The Treasure of the Humble [Paperback]

Maurice Maeterlinck (Author), Alfred Sutro (Translator), A. B. Walkley (Introduction)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 21, 2005

Essays on philosophy, aesthetics, and daily life by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Maurice Maeterlinck (1862-1949) was a Belgian author, the outstanding exponent of symbolist drama and the author of The Blue Bird and Pelléas and Mélisande.

Maeterlinck was born August 29, 1862, in Ghent and educated in law at the university there. He abandoned the legal profession when he moved to Paris in 1886 and came under the influence of the symbolist poets. Reacting against the prevailing naturalism of French literature, Maeterlinck wrote some symbolist poetry, notably Les serres chaudes (Hothouses, 1889). He is known principally for his plays, for which he received the 1911 Nobel Prize. He lectured in the U.S. in 1921 and spent World War II there. Maeterlinck returned to Europe following the war and died May 6, 1949, in Nice, France.

Maeterlinck's plays are characterized by clear and simple writing, by a dreamlike atmosphere, and by the suggestion rather than the direct expression of ideas and emotions. His early plays are marked by an attitude of profound melancholy and pessimism in the face of evil and death; in his later plays this attitude gives way to a belief in the redeeming power of love and in the reality of human happiness.

His plays include The Princess Maleine (1889); the melancholy fantasy masterpiece Pelléas et Mélisande (1892), made into an opera (1902) by the French composer Claude Debussy; and The Blue Bird (1909), which has become a classic for children. Less popular are Monna Vanna (1902) and The Burgomaster of Stilmonde (1918). Maeterlinck was also the author of many works in prose that deal with philosophic questions and with nature; they include The Treasure of the Humble (1896), The Life of the Bee (1901), and The Intelligence of Flowers (1907). --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 244 pages
• Publisher: Turtle Point Press (October 21, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1933527013
• ISBN-13: 978-1933527017
• Product Dimensions: 8.5 x 5.5 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,011,917 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A GREAT FIND, December 29, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Treasure of the Humble (Hardcover)

I found this book, a 1937 ed., in the back of a library. I wanted to read this book after i had learned that one of my favorite poets, Kahlil Gibran, cherished it. The power behind the book outweighed its tiny scale. An overall fabolous book if you can find it. I am searching now for my own copy.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars one of the best books in my life, August 7, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Treasure of the Humble (Hardcover)

I read this book during college days and have been always reaching for it as and when possible.It always stayed in my heart and till date its a rare book with amazing thoughts and insight.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The book of outstanding spiritual strength., August 15, 2000

By 

Andria Rogava (Heverlee Belgium) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Treasure of the Humble (Hardcover)

I think that this is a shame and a misery of our modern civilization that books of this kind are not available to general reader. This collection of essays is a great source of spiritual vigour and a fruit of very profound work of mind and very pure sentiments. As Maeterlinck says in one of the essays "this is the disgrace of whole our existence that we live so far from our own souls..." This book just helps to make this wretched, miserably pragmatic existence at least realized and to try to find the way to disclose the world of human spirituality for ourselves.