Leon Edel facts for kids

Joseph Leon Edel (born September 9, 1907 – died September 5, 1997) was a writer from America and Canada. He was known for studying and writing about books and authors, which is called being a literary critic and biographer. His older brother was Abraham Edel, who was a philosopher.

Many people, including the Encyclopædia Britannica, considered Leon Edel the most important expert on the writer Henry James in the 1900s. Edel's work about Henry James earned him two major awards: a National Book Award and a Pulitzer Prize.

Leon Edel's Early Life and Education

Leon Edel was born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He grew up in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, which is in Canada. He went to McGill University in Canada and later studied at the University of Paris in France.

While at McGill University, Edel was part of a group of modern writers called the Montreal Group. This group included writers like F.R. Scott and A.J.M. Smith. Together, they started an important magazine called the McGill Fortnightly Review.

Teaching and Reporting Career

Leon Edel taught English and American literature at several universities. From 1932 to 1934, he taught at Sir George Williams University, which is now called Concordia University. Later, he taught at New York University from 1953 to 1972. He also taught at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa from 1972 to 1978.

During World War II, Edel trained at a place called Camp Ritchie. He was part of a special group known as the Ritchie Boys. These soldiers helped gather important information during the war. Edel wrote about his experiences at Camp Ritchie in his book, "The Visitable Past." After the war, from 1944 to 1952, he worked as a reporter and writer for New York newspapers.

Leon Edel's Work on Henry James

Leon Edel spent much of his life writing about the famous author Henry James. His biggest project was a five-volume biography titled Henry James: A Biography, published between 1953 and 1972. This large work covered James's entire life.

Edel also wrote about how biographies should be written in his book Literary Biography (1957). He believed that a good biography should include the author's own thoughts and feelings. The second and third volumes of his Henry James biography won him the 1963 Pulitzer Prize for Biography or Autobiography and a National Book Award for Nonfiction.

Edel was able to read many private letters and documents from Henry James's life. These were kept at Harvard University. This special access helped him write such a detailed biography. Even though new information has come out since, Edel's work is still a very important source for anyone studying Henry James.

Images for kids

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  Cover of volume one of Leon Edel's five-volume biography of Henry James, Avon Books paperback edition 1978