College and Research Libraries B y H A R R I E T D . M A C P H E R S O N The Role of Biography as a Literary Form1 Dr. MacPherson is dean, School of Library Science, Drexel Institute of Tech- nology. A S librarians you are likely to deal w i t h biographies in several d i f f e r e n t ways. Y o u select and order books representing this f o r m of l i t e r a t u r e ; you catalog and classify t h e m ; you recommend a n d lend them over the d e s k ; you use biographies as reference tools f o r yielding detailed i n f o r - m a t i o n w h e n the occasion arises; and last —sometimes quite v o l u n t a r i l y — y o u even read t h e m . T h e f o l l o w i n g r e m a r k s are concerned mainly w i t h the c o n t e n t of biographies, the style a n d f o r m in w h i c h they are w r i t t e n , the approach of their a u t h o r s . T h e sub- ject w i l l be t r e a t e d m o r e or less historically so as to show some of the changes t h a t have developed in biographical w r i t i n g f r o m the earliest times u p to the present. C e r t a i n centuries w i l l be h a n d l e d in detail w h e n - ever m a r k e d characteristics in biographical style are evident. T h e r e w i l l also be an a t t e m p t to evaluate and compare some out- s t a n d i n g examples of biographies t h a t have stood the test of time, as w e l l as a f e w of o u r o w n day t h a t seem likely to prove of lasting m e r i t . F r o m this i n t r o d u c t i o n it can be seen t h a t the approach to the subject is to be f r o m the point of view of the reader r a t h e r t h a n t h a t of t h e practicing l i b r a r i a n . I t is possible, however, t h a t an investigation and 1 Paper presented at the General Sessions Meeting, A.C.R.L., July 1950, Cleveland, Ohio. analysis of t r e n d s in biography may heighten your interest a n d intelligence in the pro- fessional h a n d l i n g of w o r k s belonging to this class of l i t e r a t u r e . Historically, the w r i t i n g of biography may be said to go back to P l u t a r c h ' s Lives in the first c e n t u r y A . D . ; some critics w o u l d place the date a h u n d r e d years or so earlier. T h e discussion of biography as an a r t or distinct f o r m of l i t e r a t u r e did n o t , however, become of m u c h i m p o r t a n c e u n t i l the present c e n t u r y . Since W o r l d W a r I, the n u m b e r of biographies produced a n n u - ally has increased surprisingly, and the style of their w r i t i n g has become m o r e readable. O t h e r changes relate to t h e m o r e lifelike p o r t r a y a l of the subjects, and t o the m o r e individualistic m a n n e r in w h i c h biographers h a n d l e their m a t e r i a l . W r i t e r s and readers alike soon became a w a r e of an a w a k e n i n g movement, and it w a s not s t r a n g e t h a t a considerable l i t e r a t u r e on the n a t u r e of biography should have arisen. Beginning w i t h t h e nineteen twenties, n u m e r o u s publications have appeared, par- ticularly in the U n i t e d States and G r e a t B r i t a i n , w h i c h deal w i t h the history, analy- sis and criticism of the w r i t i n g of biography. Some of these c o n t r i b u t i o n s assume t h e f o r m of entire volumes. O t h e r s constitute i n t r o d u c t o r y essays to selections f r o m the w o r k s of several biographers. Still others represent articles in periodicals. A f e w t h a t m i g h t be cited as n o t e w o r t h y examples a r e : W i l b u r L . Cross' An Outline of Biography; A n d r e M a u r o i s ' Aspects of Biography; E d g a r J o h n s o n ' s One Mighty 328 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES Torrent; E d w a r d H . O ' N e i l l ' s A History of American Biography; J . M . L o n g a k e r ' s English Biography in the Eighteenth Cen- tury; H a r o l d Nicholson's The Develop- ment of English Biography. Classification M o s t of these a u t h o r s have a t t e m p t e d to classify existing biographies. T h e resulting divisions do not agree in every detail, chiefly because biography as a subject is so com- plex and so capable of being broken d o w n in several directions. Nevertheless, a cer- tain p a t t e r n develops which covers speci- mens t h a t have been appearing d u r i n g the past 2OCX) years. A s t o a m o u n t of coverage, biographies m a y be classified as individual or collective. As to authenticity, they may be deemed scholarly or p o p u l a r . As to authorship, they m a y be divided into autobiographies, or t r u e biographies w h e r e the w r i t e r is a different person f r o m the subject. A s to point of view, they may be regarded as f a c t u a l or critical, or as w o r k s combining both these elements. A s to length of treat- m e n t , they may range f r o m brief articles to comprehensive studies. Fictional biography and biographical fiction remain on the f r i n g e because opinion differs as to w h e r e they belong. Some types of l i t e r a t u r e w h i c h are gen- erally included u n d e r the t e r m biography are illustrated almost exclusively by speci- mens of autobiography. Aside f r o m a f e w collections consisting of excerpts f r o m the w r i t i n g s of several autobiographers, these types are regarded as peculiar to individual