The Story Of A Marriage: The Letters Of Bronislaw Malinowski And Elsie Masson Vol 1 1916 20

The Story of a Marriage Volume I 1916–20 Bronislaw Malinowski is known internationally as one of the founders of social anthropology, as the creator of modern fieldwork, as a great writer and an inspiring teacher. Until now little has been known about his personal life and thoughts. This book reveals for the first time his marriage and domestic life, and clarifies his relationships with colleagues, with his students and with a wide spectrum of friends. The letters in The Story of a Marriage were written by Malinowski and his wife, Elsie Masson, from 1916 to her death in 1935. They chronicle their meeting and their subsequent extraordinary marriage, showing Malinowski in a new light, not just as a teacher and scholar, but as husband, father and friend. His wife, so far largely unknown, is shown as a humorous, courageous and talented woman. Volume I covers the letters written in Australia and New Guinea, from their first meeting in 1916 to the beginning of 1920 when they leave for Europe. It starts with a retrospective diary letter from Elsie to Bronislaw recording their first meeting and eventual falling in love. Malinowski’s letters describe his third and final field trip in New Guinea, the Trobriand Islands, 1917–18. He then returns to Australia where they marry and spend a year before moving to Europe in 1920. Volume II begins with their arrival in England in April 1920 and details their lives together as he achieves success and international fame, until her death in 1935. The Malinowskis lived in half-a-dozen countries and visited many more, and the letters record their wandering life. They bring in leading figures such as Sir James Frazer, and Malinowski’s students, many of whom went on to become famous anthropologists themselves. There are also fascinating glimpses of attitudes and day-to-day life in the twenties and thirties, including the rise of Nazism and Fascism. The letters will be of immense interest to students and teachers of anthropology, history and cultural studies; they will also have a strong appeal for the general reader. Helena Wayne was born in the South Tirol, northern Italy, the youngest of the three daughters of Bronislaw Malinowski and Elsie Masson. She has researched at length in her father’s papers and has interviewed relations, friends and former students, building up a unique body of knowledge about her parents. She has been a reporter for Life magazine, book editor, and television producer for the BBC. Elsie Rosaline Masson, 1890–1935 The Story of a Marriage The Letters of Bronislaw Malinowski and Elsie Masson. Volume I 1916–20 Edited by Helena Wayne London and New York First published 1995 by Routledge 11 New Fetter Lane, London EC4P 4EE This edition published in the Taylor & Francis e-Library, 2002. Simultaneously published in the USA and Canada by Routledge 29 West 35th Street, New York, NY 10001 © 1995 Helena Wayne All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilized in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publishers. British Library Cataloguing in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data A catalogue record for this book has been requested ISBN 0-415-11758-5 (hbk) ISBN 0-415-12076-4 (pbk) ISBN 0-203-07616-8 Master e-book ISBN ISBN 0-203-21738-1 (Glassbook Format) For Bronio and Elsie’s grandchildren Contents List of illustrations Editor’s foreword Acknowledgements Map of the Trobriand Islands Introduction Chronology viii ix xi xii xiii xviii