Two volume set in slipcase. THE INMAN DIARY; A PUBLIC AND PRIVATE CONFESSION. VOLUME I and VOLUME II. [Vol. 1-One & Vol. 2-Two.]

Inman, Arthur Crew, 1895-1963. Daniel Aaron (editor).

ISBN 10: 0674454456 / ISBN 13: 9780674454453

Published by Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press, 1985., 1985

Complete two volume slipcased set. Hardcovers. Both first printings (per publisher's number line on each volume's respective copyright page). Slipcase with two small stains to top panel with bumped corner; slipcase's lightly soiled paper wrapper has several tears with verso tape repairs. No dust jackets as issued. Blue cloth rubbed; minor flaking to spines' otherwise still bright stamping. Some soiling to text block edges. Interior leaves are clean. Bindings retain some crispness. Please note that this set has an approximate shipping weight of 6 pounds (2.72 kg) and will require additional postage for any postal class other than domestic Media Mail. ISBN 0674454456. Seller Inventory # CVA-01308

Synopsis:

Between 1919 and his death by suicide in 1963, Arthur Crew Inman wrote what is surely one of the fullest diaries ever kept by any American. Convinced that his bid for immortality required complete candor, he held nothing back. This abridgment of the original 155 volumes is at once autobiography, social chronicle, and an apologia addressed to unborn readers.

Into this fascinating record Inman poured memories of a privileged Atlanta childhood, disastrous prep-school years, a nervous collapse in college followed by a bizarre life of self-diagnosed invalidism. Confined to a darkened room in his Boston apartment, he lived vicariously: through newspaper advertisements he hired “talkers” to tell him the stories of their lives, and he wove their strange histories into the diary. Young women in particular fascinated him. He studied their moods, bought them clothes, fondled them, and counseled them on their love affairs. His marriage in 1923 to Evelyn Yates, the heroine of the diary, survived a series of melodramatic episodes. While reflecting on national politics, waifs and revolutions, Inman speaks directly about his fears, compulsions, fantasies, and nightmares, coaxing the reader into intimacy with him. Despite his shocking self-disclosures he emerges as an oddly impressive figure.

This compelling work is many things: a case history of a deeply troubled man; the story of a transplanted and self-conscious southerner; a historical overview of Boston illuminated with striking cityscapes; an odd sort of American social history. But chiefly it is, as Inman himself came to see, a gigantic nonfiction novel, a new literary form. As it moves inexorably toward a powerful denouement, The Inman Diary is an addictive narrative.

About the Author: Daniel Aaron was Victor S. Thomas Professor of English and American Literature, Emeritus, Harvard University.

Bibliographic Details

Title: Two volume set in slipcase. THE INMAN DIARY;...
Publisher: Cambridge, MA and London: Harvard University Press, 1985.
Publication Date: 1985
Binding: Hardcover