autobiography. T h e y include such literary f o r m s as diaries, j o u r n a l s , memoirs, letters, correspondence, reminiscences and confes- sions. I n both individual and collective biogra- phy an a u t h o r may deal w i t h his subject as a whole, or w i t h some p a r t i c u l a r aspect on which he concentrates. D i a r i e s and j o u r n a l s are likewise o f t e n confined to certain years of an a u t h o r ' s life, t h o u g h letters and cor- respondence may r u n f r o m early in life u n t i l the very day of death. T h e a u t h o r of collective biography o f t e n finds it practical to select his subjects be- cause of some point which binds them to- gether, such as period or profession. T h i s is t r u e of L y t t o n Strachey's Eminent Vic- torians and of E l e a n o r S. D u c k e t t ' s Anglo- Saxon Saints and Sinners. Brief collective biographies of recent years have come to be k n o w n as " s h o r t biographies." L i t e r a l l y speaking, most col- lective biographies present brief t r e a t m e n t s of several people, unless t h e a u t h o r limits himself to t w o or three lives or extends his m a t e r i a l to m o n u m e n t a l proportions. Y e t the n u m b e r of volumes devoted to brief sketches of several people has been increas- ing steadily. A book published in 1935, by M a r s t o n Balch, Modern Short Biographies, emphasizes this t r e n d . I n d i v i d u a l and collective biographies t h a t deal w i t h a t t a i n m e n t s of people in a critical or evaluative sense r a t h e r t h a n in t r u e bio- graphical fashion are difficult to classify. O f t e n it is a problem as to w h e t h e r such books can be considered biography, as the chronological facts in a subject's life may be h a n d l e d very incidentally. W h i l e m o r e il- lustrations come to mind in the field of litera- ture, examples may be f o u n d also among biographies dealing w i t h artists, musicians, scientists and men of business. Authorship of Biographies and A utobiographies T h e p a r t played by the a u t h o r of a biog- raphy is considerable. H i s genuine interest in and knowledge of his subject, his style, his r e p u t a t i o n as a w r i t e r , his objectivity, the age and c o u n t r y in w h i c h he lives, the relative importance of his subject in w o r l d OCTOBER, 1051 329 events—all of these elements have impor- t a n t bearing on the book p r o d u c e d . M a n y excellent biographies have a n a r r o w appeal because t h e person w r i t t e n about w a s re- n o w n e d f o r too specialized a c o n t r i b u t i o n . N o t a f e w works, w h i l e i m p o r t a n t f a c t u a l l y , remain almost u n r e a d because of their cumbersome style. Some books suffer and others gain in importance because the a u t h o r s w e r e related to or w o r k e d closely w i t h their subjects. W h y does an a u t h o r u n d e r t a k e to w r i t e a b i o g r a p h y ? P r o b a b l y f o r as m a n y reasons as people set out to w r i t e a n y t h i n g . T h e f o l l o w i n g w o u l d seem to outline the chief objectives: ( i ) to cover a definite need in the f i e l d ; ( 2 ) to produce a by-product of intensive research already completed by an a u t h o r , in the area of his specialty; ( 3 ) to answer public d e m a n d t h a t he u n d e r t a k e the w o r k because he has been deemed the best qualified person f r o m one or several points of v i e w ; ( 4 ) to use biography as a vehicle f o r p r o p a g a n d a ; ( 5 ) to commemo- r a t e the anniversary of a subject's b i r t h , death or offering to the w o r l d of some par- ticular a c h i e v e m e n t ; ( 6 ) to make m o n e y ; ( 7 ) to launch or f u r t h e r a literary reputa- t i o n ; a n d ( 8 ) to f u l f i l l an honest desire to increase the subject's i m p o r t a n c e by bring- ing him into the public eye. Some of the qualifications of a biographer, such as ability to w r i t e and interest in his subject, have already been suggested. T h e r e are m a n y others. T o d a y , a scholarly biog- raphy m u s t be w e l l d o c u m e n t e d . T h i s means t h a t the w r i t e r m u s t have read widely and have acknowledged in his w o r k p r i m a r y as w e l l as secondary sources. If the subject has already been treated by other biographers, t h e n e w w o r k is j u d g e d largely f r o m the extent to which additional facts have been presented. W h e n the biography concerns a person w h o is still living or w h o has died recently, the a u t h o r m u s t contact f r i e n d s and rela- tives w h o can f u r n i s h special i n f o r m a t i o n . T h i s o f t e n involves m u c h correspondence and considerable travel. Visits to the h a u n t s of the biographee m u s t also be considered w h e n e v e r possible. T r a v e l may also be in- volved in gaining access to m a n u s c r i p t col- lections and other special types of source m a t e r i a l . If t h e subject of a biography has be- come the center of c o n t r o v e r s y — i n v o l v i n g personal immorality, questionable political standards, a secret m a r r i a g e or a dozen other f a c t o r s — t h e a u t h o r must be c a r e f u l in h a n d l i n g such details. M a n y lawsuits have resulted f r o m the supposed d e f a m a