Thomas Clayton Wolfe's contribution to American literature is signifiant. His books capture the mood of the 1930s era, spanning small-town Southern life to the New York social circle. His work is characterized by deep and insightful observations and reflections about the quest of a creative artist searching for truth in his life and in his writing. His travels take him to Europe, where in Germany he experiences the foreshadowing the Nazi regime. With America on the verge of the Great Depression, he travels from bitterness to optimism about the future.
Thomass Wolfe’s Life
Thomas Wolfe was born October 3, 1900, in Asheville, North Carolina,. He was the youngest of eight children. His first novel, Look Homeward, Angel debuted to great enthusiasm. However, the realistic portrayal of life in the South was not appreciated in his own hometown. Many of the locals felt betrayed by his candid portrayal of characters based on real people.
While his books may not have been welcomed by his friends and family, the literary circles and critics found them of great merit. Wolfe’s writing, with its command of language, passion and energy are often compared to the works of Faulkner and James Joyce. His soul-searching novels, Look Homeward, Angel, Of Time and the River, and You can’t Go Home Again became enduring American classics.
Wolfe began his career with Scribners. Despite his great talent, his lengthy books often required extensive editing to shape them for publication. A conflict with prominent editor Maxwell Perkins on the direction his work was taking caused him to change publishers. He signed a contract with Edward C. Aswell of Harper and Brothers for his later body of work.
Untimely Death
In 1938, Wolfe became ill with pneumonia and died of tuberculosis of the brain. HIs sudden and early death was alluded to in his last novel. His life of near-desperation to experience and record all seemed almost as if he had a premonition of an early death. He was buried in Rievrside Cemetery in Asheville, North Carolina.
After Wolf'e's death, much of his remaining work was published posthumously. The novels were assembled from the outlines and incomplete manscripts Wolfe had left behind.
Major Works
- Look Homeward Angel (1929)
- Of Time and the River (1935)
- From Death to Morning (1935)
- The Story of a Novel (1936)
The Lost Boy (1937)
Published Posthumously
- The Web and the Rock (1939)
- You Can't Go Home Again (1940)
- The Hills Beyond (1941)
Click here for an overview of Thomas Wolfe's Four Major Autobiographcal Novels
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