The Annotated Charlotte's Web - Hardcover

White, E. B.; Neumeyer, Peter F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0060243872 ISBN 13: 9780060243876

Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books, 1994

Synopsis

"Probably the most exciting article ever published [in The Horn Book]," announced that magazine's publicity release when, in 1982, Peter Neumeyer wrote his two-part series on the evolution of E. B. White's Charlotte's Web from manuscript to finished book.
Charlotte's Web may be America's best-loved children's book today, seamless in plot, poignant in its delineation of characters who will live in American children's literature forever, and written with a seeming ease and fluency that make the reading as engrossing as it is effortless.
In fact, E. B. White labored tirelessly over eight manuscript drafts, researched thoroughly the habits of spiders, and meditated on the habits of pigs. En route, he corresponded with editors, filmmakers, and friends, as well as fulfilling his role as a distinguished writer for The New Yorker.
The Annotated Charlotte's Web picks up these threads, opens the door to the creator's workshop, and allows the reader to glance over the shoulder of one of the most exacting and fastidious American writers, watching as he forms his masterpiece.
The Annotated Charlotte's Web sheds light on the book's origins, its allusions, its deliberate construction, as well as on the life of its sometimes elusive author. It sets the novel in the context of other books of its type.
Included are information from White's eight manuscript drafts, cross-references to other writings by E. B. White, letters between White and his editors, documents from the critical reception of Charlotte's Web, and general literary-cultural commentary tying the book to its traditions.
For over forty years, this great American novel has thrived without annotation. Now, however, these selected insights can bring us closer to the book's author, enrich our reading of the book, and shed a measure of light on the artistic process itself.

About this title

About the Author

E. B. White, the author of such beloved classics as Charlotte's Web, Stuart Little, and The Trumpet of the Swan, was born in Mount Vernon, New York. He graduated from Cornell University in 1921 and, five or six years later, joined the staff of The New Yorker magazine, then in its infancy. He died on October 1, 1985, and was survived by his son and three grandchildren.

Mr. White's essays have appeared in Harper's magazine, and some of his other books are: One Man's Meat, The Second Tree from the Corner, Letters of E. B. White, Essays of E. B. White, and Poems and Sketches of E. B. White. He won countless awards, including the 1971 National Medal for Literature and the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, which commended him for making a "substantial and lasting contribution to literature for children."

During his lifetime, many young readers asked Mr. White if his stories were true. In a letter written to be sent to his fans, he answered, "No, they are imaginary tales . . . But real life is only one kind of life—there is also the life of the imagination."

About this edition

• Publisher: Harpercollins Childrens Books
• Publication date: 1994
• ISBN 10: 0060243872
• ISBN 13: 9780060243876
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 282
• Illustrator: Williams Garth