Perkins, Maxwell

William Maxwell Perkins was born on September 20, 1884 in New York to the family of attorney Edward Clifford Perkins and Elizabeth Perkins (nee Evarts) - the daughter of William Maxwell Evarts . He spent his childhood in Plainfield , New Jersey , and studied at St. Paul’s School in Concord , New Hampshire . In 1907 he graduated from Harvard College , where he studied economist. In college, Maxwell attended the classes of literature professor Charles Townsend Copeland, which helped a lot in his future career.

After completing his studies, Maxwell once worked as a reporter for The New York Times , in 1910 he went to Charles Scribner's Sons as a book editor. At that time, this publishing house was famous for the writers already established, such as John Galsworthy , Henry James, and Edith Wharton .

Unlike most editors, Perkins wanted to publish young writers, and in 1919 he made his first find in the person of Francis Scott Fitzgerald . Fitzgerald's first book, The Romantic Egoist, didn’t like anyone else at a publisher other than Max Perkins; nevertheless, Perkins was actively involved in the work on the novel, thanks to which the book was eventually adopted. The publication of Fitzgerald’s book “ This Side of Paradise ” marked the emergence of a new generation of writers, made possible by Perkins. Fitzgerald’s debauchery and alcoholism strained his relationship with Perkins, but they remained friends until the end of Fitzgerald’s short life. This is partly traced in the novel The Great Gatsby , which only benefited from the editorial policy of Perkins. Perkins was the editor of all Fitzgerald books published during the life of the writer, a great literary significance is the correspondence that they conducted among themselves for 21 years ^[1] .

In 1926, Perkins, through Fitzgerald, met Ernest Hemingway , who publishes the first major novel And the Sun Rises . For a long time, Max Perkins defended Hemingway’s interests in publishing from condemnations in profanation and only the publication of the bestseller “ Farewell to Arms! "Has forced critics in publishing to shut up.

The greatest professional challenge that Perkins faced in his career was bringing up the artistic discipline of Thomas Wolfe . Wolfe wrote a lot and was literally tied to his every word on paper. During the collaboration of Wolfe and Perkins on "Look at your house, angel," Perkins made Wolfe cut the text by 90,000 words. The next novel, “About Time and the River,” was the result of two years of “struggle” between Wolfe and Perkins: Wolfe wrote so much that he sometimes lost the narrative line, so Perkins constantly limited the author, trying to keep the size of the novel within certain limits. At first, Wolfe was grateful for the chance and for Perkins' mentorship, but later he was annoyed by the widespread opinion that he owed his success to the editor of the book. After numerous quarrels with Perkins, Wolfe leaves the publishing house, but they remained friends until the early death of Wolfe in 1938.

Although Perkins is best known for Fitzgerald, Hemingway, and Wolfe, he worked with many writers. So, on the recommendation and with the help of Fitzgerald, he took part in the selection, editing and publication of the stories of Ring Lardner , who was not serious enough about his own literary work. His son, screenwriter Ring Lardner, Jr. , later gratefully acknowledged the involvement of Fitzgerald and Perkins in the fate of his father ^[2] :

Perkins was the first to publish John P. Marquand and Erskine Caldwell . Perkins advice helped Marjorie Rawlings with her story " The Fawn ". Perkins discouraged James Jones from the autobiographical novel, on which he worked for a long time, in favor of greater artistry, as a result of which he wrote "From now and forever and ever and ever." In 1947, with the support of Perkins, Marguerite Yong was able to conclude a contract with Miss MacIntosh, My Darling for the press based on a forty-page manuscript.

Max Perkins was loved for his courtesy and thoughtfulness. He always sought and encouraged talented writers, which few editors did at that time. In addition, he was known among his colleagues for their reverent attitude to books. It was said about him that although Perkins did not claim to be a writer, he often saw better than the author himself in which direction the story should go.

Perkins died on June 17, 1947 in Stamford , Connecticut , from pneumonia. The story "The Old Man and the Sea ", which was published in 1952, was dedicated by Ernest Hemingway to the memory of Maxwell Perkins ^[3] .

Personal life

In December 1910, Perkins married Louise Sanders, who bore him five daughters.

• The Cross Creek movie features a business relationship between budding writer Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings and Max Perkins, played by Malcolm McDowell .
• The 2016 biographical drama " Genius " shows years of Perkins collaboration with Wolfe.

• Scott Berg E. Genius. The story of a man who discovered the world of Hemingway and Fitzgerald. - Kharkiv: "Book Club" Family Leisure Club ", 2017.
• Fitzgerald F. S. Portrait in documents: Art. journalism. Per. from English / Preface and comments. A. Zverev. - M .: Progress , 1984. - p. 344.

• Maxwell Evarts Perkins , Francis Scott Fitzgerald , Ernest Hemingway , Thomas Wolfe. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, and Their Editor. - Univ of South Carolina Press, 2004. - 361 p.

• Maxwell Perkins . The appeal date is August 11, 2018.
• John Walsh. The return of a man is called Perkins . www.independent.co.uk . Independent (August 5, 2010). The appeal date is August 11, 2018.