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The Master of Sunnybank: A Biography of Albert Payson Terhune
Albert Payson Terhune was the most famous, the most productive, and the highest-paid writer of dog stories who ever lived. Terhune, his wife, his beautiful Sunnybank estate, and the legendary collies he wrote about have remained shining memories for the writers millions of loyal fans, who still make pilgrimages to Sunnybank.
332 pages, Paperback
Published October 4, 2001
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
September 27, 2021
I wanted to give this a rating of 5, but decided to give it a 4. I enjoyed it, would recommend it, and wouldn't mind reading it again someday is why I wanted to give it a 5.
I gave it a 4 because of the regular sections of 'the visitor' where the author writes in what they believe is Terhune's style as a visitor of Sunnybank after his and his wife's death and before the ultimate disposition of 'the place.' While I get what the author was trying to do with those 'visitor' sections of how a fan must feel at the old estate and reliving the excitement and memories implanted by the books, I mostly found them to get in the way of the rest of the book.
Putting aside the 'visitor' stuff, it was great to read of the author and the Victorian days he lived in. It is always interesting to watch the choices people make in life, especially those where we know the end of the story and who can leave something remarkable that will live long after him. I have only read Lad: A Dog so far, but will eventually like to read more of this work. Sounds like at least some of his other works were worthy of reading. To any who has read significantly more of his books, I would be interested in what other people think.
His work ethic was amazing and worked 9 hours a day 6 days a week. Terhune never claimed to be have written great literary works, but from the popularity and my reading of Lad, he made works that were enjoyable. I think the paths of his life, and his writing is fun to follow.
I also collect quotes, as well as books on dogs, and one I like on the topic of books is, "“It had been startling and disappointing to me to find out that story books had been written by people, that books were not natural wonders, coming up of themselves like grass.” - Eudora Welty, One Writer's Beginnings. I think most of the time we just experience a good book like that - a natural wonder coming up like grass, but they don't, and it is was great reading about the story of how great books came about from Albert Payson Terhune.
I will copy out a few passages from this book to add to my list of quotes, including this one:
"He had three great loves, his wife, his dogs, and his home. He wrote about them over and over again. And though literary critics say he was a patently unimportant writer and they probably are right, he accomplished something that very few important writers are able to do: in some ineffable way he transmuted his great loves into the hearts of other people so that they loved them almost as intensely as he did. So that now, long after he has gone, along with his wife, and the dogs, the strange love still remains." Irving Litvag, the Master of Sunnybank: A Biography of Albert Payson Terhune.
I gave it a 4 because of the regular sections of 'the visitor' where the author writes in what they believe is Terhune's style as a visitor of Sunnybank after his and his wife's death and before the ultimate disposition of 'the place.' While I get what the author was trying to do with those 'visitor' sections of how a fan must feel at the old estate and reliving the excitement and memories implanted by the books, I mostly found them to get in the way of the rest of the book.
Putting aside the 'visitor' stuff, it was great to read of the author and the Victorian days he lived in. It is always interesting to watch the choices people make in life, especially those where we know the end of the story and who can leave something remarkable that will live long after him. I have only read Lad: A Dog so far, but will eventually like to read more of this work. Sounds like at least some of his other works were worthy of reading. To any who has read significantly more of his books, I would be interested in what other people think.
His work ethic was amazing and worked 9 hours a day 6 days a week. Terhune never claimed to be have written great literary works, but from the popularity and my reading of Lad, he made works that were enjoyable. I think the paths of his life, and his writing is fun to follow.
I also collect quotes, as well as books on dogs, and one I like on the topic of books is, "“It had been startling and disappointing to me to find out that story books had been written by people, that books were not natural wonders, coming up of themselves like grass.” - Eudora Welty, One Writer's Beginnings. I think most of the time we just experience a good book like that - a natural wonder coming up like grass, but they don't, and it is was great reading about the story of how great books came about from Albert Payson Terhune.
I will copy out a few passages from this book to add to my list of quotes, including this one:
"He had three great loves, his wife, his dogs, and his home. He wrote about them over and over again. And though literary critics say he was a patently unimportant writer and they probably are right, he accomplished something that very few important writers are able to do: in some ineffable way he transmuted his great loves into the hearts of other people so that they loved them almost as intensely as he did. So that now, long after he has gone, along with his wife, and the dogs, the strange love still remains." Irving Litvag, the Master of Sunnybank: A Biography of Albert Payson Terhune.
February 15, 2010
As a child, I read every one of Terhune's books I could find. It's a pleasure to finally put a face to the stories. He was an interesting character himself, throwing out dog stories at a furious rate, while trying to write the Great American Novel. The stories were far from factual, but they were wonderful. Those dogs were brilliant! If they'd had opposable thumbs, they'd rule the world.
Reading again about Sunnybank brought back a flood of memories. And I recently found out that the land is now a public park that hosts a Collie Show every August. I'm so happy I found this book.
Reading again about Sunnybank brought back a flood of memories. And I recently found out that the land is now a public park that hosts a Collie Show every August. I'm so happy I found this book.
May 17, 2015
I enjoyed reading this book. It certainly showed the good and difficult parts of Mr. Terhune. I read his dog books as a child and passed them onto my children. My son still remembers reading Lad: A Dog from ten years ago. I know that Mr. Terhune considered himself a "popular writer" versus a literate one. I sometimes thought the biography author held the same view based upon his comments about the dog stories. Terhune's writing rates five stars; this author only four.
October 29, 2017
Very thorough biography of one of my favorite authors from childhood, who I have recommended to many youngsters over the years. I had no idea how old these stories were and I was so astonished to find out that Sunnybank was somewhere I had passed numerous times in my travels. If you loved these books, I do recommend this biography.
January 28, 2014
I absolutely loved this book,
it is written with so much love for Albert Payson Terhune and Sunnybank, without
overdoing it.
it is written with so much love for Albert Payson Terhune and Sunnybank, without
overdoing it.
July 22, 2022
This is such a wistful book. I love Terhune's books about collies. He's the reason I wanted a collie of my own, especially a blue merle like Gray Dawn. I eventually got a blue merle sheltie instead, which was close, but not quite the same. It was a thorough and honest portrayal of the man and his career, but sad, too. Not sad because his life was particularly sad, but sad because so few people remember this writer and his stories. He was one of the most successful writers of his time and probably the most successful writer of dog stories of all time, and most modern readers have no idea who he is. It made reading the book melancholy, at least for me. People, read this book, sure, but go read the Terhune dog stories. They're lovely.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews