The Time of the Assassins
Miller’s book-length confrontation with Rimbaud, a shared passion in the letters.
Read our take
Letters of Henry Miller and Wallace Fowlie
by Henry Miller
Three decades of letters join a self-made writer to a scholar of France through Rimbaud, Nin, Gide, and remembered Paris.
- 1975
About Henry Miller
About the volume
Letters of Henry Miller and Wallace Fowlie, 1943–1972 records nearly thirty years between Miller and the American critic, translator, and professor Wallace Fowlie. Their common ground includes Rimbaud, André Gide, Anaïs Nin, Catholic and existential questions, and the Paris Miller and Fowlie carried into American life. Grove Press published the exchange in 1975. Personal crises and literary judgment remain intertwined throughout.
The volume, in more detail
Fowlie approaches Miller as both friend and professional reader of French literature. Miller responds outside academic convention but with equal intensity, making the letters a long argument about what reading can change in a life.
The span catches Miller and Fowlie aging through changing literary reputations. Private difficulty, teaching, travel, and publication sit beside recurring returns to Rimbaud and prewar Paris.
Themes and analysis
The subjects of a thirty-year conversation
Wallace Fowlie was a scholar, critic, and translator of French literature. His letters with Henry Miller cover 1943–1972. Their shared subjects include Arthur Rimbaud, Anaïs Nin, André Gide, memories of prewar Paris, and the personal crises that accompany long working lives.
The combination makes this a literary friendship with a particular focus. Paris is remembered from a distance, while French writing provides continuing material for discussion. The correspondents’ different occupations also matter: one writes from a university career, the other from a life shaped by independent literary work.
Why Rimbaud matters here
Rimbaud connects the two men’s interests without making their work identical. Fowlie translated and studied him; Miller wrote the highly personal appreciation The Time of the Assassins. The correspondence lets readers place those different kinds of attention beside one another.
A translation or scholarly study requires decisions different from those of an autobiographical essay. The exchange is therefore useful for readers interested in how a writer and a critic approach the same author. It should not be mistaken for a jointly written study of Rimbaud.
Friendship across changing circumstances
The long date range allows personal news to sit beside literary discussion. The publisher’s description of the first edition emphasizes both shared enthusiasm and difficulties endured. The book’s continuity comes from correspondence maintained over years, rather than from a single public debate.
That setting gives the literary judgments a personal scale. A recommendation can also be an attempt to encourage a friend. A memory of Paris may concern a lost period of life as much as a place. Reading the letters in sequence preserves that relationship between opinion and occasion.
The 1975 collection
Grove Press published the volume in 1975 with an introduction by Fowlie. The first edition also includes an appendix of writings and collected quotations. Those supporting materials should be distinguished from the dated correspondence.
Readers interested primarily in Miller’s response to French poetry can pair the letters with The Time of the Assassins. Readers following his friendships can compare the exchange with The Durrell–Miller Letters. Each correspondent draws out a different part of Miller’s interests.
Why we recommend it
Scholar meets autodidact
Fowlie’s disciplined critical vocabulary and Miller’s experiential approach sharpen one another.
A long view
The letters register thirty years of changing work, health, and reputation.
What this book explores
The people in its pages
Wallace Fowlie
American critic, translator, and professor whose expertise in French literature gives the exchange its intellectual center.
Timeline
1943
The correspondence represented in the book begins.
1972
The selected exchange ends.
1975
Grove Press publishes the letters.
Book editions
Hardcover
- Hardcover
- Grove Press
- 1975
Reader reviews
Readers may also like
Letters to Anaïs Nin
The correspondence with a writer central to Miller and Fowlie’s discussions.
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Writer & Critic
Another sustained exchange between Miller and a close reader of his work.
Read our takeLetters of Henry Miller and Wallace Fowlie: frequently asked questions
Who was Wallace Fowlie?
An American critic, translator, and professor best known for work on modern French literature.
What years do the letters cover?
They span 1943 through 1972.
Which writers recur in the exchange?
Rimbaud, Gide, and Anaïs Nin are among the central shared subjects.
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References
References
The sources below include the primary text, editions, scholarship, archival materials, and other records that informed this page. They document Letters of Henry Miller and Wallace Fowlie, its publication, and its place in literary history.
1Letters of Henry Miller and Wallace Fowlie
LettersHenry Miller, 1975Used forThe primary text represented by this page, used for descriptions of the work’s contents and for any quoted passages shown here.
2Letters of Henry Miller and Wallace Fowlie, 1943–1972 — edition description
WebsiteThird Mind BooksUsed forWeb source consulted for documented facts and historical context presented on the Letters of Henry Miller and Wallace Fowlie page.
3The Happiest Man Alive: A Biography of Henry Miller
BiographySimon & Schuster, 1991Used forBiographical evidence used to verify chronology, relationships, and historical context connected to Letters of Henry Miller and Wallace Fowlie.
4Henry Miller: A Life
BiographyW. W. Norton, 1991Used forBiographical evidence used to verify chronology, relationships, and historical context connected to Letters of Henry Miller and Wallace Fowlie.
5Henry Miller: An Inventory of His Collection
ArchiveHarry Ransom Center, The University of Texas at AustinUsed forArchival evidence used to document the historical record connected to Letters of Henry Miller and Wallace Fowlie.
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Why these sources are here
The primary text is the baseline reference for every book page. Additional references document publication history, interpretation, and historical context where that evidence is available.
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