Elizabeth Hardwick's Essays

The latest addition to the NYRB Classics series, now on sale at 30% off "To move one’s way through Hardwick’s essays is to bump into brightness on nearly every page." —Dwight Garner, The New York Times [Collected Essays of Elizabeth Hardwick]( [THE COLLECTED ESSAYS OF ELIZABETH HARDWICK]( SELECTED AND WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY DARRYL PINCKNEY Elizabeth Hardwick was a force to be reckoned with. She wrote some of the best fiction of her time and, as a co-founder and contributing editor of The New York Review of Books, defended her belief that criticism should be worthy of the literature in question. Nowhere was this conviction more evident than in her own essays, over fifty of which are collected here for a retrospective of over five decades of Hardwick's writing life. An insatiable reader, Hardwick knew good writing from bad, and called down judgment accordingly. She was a withering critic, clear-eyed, witty, and fearless. She wrote extensively about the American literary canon, and her observations about Melville, James, and Wharton are some of the most astute ever written. In this collection, you’ll also find writings on civil rights demonstrations in the 1960s, biographical sketches of women writers, rebels, and Americans abroad. This is essential reading for anyone who believes in the importance of literature. "Elizabeth Hardwick, long recognized as one of the great literary critics of the 20th century, is generously represented by this selection of her eloquent, erudite, chatty, and often very witty essays and reviews, with a warmly sympathetic and informative introduction by Darryl Pinckney." —Joyce Carol Oates [MORE ABOUT THE BOOK]( For three days only, The Collected Essays of Elizabeth Hardwick, as well as the other NYRB Classics by Hardwick listed below, will be available at 30% off. [Sleepless Nights]( [The New York Stories of Elizabeth Hardwick]( [Seduction and Betrayal]( Events with Darryl Pinckney Tuesday, October 17, 7pm [Barnard Hall](, Sulzberger Parlor, 3009 Broadway, NYC With Susan Minot and Saskia Hamilton Wednesday, October 18, 7:30pm [Brooklyn Public Library](, 10 Grand Army Plaza, Brooklyn With Margo Jefferson, Stephanie Danler, and Ian Buruma Wednesday, November 1, 7pm [Paula Cooper Gallery](, 534 W 21st St, NYC With Sigrid Nunez, co-presented by 192 Books Sunday, November 19, 11am [92nd Street Y](, 1395 Lexington Ave, NYC New York Review Books 435 Hudson Street, Suite 300 New York, NY 10014 [Preferences]( | [Unsubscribe](