An Eye for Genius

A middle aged author declining in popularity. An up and coming literary agent with an eye for genius. A partnership that would forge a prodigious legacy in American literature.

James Brand Pinker was a smart, hardworking badass. One of the first literary agents, he took on authors who could be troublesome, slow, and even abusive, motivated by the genius he saw in their writing. His goal was to keep these authors writing and in print, and he did exactly that for Henry James.

An Eye for Genius is their story, built on correspondence between Pinker, James, and various publishers and editors involved in James’ work at the turn of the twentieth century. Pinker’s determination is evident in his communication with the publishing end, and his encouragement and reassurance, necessary to keep pens in the hands of some of his authors, clear in his letters to them. He assisted over 100 clients, including Crane, Wells, Conrad, Lawrence, Joyce, and London during his agency work from 1898 until his death in 1922, but my affection for James led me to focus on Pinker’s efforts on this author’s behalf.

Interested?

You can buy the ebook directly from me, and you can find links to the various sales outlets that carry An Eye for Genius by clicking on the photos below. You can also find the audio edition on Spotify.

I’d love to know what you think of my tribute to Pinker, who went without recognition for much too long before I stumbled on the desire to bring his contributions to American literature to light during my PhD studies.

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