The Inman Diary: A Public and Private Confession

Description: Yesterday's Muse, Inc. presents ... The Inman Diary: A Public and Private Confession ISBN:0674454456 Author:Inman, Arthur Crew; Aaron, Daniel Publisher:Harvard University Press Release Date:1985 Seller Category:-- Qty Available:1 Condition:Collectible: Excellent Sku: 2345213 Notes: 2nd printing. Includes publisher's slipcase and belly band jacket. Minor loss from top jacket edge, 1/4 inch tear to bottom edge with tissue tape repair on reverse. 1985 Hard Cover. xxvi, 1661 pp., paginated continuously. Illustrated with black-and-white photographs and facsimiles of diary pages. 'Between 1919 and his death by suicide in 1963, Arthur Crew Inman wrote what is surely one of the fullest diaries ever kept by any American. Convinced that his bid for immortality required complete candor, he held nothing back. This abridgment of the original 155 volumes is at once autobiography, social chronicle, and an apologia addressed to unborn readers. Into this fascinating record Inman poured memories of a privileged Atlanta childhood, disastrous prep-school years, a nervous collapse in college followed by a bizarre life of self-diagnosed invalidism. Confined to a darkened room in his Boston apartment, he lived vicariously: through newspaper advertisements he hired "talkers" to tell him the stories of their lives, and he wove their strange histories into the diary. Young women in particular fascinated him. He studied their moods, bought them clothes, fondled them, and counseled them on their love affairs. His marriage in 1923 to Evelyn Yates, the heroine of the diary, survived a series of melodramatic episodes. While reflecting on national politics, waifs and revolutions, Inman speaks directly about his fears, compulsions, fantasies, and nightmares, coaxing the reader into intimacy with him. Despite his shocking self-disclosures he emerges as an oddly impressive figure. This compelling work is many things: a case history of a deeply troubled man; the story of a transplanted and self-conscious southerner; a historical overview of Boston illuminated with striking cityscapes; an odd sort of American social history. But chiefly it is, as Inman himself came to see, a gigantic nonfiction novel, a new literary form. As it moves inexorably toward a powerful denouement, The Inman Diary is an addictive narrative.' CONTENTS: VOLUME I: Cast of Characters; Introducing Arthur Inman; Arthur Remembers (1895-1919); Arthur's Jazz Age: The Overaged Adolescent (1919-1929); Arthur after the Crash (1929-1937); VOLUME II: Arthur's Churning World: Domestic and Foreign (1937-1941); Arthur's War and the Postbomb Years (1941-1951); Arthur Doomed: The Chronicler Assessed (1951-1963); A Medical Report on Arthur Inman by David F. Musto, M.D.; Index. Don't forget to check out other great deals in our eBay Store!!

Price: 30 USD

Location: Webster, New York

End Time: 2024-11-24T19:24:37.000Z

Shipping Cost: 9.38 USD