In July 1938, William Maxwell, then twenty-nine years old and the acting poetry editor of The New Yorker, wrote to Sylvia Townsend Warner inviting her to send him verse. Miss Warner, forty-four and famous for her novel Lolly Willowes, had recently begun writing stories for the magazine, antic, inimitable sketches of English life that Maxwell adored. The poems were sent, and a remarkable friendship was begun. It has been said that everything written is either poetry or prose. The 40 years of letters between Warner and Maxwell suggest that in the care of experts the written word could simultaneously be both. WarnerDpoet, novelist, and short story writerDfirst came to Maxwell's attention when he read her narrative poem "Opus 7." It was laterDas a copywriter, and before his reign as the renowned editor of The New Yorker (the magazine published 153 of Warner's short stories)Dthat they began their remarkable correspondence. Although both were involved in other relationships (Maxwell married in 1945, and Warner had a 40-year lesbian relationship with poet Valentine Ackland), it is clear that they shared a platonic love. The letters are never mere reports but are passionate, lively, provocative, fun, and serious, too. The subject matter is wide-ranging: money, health, food, rejections, books and book reviews, cats and dogs, children, and, of course, writing. Regardless of age or gender, readers will love the Warner-Maxwell letters; expect the best of goosebumps. In this admirable collection, editor Steinman (English, Nassau Community Coll.) includes entire letters as well as excerpts from more than 500 letters. Recommended for all libraries.DRobert L. Kelly, Fort Wayne Community Schs., IN Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. So prolific was Warner, the 20 polished stories gathered here have never been published in book form before, and Steinman serves readers well by retrieving them. It is apt that the word "music" appears in the title, because not only was music Warner's first love but also her sparkling, mischievous, affectionate, shrewd, and perfectly made stories trill, glide, dip, and lift as brightly as Mozart concertos, evoking a full spectrum of images and insights. Warner has a flair for bringing houses to life and peopling them with piquant characters adjusting to age, changed circumstances, and various social absurdities. She also infuses objects with many shades of meaning and explores the longings antiques arouse in a sterling set of linked stories about an antique shop and its canny proprietor. Donna Seaman Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved "A wonderfully colorful sampling, intelligently arranged and annotated." -- Merle Rubin, Los Angeles Times "Anecdote becomes art, and literature is proved the stuff of life in the letters of two of the 20th Century's finest-and underread-authors." -- Kerry Fried, Newsday "Both writers excelled not only in arpeggios of description but in observations of the human heart..." -- The New Yorker "In addition to a fascinating survey of the pair's work ... [it] is a volume of affectionately brilliant casual writing." -- Colin Walters, The Washington Times "[Maxwell and Warner are] articulate to a degree normal people need not bother even to aspire to. A feast." -- The New York Times Book Review Michael Steinman is the editor The Happiness of Getting it Down Right: Letters of William Maxwell and Frank O'Connor. He lives in Melville, New York. Used Book in Good Condition