t i o n of a f a m o u s c h a r a c t e r . T h e biographer must also be on g u a r d against publishing d a t a f r o m m a t e r i a l which may have been shown to him confidentially. I n addition, a biographer m u s t have per- severance, energy, optimism and discrimina- tion. Needless to say, he m u s t also possess the a t t r i b u t e s of any research w o r k e r in a specialized f i e l d : b a c k g r o u n d knowledge, accuracy, and in m a n y instances, considera- ble ability at r e a d i n g foreign languages. W h e n he has at last finished his task, this paragon of w r i t e r s should be prepared to hope f o r the best and p r e p a r e f o r the w o r s t , in g e t t i n g a publisher and h a v i n g his book well acclaimed by readers. Qualifications of an Autobiographer Does a person w h o u n d e r t a k e s the w r i t - ing of his o w n life history need to possess all the above-mentioned v i r t u e s ? P e r h a p s not, but he m u s t be able to w r i t e well and in an interesting fashion. Also, he m u s t have something u n u s u a l to say, w h a t e v e r his w a l k of life. A sense of h u m o r like- wise seems m o r e necessary w h e n a m a n is presenting himself in a book t h a n w h e n he is w r i t i n g of others. Since m a n y autobiog- raphies are u n d e r t a k e n in old age or in late middle life, memory alone can seldom be relied u p o n . R e f e r e n c e to diaries, letters 330 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES a n d certain texts may be necessary, as well as consultation w i t h f r i e n d s and relatives. T h i s is p a r t i c u l a r l y t r u e w h e n a m a n has led a very busy or varied life, or if he pro- ceeds to delve into his ancestry. Of course there are instances w h e r e an autobiographer purposely misrepresents facts or omits neces- sary statements, but sooner or l a t e r such perversion of the t r u t h w i l l generally come to l i g h t . Trends in Historical Development of Bio- graphical Writings T o trace in entirety the historical devel- opment of the a r t of biography w o u l d prove an arduous, complicated u n d e r t a k i n g . A n examination of the l i t e r a t u r e of every civilized nation w o u l d be necessary, and then a concentration on all biographical texts available. A l b e r t B r i t t ' s The Great Biographers is one of the f e w over-all out- lines, and the w o r k contains m a n y gaps. A m o r e adequate job has been done by w r i t e r s w h o have focused on one period or one c o u n t r y , such as D o n a l d A . S t a u f f e r , in his The Art of Biography in Eighteenth Cen- tury England, published in 1941, and its earlier c o u n t e r p a r t , English Biography be- fore 1700, published in 1930. T h e present a u t h o r will aim to show t r e n d s f r o m the earliest times up to the present, i l l u s t r a t i n g the different periods by mention of a f e w o u t s t a n d i n g a u t h o r s and titles. Beginning w i t h the eighteenth cen- t u r y , selection becomes increasingly difficult, as the n u m b e r of published biographies be- gan to assume huge proportions. D u r i n g the past decade, w i t h h u n d r e d s of titles to choose f r o m every year, one person's opin- ion as to o u t s t a n d i n g w r i t e r s seems as good as another's. T h e Publisher's Weekly f o r J a n . 21, 1950, states t h a t the biographical titles published in the U n i t e d States in 1949 showed an increase of 16 per cent over the preceding year. I n 1948 there had ap- peared 4 6 0 n e w biographical titles and 53 n e w editions, m a k i n g a total f o r the year of 513 works. T h e year 1949 showed 526 n e w titles and 69 n e w editions, t o t a l i n g 595 biographical titles in all. A n d these figures cover only A m e r i c a n publications! Ancient Times I n ancient times, before the fall of R o m e in 4 7 6 A . D . , biographical titles w e r e not large in n u m b e r . Y e t if w e begin w i t h P l u t a r c h , in the first century, A . D . , certain prototypes of today may be f o u n d . P l u - tarch himself, t h r o u g h his Lives, presents an excellent example of collective biography. H e covers 4 6 G r e e k and R o m a n leaders, a r r a n g i n g m a n y of them in pairs, f o r the sake of c o n t r a s t . Persons included repre- sent such varied walks of life as emperors, statesmen, military leaders, philosophers and men of letters. T h o u g h m a n y of his sources of i n f o r m a t i o n have been lost, a considerable n u m b e r of the lives are docu- mented, very o f t e n in the text itself. P l u - t a r c h had a m o d e r n conception of the difference between history and biography, and the f a c t t h a t the individuality of a m a n must be emphasized in t r e a t i n g of him as a person. T a c i t u s and Suetonius, w h o w e r e both R o m a n historians of the second century, likewise proved themselves masters of the a r t of biography. T a c i t u s w r o t e one of the first individual biographies of note, w h e n he produced the life of his f a t h e r - i n - l a w , Agricola. T h e l a t t e r emerges as a real individual, w i t h a clear-cut personality. M o r e o v e r , T a c i t u s f u r n i s h e s us w i t h an excellent sketch of B r i t a i n u n d e r the Romans, so t h a t Agricola is fitted into his p a r t i c u l a r background of place and time. T h e style of w r i t i n g is also distinguished. Suetonius, in his Lives of the Caesars, pro- duced a n o t h e r early example of collective biography. H i s subjects w e r e f o r the most p a r t insidious and he o f t e n exaggerated to the extent of becoming u n t r u t h f u l , so t h a t OCTOBER, 1951 32 7 the accounts of these emperors can best be described as l u r i d . Is this w o r k the earliest example of the " d e b u n k i n g " variety of b i o g r a p h y ? Y e t the style is s t r a i g h t f o r w a r d and pleasing, as well as gossipy a n d h u m o r - ous. I n 397 A . D . an early example of auto- biography w a s w r i t t e n w h i c h came to be k n o w n as t h e Confessions of St. Augustine. T h e a u t h o r , w h o w a s Bishop of H i p p o in N o r t h A f r i c a , w a s only 43 w h e n he u n d e r - took the account of his life. T h e w o r k consists of 13 books, of w h i c h the first 10 depict the childhood and youth, the m o r a l shortcomings and the i n w a r d struggles of the a u t h o r . P r a y e r s a n d m e d i t a t i o n s are o f t e n mixed w i t h the account of his per- sonal life. H e r e is an i l l u s t r a t i o n of an a u t o b i o g r a p h e r w h o does not shirk the tell- ing of t r u t h about himself, however sordid some of the details t u r n out to be. Mediaeval Period T h e r e is then a gap of about f o u r centuries, w h e n the period of mediaeval bi- o g r a p h y begins. F o r the most p a r t , mediae- val biographies w e r e of t w o kinds, lives of the saints and lives of kings. T h e f o r m e r w e r e w r i t t e n largely f o r edification and record l a r g e n u m b e r s of miracles. T h e person w r i t t e n about dominates the scene, and there is seldom any a t t e m p t to w r i t e of the people w i t h w h o m he w a s s u r r o u n d e d . Bede's Life of St. Cuthbert f u r n i s h e s a better c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n t h a n most lives of the saints, t h o u g h Bede did n o t actually differentiate between history and biography. O n e unique point a b o u t St. C u t h b e r t ' s biog- raphy is the f a c t t h a t Bede w r o t e versions of it in both prose and poetry. A m o n g the lives of kings, t h a t of C h a r l e - magne, by E i n h a r d , m a y be chosen as a superior example. T h i s a u t h o r bridged the eighth and n i n t h centuries and had actually been a s t u d e n t in t h e Palace School of C h a r l e m a g n e f o r m a n y years of his life. P e r s o n a l acquaintance w i t h his subject proved r a t h e r a disadvantage to E i n h a r d , f o r C h a r l e m a g n e ' s shortcomings are en- tirely overlooked and he is glorified as a sort of s u p e r m a n . I n E n g l a n d , about a c e n t u r y later, ap- peared the life of K i n g A l f r e d , w r i t t e n by Asser, an English bishop. T h i s study f o r m e d p a r t of the a u t h o r ' s chronicle of E n g l i s h history. W h i l e t h e book is highly eulogistic in tone, A l f r e d emerges as a m a n and n o t a saint. V e r y f e w o u t s t a n d i n g biographies ap- peared again u n t i l about t h e time of the Renaissance. Boccaccio's study of D a n t e , w r i t t e n in the f o u r t e e n t h century, may be said to represent a n e w awakening, on the p a r t of a biographer, in his subject. T h e w o r k , w h i l e in prose, is w r i t t e n in poetic vein w h i c h is entirely in keeping w i t h D a n t e ' s profession. F a c t s of D a n t e ' s life are given, his physical and m e n t a l character- istics are described, and t h e r e is some a t t e m p t at l i t e r a r y criticism. Renaissance D u r i n g the sixteenth c e n t u r y t h e r e w e r e compiled at least t w o notable individual biographies and one autobiography of m e r i t . O f t h e individual biographies, oddly enough, one was w r i t t e n by Sir T h o m a s M o r e about K i n g R i c h a r d I I I of E n g l a n d , and the o t h e r w a s a w o r k about M o r e w h i c h was compiled by his f a t h e r - i n - l a w , W i l l i a m R o p e r . T h e f a m o u s autobiogra- phy w a s t h a t of B e n v e n u t o Cellini. I t is supposed t h a t M o r e ' s style and life- like depiction of his subject w e r e influenced by his t h o r o u g h acquaintance w i t h T a c i t u s . I n any case, t h o u g h the biography is w e l l w r i t t e n , M o r e shows himself to be out of sympathy w i t h K i n g R i c h a r d . M o r e is o f t e n coldly ironic or scathing in his depic- tion of the king. Y e t the c h a r a c t e r i z a t i o n is realistic and indicates t h a t M o r e had con- siderable psychological insight. 332 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES R o p e r ' s s t u d y of M o r e is r e m a r k a b l e f o r its a t t e n t i o n to detail in all t h e events of the l a t t e r ' s life. H o w e v e r , so f a r as style and exact characterization a r e concerned, the biography is u n i n t e r e s t i n g and scarcely does M o r e justice. Roper m u s t have been a m a n w i t h limited h u m o r and imagination, as he completely ignores M o r e ' s w i t and the lighter side of his n a t u r e . W a s this w o r k a hang-over f r o m t h e mediaeval period or a prototype of the general r u n of u n i n t e r - esting individual biographies t h a t w a s to prevail f o r the next three centuries? Cellini's autobiography was w r i t t e n be- tween 1558 and 1562. I t has become a classic and has been t r a n s l a t e d into m a n y languages by o u t s t a n d i n g w r i t e r s . Besides recording i n t i m a t e details of an a d v e n t u r e - some, l u s t f u l life, Cellini succeeds in depict- ing the t u r m o i l in the I t a l y of the period. I t is a book such as only an artistic genius could have w r i t t e n , as it both a t t r a c t s and repels by its spirit of revolt and b r a v a d o . Seventeenth Century T h e seventeenth c e n t u r y in E n g l a n d saw the rise of the diarists. A s a f o r m of auto- biography, the diary is m o r e i n t i m a t e t h a n most such writings, less continuous in style and likely to record the i m p o r t a n t things of the m o m e n t . T h e r e is no chance f o r reflection on the p a r t of the a u t h o r . N o n e of w h a t he puts d o w n can be seen in retro- spect. T h e t w o o u t s t a n d i n g diarists of this period w e r e Samuel Pepys and J o h n Eve- lyn. Pepys was a civil servant, w i t h a post at the A d m i r a l t y . H e was a member of the Royal Society and possessed a private l i b r a r y of several thousand volumes. H e also had a zest f o r life and was devoted to the theatre. T h e diary covers a period of about nine and a half years, f r o m 1660 to 1669. Pepys m a d e m u c h of the trivial, t h o u g h he does record some i m p o r t a n t hap- penings of the time. T h e style is gay, on the whole, despite the entries of t r a g i c events. J o h n Evelyn's w o r k r u n s over a longer period, since he began m a k i n g entries in 1641, w h e n in his early twenties, and con- tinued u n t i l almost the time of his death in 1706. H e likewise w a s a public servant, and he traveled widely. W h i l e the facts t h a t he records are o f t e n interesting and u n d o u b t e d l y authentic, the style is f o r the most p a r t dull and lacking in h u m o r . Sir Isaac W a l t o n published a collection of five lives between 1640 and 1678. H i s subjects were J o h n D o n n e , Sir H e n r y W o t - ton, R i c h a r d H o o k e r , G e o r g e H e r b e r t and R o b e r t Sanderson. A t least three of these men w e r e k n o w n to W a l t o n personally. T h i s perhaps accounts f o r the fact t h a t the character of the biographer i n t r u d e s a little too m u c h into the sketches. T h e style is r a t h e r monotonous, little or no h u m o r is evident and a great deal of emphasis is put on theological m a t t e r s . Nevertheless, W a l - ton w a s a conscientious biographer, w h o took pride in his u n d e r t a k i n g , and w h o could distinguish sharply between history and biography. I n F r a n c e the seventeenth century rep- resented the golden age in l i t e r a t u r e and in the prestige of the king and the c o u r t . M e m o i r s w e r e kept by people high in society as well as by a u t h o r s . F r e q u e n t l y these w e r e not published u n t i l years a f t e r w a r d s . Such was the case w i t h the memoirs of Saint-Simon, w h o lived w e l l into the next century but started his recordings of c o u r t events and all t h a t concerned the character and doings of Louis X I V a n d X V , w i t h the year 1693. T h e style is at times brilliant, but o f t e n tedious. O n e letter w r i t e r of the century has gained r e n o w n f a r outside F r a n c e . T h i s w a s M m e . de Sevigne. T h e complete corre- spondence has been published in m a n y volumes, and the people to w h o m she w r o t e included most of the l i t e r a r y and social OCTOBER, 1951 32 7 lights of her time. H o w e v e r , the m a j o r i t y of her letters w e r e w r i t t e n to her d a u g h t e r , M m e . de G r i g n a n , whose m a r r i a g e m e a n t removal to a n o t h e r p a r t of F r a n c e . W h i l e m o t h e r and d a u g h t e r m e t at intervals, they w e r e so u n u s u a l l y devoted t h a t M m e . de Sevigne sent almost daily accounts of the happenings at c o u r t or of the routines of existence at her c o u n t r y home. I t is still a question as to w h e t h e r these letters w e r e w r i t t e n spontaneously or w i t h a view to f u t u r e publication. T h e i r content shows the a u t h o r to have been a well-educated w o m a n , w i t h keen political insight and great sophistication. T h e style is both c h a r m i n g and vivacious, w i t h a certain lilt in the well-constructed sentences. Eighteenth Century T h e eighteenth c e n t u r y produced w h a t is o f t e n called the greatest individual biogra- phy of m o d e r n times, Boswell's Life of Samuel Johnson. C a r e f u l reading of Bos- well reveals the f a c t t h a t this century, in G r e a t B r i t a i n in p a r t i c u l a r , w a s a time of great biographical activity. Selection of names and titles t h a t m i g h t be indicative of the best biographical t r e n d s in E u r o p e is extremely difficult. T h e f o u r men chosen represent different types of w r i t e r s and illustrate several classes of