Reaction
The press and public followed Grant's symptoms throughout his final year, and his work on the book was well-known. While interest in his memoirs would have been high had Grant not been ill, his struggle to finish it before his death gave it even more attention.
On release, the book received universal critical praise. Twain compared the Memoirs to Julius Caesar's Commentaries. Matthew Arnold praised Grant and his book in an 1886 essay. Twain, however, felt Arnold's tone was condescending to both Grant and the United States, and the two authors feuded until Arnold's death in 1888. Gertrude Stein also admired the book, saying she could not think of Grant without weeping. The Memoirs quickly became a best seller. The Grant family, who received 75% of the net royalties (after expenses), made approximately $450,000 (greater than $10 million in 2009 dollars) from the book, re-establishing their fortune.
Read more about this topic: Personal Memoirs Of Ulysses S. Grant
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