Monday 1 June 2009

Katherine Mansfield's Journal

Before I read Katherine Mansfield's Journal, published by Persephone, I thought it would mainly be of interest to those who admire her short stories. Now that I have read it I think it would also be a perfect book for those who want to write and are interested in the writing life.

Mansfield appears never to be completely satisfied with what she has written and constantly strives for truth and clarity in her work:

October 16 1921. Another radiant day. J. is typing my last story, The Garden Party, which I finished on my birthday [October 14]. It took me nearly a month to 'recover' from At the Bay. I made a least three false starts.
Mansfield suffered terribly from consumptive illness and died at the age of just 34. It is clear from her journal that she knew her time was limited. We will never know what she could have written in maturity but her finest short stories are literary masterpieces.

4 comments:

Paperback Reader said...

This is the Persephone I most covet at the moment. It's good to know that it is also interesting to those who like to read about writing, as well as those who admire Katherine Mansfield - I am interested in both so I think this will be a great read for me.

Vintage Reading said...

Treat yourself! I learned a lot about Katherine Mansfield, the writer and the woman.

Paperback Reader said...

I intend to soon!

Flo said...

I have just stumbled across your blog and have enjoyed reading over lots of your posts. I love the look of it and that most of the books you read are female authors and several of the books are published by Persephone books. i really like the look of this one so will have to pop into Persephone to get a copy (what a hardship!!)

I have just made a rather long to read list and am looking forward to reading your next post