Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Maxwell Perkins

Hemingway, Fitzgerald and Maxwell Perkins

Although not a writer himself, Maxwell Evarts Perkins holds an auspicious place in the history of American literature. Perkins served as editor for such well-acclaimed authors as F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Thomas Wolfe, Ezra Pound, Ring Lardner, James Jones and Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings. Through his advocacy of these modernist writers, he played an important role in the success of that movement. Perkins association with Thomas Wolfe is perhaps his most famous, but his relationships with Fitzgerald and Hemingway are equally note-worthy. He was, at different times, their editor, friend, creditor and the link between them.

Born in 1884, Perkins was a Harvard graduate of the class of 1907. He worked as a reporter for the New York Times for several years, but a desire for greater stability led him to a job at Charles’ Scribner’s Sons publishing house in 1910. He began as an advertising manager, but by 1914 Perkins was promoted to the editorial department.[1] There he became known for his ability to recognize upcoming authors, and in 1932 he was made a vice president.[2] When Perkins died in June of 1947, he was considered the most important editor in America.[3]

Perkins first learned of F. Scott Fitzgerald in 1919. Another author, Shane Leslie, regretted that Scribners had been sued for libel because of his works, and to make amends Leslie forwarded a promising manuscript to Perkins. The manuscript was “The Romantic Egotist,” written by Fitzgerald before his entrance into World War I.[4] Perkins was stunned by the vitality of the piece, but he did not feel that it was complete enough for publication. After two more versions a...

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[2] Malcolm Cowley, Unshaken Friend: A Profile of Maxwell Perkins (Boulder, CO: R. Rinehart, Inc., 1985), 24.

[3] A. Scott Berg, Max Perkins: Editor of Genius (New York: Dutton, 1978), 5.

[4] Cowley, 30.

[5] Berg, 15-16.

[6] Ibid., 16.

[7] Ibid., 63.

[8] Malcolm Cowley, Unshaken Friend: A Profile of Maxwell Perkins (Boulder, CO: R. Rinehart, Inc., 1985), 32.

[9] “Maxwell Perkins,” www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/wolfe/perkins.htm

[10] John Hall Wheelock, Editor to Author, the Letters of Maxwell E. Perkins (New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1979), 30.

[11] Berg, 6.

[12] Ibid., 4.

[13] Ibid., 324.

[14] Ibid., 41-2.

[15] Ibid., 389.

[16] Ibid., 392.

[17] Ibid., 395.

[18] Ibid., 390.

[19] Ibid., 67.

[20] “Maxwell Perkins,” www.ah.dcr.state.nc.us/sections/hs/wolfe/perkins.htm

[21] Berg, 449-50.