Regular marked price: $14.95Discount Price: $13.45
Cost Savings: $1.50 (10%)Price fluctuation possible.
How soon does it ship: Normal ship time within one day
Shipping? Absolutely FREE if you qualify for Super Saver Shipping.
Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 811.4
EAN num: 9781558491557
ISBN number: 1558491554
Label: University of Massachusetts Press
Manufacturer: University of Massachusetts Press
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 48
Printing Date: 1998-04
Publishing house: University of Massachusetts Press
Sale Popularity Level: 96913
Studio: University of Massachusetts Press
Other books you might be interested in perusing:
Editor's Notes and Comments:
Product Description:
Written between 1858 and 1861, these three letters were addressed by Emily Dickinson to a man she called 'Master'. Although there is no evidence that they were ever mailed, the letters suggest an extended relationship, separated by geography, and the possibility of a much larger correspondence, as yet undiscovered. According to R. W. Franklin, the three letters stand near the heart of Dickinson's mystery. This volume presents them in chronological order, based upon new dating of the manuscripts, and provides transcriptions that show stages in the composition of each letter. Franklin's introduction places the letters in historical perspective and closely analyzes relevant aspects of the poet's handwriting. Included with the volume are full-sized facsimiles of the letters, which allow the reader to hold them individually in hand and read them apart from the scholarly apparatus -- the closest possible approach imaginable short of examining the originals in the Amherst College Library.
User popularity level:
Rated by buyers -
This is a short but charming book from Amherst College Press, published for the centennial of Emily Dickinson?s 1886 death, edited with an introduction and manuscript comments by R. W. Franklin. Ralph Franklin is arguably the best current Dickinson manuscript scholar and also edited ?The Poems of Emily Dickinson?, to my eyes the current definitive edition of Dickinson.
The Master Letters are three letters, actually drafts of three letters, to a person Emily addresses as ?Master?. They are undated by Dickinson, but some sleuthing and careful handwriting analysis described in the introduction put them in a credible chronologic order. No other version of these letters or the other side of this correspondence is known. A wonderful mystery.
For decades only a fragment of one letter was known to the public, published with Dickinson poems because of the poetic qualities abundant in these letters. The full letters were suppressed, presumably because of their intimate emotional content. The mildest letter was published in 1931, the final two waited until 1955 for publication.
Because of Dickinson?s original and idiosyncratic use of punctuation, capitalization, and word and line spacing, it is currently fashionable to read Dickinson in the original, usually meaning reproductions of the handwritten originals. Standard print has no equivalent of her dashes of various lengths, for example. This text includes full page photographs of every page of the letters with a faithful printed version on the facing page. Plus, as a real treat, an insert envelope contains complete reproductions of all the original leaves. A beautiful touch. The hand of the author is very present in scratch outs, overwrites, and corrections - giving hints at Emily?s creative and editing process. The handwriting is clear and legible but takes some study to read fluidly.
I feel very close to Emily Dickinson reading and holding these letters. This text is a must for Dickinson fans, and will be appreciated by many bibliophiles and scholars.
Find other books like this one:
