T. S. Eliot: An Imperfect Life

Remaining in awe of Eliot's literary greatness, Gordon (A Private Life of Henry James) has rewritten her slim but influential Eliot's Early Years (1977) and her somewhat overlapping Eliot's New Life (1988) into a new biography that concedes the man's serious flaws. Yet Gordon finds ""no adequate explanation"" for the fact that a writer ""of his sensibilities"" was an anti-Semite, revelations of which caused a stir in the mid-'90s, and a misogynist (excepting toward his worshipful second wife, who cosseted him in his last, failing years). Although Eliot set himself up as a lofty moral and spiritual authority, Gordon reluctantly acknowledges that he is an ""idol... made in part from certain waste products of his century."" Gordon sees Eliot struggling constantly with his ""two almost antithetical selves,"" and as ""a loner in the American tradition of cranky loners."" While publication of his early letters and suppressed early verse has now made it possible for quotations to replace paraphrase, crucial correspondences remains under embargo. Eliot, Gordon concludes, consciously pared down his experiences to reflect the ""life of a man of genius,"" whatever the impact upon his intimates. ""To be a genius does not preclude common faults,"" Gordon writes, but she forcefully demonstrates Eliot's faults to be uncommon, a fact that limits her sympathies and almost jeopardizes her efforts at presenting a balanced view. Still, Gordon's book is the most authoritative life of Eliot thus far, and is certain to spark new controversies. 41 b&w illus. not seen by PW. (Aug.)