"... addicted to every hospitality and every benevolence, addicted to the cultivation of talk and wit and to the ingenious multiplication of such ties as we could link the upper half of the title page with the lower..." Henry James in 1915 on Mr. & Mrs. James Fields  

{HISTORY}

Guests at the Boston literary salon of Mr. James & Annie Fields were a veritable who's who of prominent 19th-century writers.... Mark Twain, Charles Dickens, Sarah Orne Jewett, Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Bret Harte, Henry James, Bronson Alcott, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Harriet Beecher Stowe, to name a few among many others in the creative arts that also included painters, actors, musicians, and political activists. 

In addition to being a writer, activist and philanthropist herself, as well as the wife of distinguished Boston publisher James Fields, Annie Adams Fields (1834-1915) was also a charming, kind-hearted hostess and keen observer of conversation amongst her literary friends. Never interested in self-promotion, scandal or gossip, she regularly recorded bits and pieces of conversations among her friends in her diary that she kept throughout her life. Sketches of dialogue, character traits, pressing matters of the day, viewpoints on life and literature all freshly detail the lives of extraordinary figures, painting them as humble human, fallible beings tackling life, their passions, creativity and talents as anyone might. 

Before Annie passed away in 1915, she granted noted biographer Mark Antony DeWolfe Howe Jr. access to all her diaries in his pursuit to record the friendships enjoyed between the Fields and their literary community. She had one caveat, though, in sharing her books. That Mark's book not be about her so much but about the extraordinary friends whom she knew and loved so well. What resulted is this book, Memories of A Hostess: A Chronicle of Eminent Friendships, published in 1922.

Highlighting correspondence, diary entries, cultural events, and touchpoints from history for context, Mark Antony DeWolfe Howe pieces together an intimate glimpse into the lives of the 20th century's greatest thinkers and artistic minds, courtesy of Annie and James' record-keeping collection.

Here in this book, these great writers live in plain sight. They exchange letters and insecurities.  They eat breakfast, they tell jokes. They lament sorrows and extoll joys.  They meet for tea and for dinner. They recite work for feedback within their group. They put thoughts to words - sometimes clumsily, sometimes beautifully in an effort to refine a viewpoint or a sentiment. They strive, they surrender, they battle darkness, they seek transcendence. It's such a human look at literary figures who now seem so much larger than ordinary life. 

We could write a book of our own on the fascinating topics covered here, but it won't do the book nor the subjects justice like the real figures did themselves. Anyone who appreciates literature, women's history, or memoirs will love this book for the unique slice of life that it details. 

{SPECIAL FEATURES}

• Published in  December 1922, Second Impression
• 312 pages
• Illustrated throughout with black and white photographs and copies of correspondence
• Contains original tissue paper leaf over the title page
• There's a sticker from the Old Corner Book Store in Boston, MA on the bottom corner of the front end paper. This bookstore operated inside Boston's oldest commercial building (c 1718) and was part of the retail segment of the publishing company which James Fields worked for, adding another layer of intimacy to this specific volume. 

{CONDITION}

In beautiful antique condition, this book is clean and bright throughout. There is a gift inscription written in pencil, dated 1922, on the front endpaper. The photographs are crisp and clear, and the paper title label on the spine is strong and secure. The tissue paper insert is fully attached. The spine is tight, and all pages are intact. Please see photos.  

{SIZE}

Measures 8.25" inches (length) x 5.75" inches (width) x 1.25" inches (thickness) and weighs 1.10 lbs.