Ernest Samuels (1903–1996)
Author of Henry Adams: The Middle Years
About the Author
Series
Works by Ernest Samuels
Associated Works
Democracy/Esther/Mont Saint Michel and Chartres/The Education of Henry Adams (1983) — Editor, some editions — 488 copies, 5 reviews
Tagged
Common Knowledge
- Birthdate
- 1903-05-19
- Date of death
- 1996-02-12
- Gender
- male
- Nationality
- USA
- Birthplace
- Chicago, Illinois, USA
- Place of death
- Evanston, Illinois, USA
- Education
- University of Chicago
- Occupations
- lawyer
literary scholar
biographer
teacher
Members
Reviews
Awards
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Associated Authors
Statistics
- Works
- 8
- Also by
- 3
- Members
- 306
- Popularity
- #76,934
- Rating
- 4.0
- Reviews
- 5
- ISBNs
- 15
The heart of the book is the author’s sensitive treatment of the suicide of Adams’s wife Clover. Adams considered his own life to have ended with hers, although he not only survived her by nearly 40 years, but also continued his prodigious literary output and travelled the world. His first trip after her death, an extensive stay in Japan shortly after that country opened itself to Western visitors, is described as a flight from the self.
Samuels also excels in his analysis of Adams’s works. In addition to his magnum opus, a nine-volume treatment of the Jefferson and Madison administrations, these include biographies of Albert Gallatin and John Randolph, as well as two novels, which he published anonymously. The penultimate chapter, which treats the Jefferson-Madison masterpiece, also explores Adams’s deterministic philosophy of history, which stood in ironic contrast to his own elitist views and his awareness of belonging to one of the leading families in the nation.
One can readily see why this has been praised as a sterling example of the art of biography. A very good read.… (more)