouseAnswersDyingBuildingGoes OnAgingBusyOld AgeBusy LifeChekhovTuberculosis30th Birthday Author:Leon Edel
“Of the creative spirits that flourished in Concord, Massachusetts, it might be said that Hawthorne loved men but felt estranged from them, Emerson loved ideas even more than men, and Thoreau loved himself.” MenSaidIdeasMightSpiritFeltCreativeMassachusettsCreative SpiritHawthorne Book:Henry D. Thoreau Source: Henry D. Thoreau
“The secret of biography resides in finding the link between talent and achievement. A biography seems irrelevant if it doesnt discover the overlap between what the individual did and the life that made this possible. Without discovering that, you have shapeless happenings and gossip.” IfsMadeSeemsIndividualSecretTalentAchievementFindingsHappeningsGossipLinksDiscoveringBiographiesIrrelevant Author:Leon Edel
“The biographer who writes the life of his subjects self-concept passes through a fade into the inner house of life.” WritingSelfHouseSubjectsConceptsFadesBiographersSelf Concept Author:Leon Edel
“Any biographer must of necessity become a pilgrim a peripatetic, obsessed literary pilgrim, a traveler with four eyes.” EyeFourObsessionObsessedTravelerPilgrimBiographers Author:Leon Edel