biographical f o r m : V o l t a i r e , G o e t h e , Boswell and J o h n - son himself. V o l t a i r e , while generally classified as a philosopher, was also novelist, poet, d r a m a - tist and biographer. I n the last-named category he produced at least t w o w o r k s which, alone, m i g h t r a n k him as a m a n of letters. T h e y w e r e his studies of C h a r l e s X I I of Sweden and of Louis X I V of F r a n c e . T h e first w a s p r i n t e d in 1731, w h e n V o l t a i r e w a s still a y o u n g m a n ; the l a t t e r appeared 21 years l a t e r . T h e w o r k on C h a r l e s w a s designed mainly as a por- t r a i t of an o u t s t a n d i n g prince. T h e His- toire du siecle de Louis XIV was, as its name suggests, planned as a delineation of F r e n c h civilization of the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries, quite as m u c h as a character study of the G r a n d M o n a r c h . V o l t a i r e is, on the whole, kinder to C h a r l e s X I I , though neither p o r t r a i t is d r a w n w i t h - out of prejudice. I n each w o r k there is an a t t e m p t to weigh the value of w a r , royal glory and the p a r t played by the people in the life of the times. T h e w o r k on C h a r l e s X I I enjoyed an enormous vogue immedi- ately a f t e r p u b l i c a t i o n ; yet it is the other title t h a t is constantly pointed to as a masterpiece of the F r e n c h language. G o e t h e ' s Dichtung und Wahrheit w a s begun in 1811, w h e n the poet w a s about 62 years old. P a r t I V , which w a s the last to be completed, carried his life only to 1775, so t h a t the book is an autobiography only of the first 26 years of the a u t h o r ' s life. F o r the most p a r t , G o e t h e relied on his memory f o r the various incidents related. H e did, however, consult members of his family and a n u m b e r of historical w o r k s . T h e book is a fascinating account of G o e t h e ' s ancestry, childhood, love affairs, travels, education and search f o r a profes- sion. Some of the i m p o r t a n t men w h o figured in the Sturm und Drang period are characterized, and m a n y of the trials and joys of the compilation of his t w o early works, Werther and Goetz von Berlichin- gen, are recounted. U n d o u b t e d l y , there a r e some episodes w h i c h have been c o l o r e d ; again, some incidents have been omitted. Y e t , taken as a whole, the w o r k presents an i n t i m a t e account of the g r o w i n g pains of a great artist. T h e style is simple, engaging and o f t e n amusing. Samuel J o h n s o n w a s himself a biographer of note. M u c h of his w o r k appeared in j o u r n a l s or as prefaces to volumes w r i t t e n by other authors, but at least one title m u s t be acclaimed as an o u t s t a n d i n g example of 334 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES collective biography. T h i s is his Lives of the English Poets, which is comparatively f r e e of the encumbrances of J o h n s o n ' s r a t h e r heavy style. M a n y of the poets had been k n o w n to him personally, their w o r k s had been read thoroughly and he had spared no effort in assembling intimate facts. A m o n g the names included, M i l t o n , Pope and G r a y are still recognized as i m p o r t a n t , but large n u m b e r s of f o r g o t t e n poets are rep- resented. O n t h e whole, J o h n s o n dealt fairly w i t h his subjects. A notable excep- tion is in the case of G r a y , w h o m he was always w o n t to criticize severely. Boswell's Life w a s an innovation in t h a t it illustrates the conscious e f f o r t of a biog- rapher to e n t w i n e himself w i t h the life of his subject. A c t u a l l y , Boswell never met J o h n s o n u n t i l 1763, w h e n the l a t t e r was 54 years of age, and already an acknowl- edged m a n of letters. F a c t s of his subject's early years w e r e gathered by Boswell f r o m J o h n s o n himself, m u t u a l f r i e n d s and some w r i t t e n sources. I t is t h e r e f o r e n a t u r a l t h a t f o u r or five times as much space should be devoted to the last 20 years of J o h n s o n ' s life. T h e presentation is complex, in t h a t at all meetings w i t h J o h n s o n , Boswell records at length J o h n s o n ' s sayings and his a r g u m e n t s w i t h those present. Interspersed w i t h the details of the actual meetings are t h e texts of letters w r i t t e n by and to J o h n - son, and a chronological account of J o h n - son's literary efforts and personal actions. N o t to be overlooked are the descriptions of a large n u m b e r of miscellaneous f r i e n d s belonging to J o h n s o n ' s circle. Reynolds, G a r r i c k , G o l d s m i t h , Burke, K i n g G e o r g e I I I , mingle w i t h obscure apothecaries and y o u n g students. Boswell had the highest opinion of J o h n s o n , both as m a n and a u t h o r , yet he f r e q u e n t l y sprays his m a n u s c r i p t w i t h adverse criticism. T h u s he escaped the pitfalls of m a n y biographers w h o become only hero worshippers. Nineteenth Century W i t h the nineteenth century, the w r i t i n g of biography appeared to become the habit of almost anyone w h o could u n d e r t a k e the compilation of a book. I t is this c e n t u r y which introduced