The Search for the Real Edgar Lee Masters

Presented by Herbert K. Russell.  Masters (1868-1950), a native of central Illinois, moved to Chicago in 1892, married and became a law partner of Clarence Darrow. What Masters wanted most, however, was to become a famous author. In l915, the scandalous poems of Spoon River Anthology vaulted him to international fame.  When Masters wrote his autobiography, Across Spoon River, he told of his life up to mid-1917—and then suddenly broke off his story.  Find out how 40 years later, Dr. Russell’s literary sleuthing concluded that many parts of Masters’ life story were very different from what was commonly believed.