Forest Life. 2 vols.
Inscribed
Kirkland, Caroline Matilda. Forest Life. In two volumes. New York: C.S. Francis & Co., 1842.
8vo.; foxing throughout; two bookplates on the front pastedown of each volume (“Library of John G. Floyd. Mastic, L.I.” and “Thorton Floyd Turner”; and with John Floyd’s signature); one page of publisher’s ads opposite the title page of volume II; brown cloth; spotted; printed spine labels; rubbed and nicked.
First edition of Kirkland’s second book, in which she impressionistically details her Michigan years, presumably for the delectation of her New York neighbors: she opens with these words: “If any body may be excused for writing a book, it is the dweller in the wilderness.”
A presentation copy, inscribed in pencil on the front endpaper of volume one: John G. Floyd, Esq. with the compliments of the author. Floyd identifies the author on the title page.
Born in New York City in 1801, Kirkland was primarily educated by her aunt, Lydia Mott, who ran girls’ schools in upstate New York. Under her tutelage, Kirkland developed an interest in language and writing, later helping Mott run the schools. She married William Kirkland in 1821 and gave birth to seven children, four of whom survived. The Kirklands lived in Michigan from 1836 to 1843, after which they moved back East to New York City. After the accidental death of her husband in 1846, Kirkland’s literary career flourished. She took over his position as an editor at the Christian Inquirer and also worked as an editor at the Union Magazine of Literature and Art. She continued to write, and made friends with writers based in New York City, like William Cullen Bryant and Edgar Allen Poe.
Kirkland earned a literary reputation with her first book, written in 1840 and titled A New Home—Who’ll Follow?, documenting her experiences living in rural Michigan. The book, credited as the “first example in American fiction of sustained border realism,” was spurred into publication based on witty, sarcastic letters Kirkland had sent to friends in New York describing her life out West. The series of letters evolved into a narrative, which Kirkland submitted for publication. With this, she paved the way for other writers to pen their Western experiences and also helped to spark readers’ interest in the genre. Forest Life, which she describes in the preface as a continuation of rather than a sequel to her first book, did not meet with similar success. While both books were generally popular, local Michiganites were offended by some of the hurtful truths about their life out West; it seems Kirkland’s sharp eye caught unflattering details about them. Her writing won praise for its “fresh and flexible style, accurate description of frontier life, penetrating characterization and skilled use of dialect.” (NAW II, p. 338)
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