A penetrating biography of the most important English-language editor of the early twentieth-century.
During the course of a career-spanning half a century, Edward Garnett-editor, critic, and reader for hire- would become one of the most influential men in twentieth-century English literature. Known for his incisive criticism and unwavering conviction in matters of taste, Garnett was responsible for identifying and nurturing the talents of a generation of the greatest writers in the English language, from Joseph Conrad to John Galsworthy, Henry Green to Edward Thomas, T. E. Lawrence to D. H. Lawrence.
In An Uncommon Reader, Helen Smith brings to life Garnett's intimate and at times stormy relationships with those writers. ("I have always suffered a little from a sense of injustice at your hands," Galsworthy complained in a letter.) All turned to Garnett for advice and guidance at critical moments in their careers, and their letters and diaries-in which Garnett often features as a feared but deeply admired protagonist-tell us not only about their creative processes, but also about their hopes and fears.
Beyond his connections to some of the greatest minds in literary history, we also come to know Edward as the husband of Constance Garnett-the prolific translator responsible for introducing Tolstoy, Dostoevsky, and Chekhov to an English language readership-and as the father of David "Bunny" Garnett, who would make a name for himself as a writer and publisher.
"A-grade . . . Well-researched, neatly written and not above the occasional flash of sly humor, An Uncommon Reader is, necessarily, the study of a circle, or rather a milieu, as much as the man who stares doggedly from its cover."
DJ Taylor, The Guardian
"[A] prizeworthy literary biography . . . Though An Uncommon Reader is Helen Smith's first book, one would never know it: She delivers uncommonly good reading, and anyone interested in Edwardian fiction, the history of publishing or literary biography will find it a treat."
Michael Dirda, The Washington Post
"In her sparkling biography, Helen Smith brilliantly brings to life the emerging aesthetics of contemporary English letters."