the U n i t e d States as an i m p o r t a n t source of biographical publica- tions. T h i s era also saw the birth of w h a t may be called the democratization of biog- raphy, because of the g r o w i n g tendency to extend biographical coverage to persons in every w a l k of life. A n o t h e r innovation was the s t a r t i n g of series, u n d e r able editors, of individual biographies to be w r i t t e n by out- s t a n d i n g a u t h o r s . T h u s there developed the A m e r i c a n Statesmen Series, and the English M e n of L e t t e r s and A m e r i c a n M e n of L e t t e r s Series. Still another t r e n d is to be seen in the tendency f o r many different w r i t e r s to u n d e r t a k e the biography of some n o t e w o r t h y person. T h i s resulted in the building up of a veritable l i t e r a t u r e on such men as Napoleon, W a s h i n g t o n , Lincoln, D a n t e and Goethe, w i t h wide variety in t r e a t m e n t of the subjects, search f o r n e w sources, and specialized h a n d l i n g of only one phase of a m a n ' s life. « Selection of eminent A m e r i c a n biogra- phers might be made on the basis of w r i t e r s w h o w e r e pioneers in this field or w h o made notable contributions to one p a r t i c u l a r class of biography. F o r these reasons it seems well to cite P a r s o n W e e m s , W a s h i n g t o n I r v i n g , J a r e d Sparks and J a m e s P a r t o n . P a r s o n W e e m s has gained r e n o w n not as the earliest prolific A m e r i c a n biographer, but as the f o r e r u n n e r of w r i t e r s of the m o d e r n fictionalized biography. H i s sub- j e c t s — W i l l i a m P e n n , W a s h i n g t o n , F r a n k - lin and G e n e r a l F r a n c i s M a r i o n — w e r e all of interest to the w o r l d f o r which he w r o t e , but W e e m s d r e w upon his imagination to such an extent t h a t w h a t w a s fact and w h a t was fiction w a s not easy to ascertain. W a s h i n g t o n I r v i n g , perhaps better OCTOBER, 1951 32 7 k n o w n f o r his w r i t i n g s in other fields, pro- duced a series of f o u r early essays on A m e r i - can n a v a l heroes of the W a r of 1812. F a r more i m p o r t a n t , however, w a s his History of the Life and Voyages of Christopher Columbus, printed in 1828, w h i c h is even n o w acclaimed as one of the best biogra- phies of t h a t voyager. T h e style is I r v i n g ' s best, and while .there are no footnotes, the a u t h o r has gone to infinite trouble to inspect the best source m a t e r i a l . I r v i n g also con- t r i b u t e d notable w o r k s on M a h o m e t , G o l d - smith and W a s h i n g t o n . J a r e d Sparks, t h o u g h preeminently k n o w n as a historian, produced biographies of J o h n L e d y a r d and G o u v e r n e u r M o r r i s , in 1827 and 1832 respectively. T h e s e are well w r i t t e n and still consulted today. W h e n he published the Works of Benjamin Franklin, with Notes and a Life of the Author, Sparks m a d e a notable c o n t r i b u t i o n to A m e r i c a n biography by i n s t i t u t i n g the vogue f o r the combined life and w o r k s of a m a n . H e also established a precedent in d o c u m e n t i n g his m a t e r i a l f r o m original sources. I n 1847 Sparks produced an ex- ample of the combination of life and letters, w h e n he published the Life and Corre- spondence of Joseph Read, of revolutionary f a m e . P r o b a b l y the earliest professional biogra- pher in A m e r i c a w a s J a m e s P a r t o n , w h o s t a r t e d w i t h a life of H o r a c e Greeley in 1855 a n d continued publishing individual and collective biographies f o r t h e n e x t 30 years. B u r r , Jackson, F r a n k l i n , V o l t a i r e and J o h n J a c o b A s t o r w e r e a m o n g the sub- jects f o r his individual biographies. A s f o r his collective biographies, perhaps his earli- est, Famous Americans of Recent Times, is the most commendable. P a r t o n ' s style w a s n o t p a r t i c u l a r l y polished, b u t he had a w i d e range of interest in people, and his c h a r a c t e r sketches are vivid and, f o r t h e most p a r t , accurate. O n e n a m e stands out above all others f o r nineteenth c e n t u r y F r a n c e ; t h a t is Sainte- Beuve. H e still remains on the lists of the r e n o w n e d l i t e r a r y critics of any age and re- tains s t a t u r e a m o n g t h e best w r i t e r s of collective biography. T h r e e w o r k s of his, one of which w a s devoted to celebrated w o m e n , deal w i t h p r o m i n e n t l i t e r a r y figures of F r a n c e and other countries. H i s criti- cism is biting, though f r e q u e n t l y justified, and his analysis of c h a r a c t e r seldom to be equaled. Biographers in n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y E n g - land w e r e a m o n g all ranks of people. P r o b - ably M a c a u l a y , C a r l y l e and T h a c k e r a y w o u l d be included in any selection to be m a d e . M a c a u l a y becomes notable not only as the a u t h o r of t h e Essay on Milton but also because of his Life and Letters, which w e r e edited by a nephew, Sir G e o r g e T r e v e l y a n . T h e selection of m a t e r i a l to be included in the l a t t e r w o r k w a s of course