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Overview
When they fell in love amid the tumult of the 1905 Russian revolution, they believed they were destiny's match: William English Walling, a wealthy American journalist activist from the Midwest, and Anna Strunsky, an aspiring novelist from San Francisco. Vowing to dedicate themselves to socialist ideals, they soon became celebrities who moved in an elite circle of writers, journalists, and reformers. Ultimately, both their marriage and their political commitment faltered, but not before they had participated in some of the most urgent social causes of their day. Boylan enriches our understanding of the intellectual and cultural background of prewar socialism by skillfully tracing the interplay between private and public lives. At the same time, he illuminates the struggle of those who were born Victorians to adjust to the changing public arena of the modern world.Editorials
David Greenberg
Boylan says Strunsky and Walling merit a joint biography...because recent scholarship has allowed historians to "explore more freely now the links between domestic and public spheres" of notable figures....History made just modest note of them....Still, their voices, if minor, were part of the important chorus of the Lyrical Left.— The New York Times Book Review
Booknews
Draws on archival sources and family materials to portray the wealthy American midwest journalist-activist and the aspiring San Francisco novelist who met in Russia during the 1905 revolution, married, and dedicated their lives to socialism. Among their activities were literary collaboration with Jack London, founding a news bureau in Russia, reporting on a pogrom, covering a race riot in Illinois, helping found the NAACP, and disagreeing bitterly over pacifism during World War I. Annotation c. by Book News, Inc., Portland, Or.David Greenberg
[Boylan says Strunsky and Walling] merit a joint biography...because recent scholarship has allowed historians to "explore more freely now the links between domestic and public spheres" of notable figures....History made just modest note of them....Still, their voices, if minor, were part of the important chorus of the Lyrical Left. -- The New York Times Book ReviewBook Details
Published
September 30, 2011
Publisher
University of Massachusetts Press
Pages
360
Format
Paperback
ISBN
9781558497498