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Overview
A singular figure in American letters, Lafcadio Hearn (1850—1904) had a life as complex as his heritage: born on a Greek isle of a Greek mother and an English father, raised in Europe, he made his name as a writer in the United States before settling permanently in Japan. Steeped in a decadent style, deeply interested in folk traditions (notably voodoo), Hearn has a keenly observant eye for the offbeat, the sensual, and the gruesome. In novels such as Chita, about a devastating tropical tidal wave, and Youma, about a slave rebellion in Martinique, as well as in a wealth of journalistic reports, Hearn left unrivaled first-hand portraits of the black and creole cultures of New Orleans, Cincinnati, and the French West Indies. His extraordinary travel book Two Years in the French West Indies is presented here with its original illustrations. Some Chinese Ghosts, a stylized retelling of ancient legends, foreshadows his later fascination with Asian themes. The volume is rounded out with a revealing selection of impassioned letters, eight of which are published unexpurgated here for the first time.Synopsis
A singular figure in American letters, Lafcadio Hearn (1850—1904) had a life as complex as his heritage: born on a Greek isle of a Greek mother and an English father, raised in Europe, he made his name as a writer in the United States before settling permanently in Japan. Steeped in a decadent style, deeply interested in folk traditions (notably voodoo), Hearn has a keenly observant eye for the offbeat, the sensual, and the gruesome. In novels such as Chita, about a devastating tropical tidal wave, and Youma, about a slave rebellion in Martinique, as well as in a wealth of journalistic reports, Hearn left unrivaled first-hand portraits of the black and creole cultures of New Orleans, Cincinnati, and the French West Indies. His extraordinary travel book Two Years in the French West Indies is presented here with its original illustrations. Some Chinese Ghosts, a stylized retelling of ancient legends, foreshadows his later fascination with Asian themes. The volume is rounded out with a revealing selection of impassioned letters, eight of which are published unexpurgated here for the first time.
Anthony Pucci - Library Journal
Benfey (Mellon Professor of English, Mount Holyoke) presents four of Hearn's books as well as 25 newspaper and magazine articles and 11 letters written in the 1870s and 1880s. Hearn (1850-1904) is associated especially with New Orleans, Martinique, and Japan, where he became a citizen in 1885 and took the name Koizumi Yakumo. His interest in ghost stories, folktales, voodoo, and the offbeat are reflected in his works. The first piece in this collection, Some Chinese Ghosts, is described by Hearn as a failed attempt to understand the Far East through books alone. In Chita: A Memory of Last Island, he recounts the devastation caused by a hurricane in Louisiana in 1856. The last two major works in this volume, Two Years in the French West Indies(presented with over 80 original illustrations) and Youma: The Story of a West-Indian Slave, are the products of his experiences in Martinique. Although an impressive collection, this would be most appropriate for larger academic libraries collecting Hearn materials.
Editorials
Library Journal
Benfey (Mellon Professor of English, Mount Holyoke) presents four of Hearn's books as well as 25 newspaper and magazine articles and 11 letters written in the 1870s and 1880s. Hearn (1850-1904) is associated especially with New Orleans, Martinique, and Japan, where he became a citizen in 1885 and took the name Koizumi Yakumo. His interest in ghost stories, folktales, voodoo, and the offbeat are reflected in his works. The first piece in this collection, Some Chinese Ghosts, is described by Hearn as a failed attempt to understand the Far East through books alone. In Chita: A Memory of Last Island, he recounts the devastation caused by a hurricane in Louisiana in 1856. The last two major works in this volume, Two Years in the French West Indies(presented with over 80 original illustrations) and Youma: The Story of a West-Indian Slave, are the products of his experiences in Martinique. Although an impressive collection, this would be most appropriate for larger academic libraries collecting Hearn materials.
—Anthony Pucci