done by T r e v e l y a n , but t h e letters them- selves show a r a r e insight into the w o r k i n g habits of a g r e a t historian. W h i l e t h e Essay on Burns is generally considered C a r l y l e ' s masterpiece a m o n g biographical items, his Heroes and Hero- worship is a splendid example of collective biography w h i c h aims to cover all countries and all periods. H e r e , his groupings of heroes are at once logical and ingenious; the criticism is usually j u s t ; the p o r t r a i t s are brief b u t lifelike. T w o letter w r i t e r s of note, Stevenson and H e n r y J a m e s , belong properly to the n i n e t e e n t h c e n t u r y , t h o u g h J a m e s ' s corre- spondence was not published u n t i l a f e w years a f t e r his death, w h i c h occurred in 1916. Since M m e . de Sevigne of the seven- teenth century, t h e r e had probably been no m o r e compelling correspondents t h a n Stevenson a n d J a m e s . B o t h k n e w m a n y people, lived in several countries and w e r e v o l u m i n o u s l e t t e r w r i t e r s . Stevenson's let- 336 COLLEGE AND RESEARCH LIBRARIES ters are more personal and h u m o r o u s ; he w r o t e a great deal about himself. T h e cor- respondence of J a m e s reveals a kindly m a n who, as a rule, devotes f a r more time to the affairs of the f r i e n d to w h o m he is w r i t i n g t h a n to his own personal problems. I t can be said t h a t J a m e s ' s letters contain m o r e sub- stance, while Stevenson's exhibit more c h a r m . W h i l e m a n y people believe t h a t Stevenson's letters w e r e w r i t t e n w i t h a view to f u t u r e publication, each letter of J a m e s appears to be quite spontaneous. Twentieth Century I n the t w e n t i e t h century a revival of biog- raphy, and perhaps its r e f o r m a t i o n , seems to have taken place. M e n t i o n has already been m a d e of the more h u m a n i z e d biography which came into being a f t e r W o r l d W a r I. L y t t o n Strachey is o f t e n credited w i t h its inception, both because of his o w n studies of f a m o u s people and his ideas about biog- raphy as a literary f o r m . T h e r e were, how- ever, m a n y others w h o played a role in the popularization of biography, among w h o m might be mentioned t h a t indefatigable w r i t e r , E m i l L u d w i g , and one a u t h o r of the " d e b u n k i n g " type of study, G e o r g e S. H e l l m a n . Before the advent of popular biography on a large scale, there was published pri- vately in 1906 a w o r k w h i c h has been acclaimed one of the greatest of m o d e r n autobiographies. T h i s w a s The Education of Henry Adams, by H e n r y A d a m s . I t is w r i t t e n in the third person, and the w o r d " e d u c a t i o n " implies the a u t h o r ' s a d j u s t m e n t to the w o r l d in general. I t is a social, polit- ical and literary account of the a u t h o r ' s life and the contacts t h a t he made. E v e n people w h o are not p a r t i c u l a r l y interested in education in the n a r r o w sense are en- t h r a l l e d by this book. A m o n g the h u n d r e d s of n e w biographies t h a t have been published d u r i n g the past year, this a u t h o r has read at least 25 titles. T h e s e have represented every type of indi- vidual and collective biography, including letters, memoirs and diaries. Some, like the voluminous autobiography of Sir O s b e r t Sit- well, and the equally extended study of W a s h i n g t o n by D o u g l a s S. F r e e m a n , started publication some time ago and are as yet unfinished. T h e s e t w o works, t h o u g h fascinating and crowded w i t h a variety of personalities, cannot be j u d g e d fairly u n t i l completion. T h e f o r m e r seems a bit pe- dantic in style. T h e l a t t e r is so heavily documented t h a t it requires t w o readings to grasp all the implications. Y e t each study is likely to become a l a n d m a r k in the history of biographical u n d e r t a k i n g s in E n g - land and A m e r i c a . Several volumes of individual biography encountered have proved heavy in style, ill planned, or unsatisfactory as to accurate coverage of the subject. O n the other h a n d , the a u t h o r has read one comprehensive life of a philanthropist t h a t w a s superbly done. A m o n g collective biographies she recalls w i t h pleasure a volume devoted to con- t e m p o r a r y musicians, and T h a r p ' s The Pea- body Sisters of Salem. A r e w e e n t e r i n g another phase of biographical compilation, in w h i c h quality is being sacrificed to q u a n t i t y and in which documentation is playing too heavy a p a r t ? T h e r e is no evidence of striking innova- tion as to the f o r m s in which c o n t e m p o r a r y biography is n o w being cast. W e still have w i t h us the c o u n t e r p a r t s of samples t h a t have been offered d u r i n g the past 2 0 0 0 years. O n e thing, however, appears certain — t h e r e seems no f e a r t h a t biography will disappear as a separate f o r m . T h e novelists and the historians may a t t e m p t subtle merg- ings, but the role of biography remains as the l i t e r a t u r e of personality—the t r u t h f u l p o r t r a y a l of the characters of real men and real w o m e n . OCTOBER, 1951 32 7