The Whole Family

The Whole Family

Written by 12 American authors, including William Dean Howells, Henry James, and Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, and published in 1908, this novel centers on the romantic attachmentsand detachmentsof the young daughter of the Talbert family. Out of this unpromising plot an engaging story emerges when Freeman transforms the old-maid aunt into a liberated woman and makes her the rival of the younger niece. Writing successive chapters, each author playfully creates problems for the next, and much of the fun lies in watching the writers extricate themselves from one trap and then set another. The Whole Family is an intriguing period piece, an illuminating example of differing conceptions of narrative, and enjoyable to read.

One of the most fascinating experiments in American literature resulted in The Whole Family. This unusual composite novel numbers among its twelve authors such luminaries as Henry James, William Dean Howells, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, and Elizabeth Stuart Phelps.

The idea for this collaborative venture originated with Howells in 1906. Under the guidance of Elizabeth Jordan, the energetic editor of Harper's Bazar (as it was then known), each of the authors was invited to write a successive chapter in a story that Howells envisioned as a definitive description of American family life. But the original plan underwent a dramatic reversal with a controversial chapter by Freeman. From that point, The Whole Family became a more involved story of family misunderstandings and rivalries that actually mirrored the rivalries of the contributors themselves.

Alfred Bendixen's lively introduction offers the first accurate and complete account of the creation of this remarkable novel-uncovering new facts and revealing the turmoil out of which it was shaped. June Howard's forward provides additional context and critical perspective.

The Whole Family will be enjoyed by fans of American literature at the start of the twentieth-first century as much as it was by those at the beginning of the twentieth. In addition to delightful plot twists and characters, it offers a remarkable view into the ways in which family life has-and has not-changed over the course of a century.

Full list of authors: Mary R Shipman Andrews, John Kendrick Bangs, Alice Brown, Mary Stewart Cutting, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, William Dean Howells, Henry James, Elizabeth Jordan, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Henry van Dyke, Mary Heaton Vorse, Edith Wyatt.

Content:
The father by William Dean Howells
The old-maid aunt by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman
The grandmother by Mary Heaton Vorse
The daughter in-law by Mary Stewart Cutting
The school-girl by Elizabeth Jordan
The son-in-law by John Kendrick bangs
The married son by Henry James
The married daughter by Elizabeth Stuart Phelps
The mother by Edith Wyatt
The school-boy by Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews
Peggy by Alice Brown
The friend of the family by Henry Ven Dyke
Appendix

Full list of authors: Mary R Shipman Andrews, John Kendrick Bangs, Alice Brown, Mary Stewart Cutting, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, William Dean Howells, Henry James, Elizabeth Jordan, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Henry van Dyke, Mary Heaton Vorse, Edith Wyatt.

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Inhaltsangabe

Contents
The father
William Dean Howells; The old
maid aunt
Mary E. Wilkins Freeman; The grandmother
Mary Heaton Vorse; The daughter in
law
Mary Stewart Cutting; The school
girl
Elizabeth Jordan; The son
in
law
John Kendrick bangs; The married son
Henry James; The married daughter
Elizabeth Stuart Phelps; The mother
Edith Wyatt; The school
boy
Mary Raymond Shipman Andrews; Peggy
Alice Brown; The friend of the family
Henry Ven Dyke; Appendix; Full list of authors
Mary R Shipman Andrews, John Kendrick Bangs, Alice Brown, Mary Stewart Cutting, Mary E. Wilkins Freeman, William Dean Howells, Henry James, Elizabeth Jordan, Elizabeth Stuart Phelps, Henry van Dyke, Mary Heaton Vorse, Edith Wyatt.