Formality in a friendly letter subjects the other person to all the
rigors of a snow storm. With those words, Joel Chandler Harris
kindly admonished his six children on how to write to him while
they were off at school, on prolonged visits, or working away from
home. In turn, Harris kept his offspring informed about his works
in progress, current events, household activities, and the latest
gossip. He sternly advised his four boys--especially the oldest,
Julian--on how they should conduct their lives and careers. He
regaled his two daughters--his "dearest chums and partners"--with
skits and sketches.
In this volume, Hugh T. Keenan has collected the 280 surviving
letters--most of them never before published--written by Harris to
his children. In compiling this correspondence, Keenan uses
Harris's own words to "fill in the domestic autobiography for the
years 1890 to 1908," offering not only an intimate portrait of the
author but also a compelling glimpse of the turn-of-the-century
South in which he lived. The result is the most substantial book on
Harris to be published in nearly twenty-five years.
Harris's literary output during the period in which these
letters were written was considerable. He produced thirteen books
during the 1890s and contributed numerous short stories, essays,
and articles to Scribner's and other national magazines; he was
also deriving a steady income as associate editor for the "Atlanta
Constitution." Living in the West End section of Atlanta, he filled
his letters with fascinating details of daily life, along with
insights on such famous visitors to the city as James Whitcomb
Riley, William Jennings Bryan, and James O'Neill.
"Dearest Chums and Partners" also elucidates heretofore
undisclosed aspects of the writer's personality and tastes,
including his significant interest in the Roman Catholic Church.
His French-Canadian wife, Esther LaRose Harris, was a devout
Catholic, and their two daughters, Lillian and Mildred, attended
convent school together. Many of the letters were mailed to the two
girls at St. Joseph's Academy in Washington, Georgia. Because all
incoming and outgoing mail was screened by the nuns, Harris
developed a rapport with several of the sisters and wrote parts for
them in skits he created for his daughters.
Letters to his sons tended to be more instructive, although he
would clarify his intent: "I am not lecturing, nor issuing orders.
I am merely making suggestions." He advised Julian to keep a
journal and to record his "experience and observation each day, and
all the incidents that occur," adding, "To do this would seem
monotonous to you now, but it would be invaluable to you
later."
In recording his own experiences and observations in these
letters, Harris created a record of his last eighteen years that
modern readers--especially those interested in the social and
literary history of the South and in children's literature--will
find invaluable.
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