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From F. R. Cunningham - Choice
Travis Bogard's illuminating foreword to the volume states, it is
probable that no other person except Carlotta was trusted so
completely or came so close to knowing the essential O'Neill.' The
correspondence produces useful biographical information on O'Neill's
period in Europe in the late 1920s, Carlotta's increasing jealousy
of Commins as O'Neill's trust for his editor's judgment increased,
and Commins' obvious admiration of the playwright (lending O'Neill
invaluable assistance with Long Day's Journey into Night {BRD
1956}). Includes clear photos from 1923 to the late 1930s, good
introductions by the editor, index, but no bibliography. Useful for
upper-division undergraduates and graduate students.
From Library Journal
One of America's premier editors, Commins worked with Faulkner and
O'Hara but reserved his warmest regard for longtime friend O'Neill.
Commins' widow here charts that friendship from its beginnings to
its forced dissolution. The letters are primarily to Commins from
O'Neill and his last wife, Carlotta. O'Neill reciprocated Commins'
devotion, as did Carlotta, who generally despised O'Neill's old
acquaintances. But age and illness made Carlotta's suspicions of
``outsiders'' pathological, leading to ugly scenes. By O'Neill's
death, he and Commins were cut off completely. This sad tale has
been told before, but it has a special poignancy in this format. For
subject collections. Starr E. Smith, Georgetown Univ. Lib.,
Washington, D.C. |
