The Story of Charlotte's Web: E. B. White's Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic (review)

Michael Sims's The Story of Charlotte's Web offers an intimate account of the life of one of the most revered American writers. He artfully navigates the creative waters between factual account and inviting story, and skillfully accomplishes both. Sims traces the life of Elwyn Brooks White (Andy, as he was known as an adult) from his childhood in the quiet town of Mount Vernon, New York, through his college years at Cornell University, to finding his way as a writer in New York City. The book is a satisfying read, in large part because Sims never loses the rhetorical thread established in his subtitle, E. B. White's Eccentric Life in Nature and the Birth of an American Classic. From the opening pages to the end of Andy's life, Sims uses biographical evidence to demonstrate the author's lifelong love of animals, particularly spiders; the evidence builds an artfully told story of how E. B. White's Charlotte is the result of a life spent watching and documenting the animals of his world. It is clear in every chapter, and therefore in every moment of White's life, that the quiet and reserved man loved both nature and writing, combining the two passions in his canonical children's stories, of which Charlotte's Web stands at the forefront.

Part one of Sims's project concentrates on White's childhood adventures in New York, and his yearly family trips to the serene landscape of Maine. And as E. B.'s biography unfolds, so do the beginnings of his children's story. The opening paragraph of Sims's book is reminiscent of a well-known Charlotte's Web scene: "The coachman said the eggs would never hatch. They were infertile, he insisted, as he tossed them onto the manure pile outside the stable" (1). Just as Fern watches Templeton scurry away with the goose's rotten egg, so Elwyn's story begins with him watching the animal world around him; and, when the manure-pile eggs do hatch, Sims channels the excitement the young child felt watching the impossible. Young White's life included far more than animals and nature, and Sims takes his readers through that childhood full of family, travel, and writing. White, who was an unusually reserved child, exhibited his writing skills at an early age with a poem inspired by an animal friend, published in a lady's magazine. Sims takes great care to establish Andy not just as a nature enthusiast turned writer, but also as a participant in the American literary world, starting from his youth. He describes White's rich reading history, which included nature books and literary magazines.

Sims's description of E. B.'s formative reading habits works well for his overarching narrative because it connects directly to White's adult life, and in part two it is clear how invested his career was in American magazines. Andy's tenure at The New Yorker begins almost as early as the magazine itself, as does his relationship with his wife, New Yorker editor Katharine Angell. Sims never strays far from the topic of nature, because White never did; he consistently included animals in his writing, even though (or particularly because) he was surrounded by the city. Sims juxtaposes the writer's eye trained on the sparrows, flowers, and parks with the bustling metropolis, and the contrast makes clear Andy's longing for a life surrounded by nature.

Part three begins with White happily married and situated on a farm in upstate New York. Sims's description of the farm in Allen Cove evokes feelings of quiet and charm. It accommodated White's longing for animals, barns, and physical work. It was here, surrounded by piles of books to be edited and articles to be written, that Andy found enjoyment in his cows, lambs, chickens...