What do you think?
Rate this book
The late John Marquand;: A biography
A sparkling biography of the best-selling novelist who wrote about manners, money and morals among the WASP elite (Boston-NYC)for 2 decades. "The Late George Apley," which studied Back Bay ethics, was a popular novel and Broadway play. His personal life reflected his own stories as he kept marrying into wealth.
- GenresBiography
320 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1972
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 29, 2018
The late Who-o-o-oo-H?? Best-selling author of 30s-50s,
JPM won a Pulitzer and had his face plastered on Time &
Newsweek. Contrary to Wiki, he didnt write satire, he wrote
bloodless social comedy, US style, of a now forgotten Wasp Establishment. "The Late George Apley" brought him fame. Today, no one reads him. Most have never heard of him.
Birmingham, who slavishly wrote about the "rich" (how did he keep fr killing himself?), presents a reasonable bio of social climber JPM who married a Sedgwick, then a portly heiress whose sister was Blanchette Rockefeller. But his sexy turn was w the wife (Carol) of his literary agent (Carl Brandt) who didn't mind. Birmingham's bio of an insecure, ambitious man is better than anything JPM wrote, and exudes energy about class & sexuality. Writers, JPM said, should never marry. His two marriages were disasters, but he liked the status benefits.
A GR member burbled, Who are the great writers today? Only time will tell. And I don't mean Time. No, J Yardley, I doubt if JPM will ever be redicovered. For the curious, best JPM: "Wickford Point." A cast of memorable Bostonians. (Based on his New England cousins, the Hale family, now called the Brills, a Marquand-like writer reports his comically tangled and romantic interplay with the delightfully eccentric Brills, who have the name, the cachet and property, but little available cash. The Hales threatened to sue. Later JPM, urged on by his now fat and overbearing/alcoholic 2d wife Adelaide!,tried to take the entire Wickford property away from them, because of a niggly-clause in the Estate. The Hales won; this was heavily reported by the media c 1948. JPM could be a wussy pussy.)
Trivia or no? He dictated his novels.
JPM won a Pulitzer and had his face plastered on Time &
Newsweek. Contrary to Wiki, he didnt write satire, he wrote
bloodless social comedy, US style, of a now forgotten Wasp Establishment. "The Late George Apley" brought him fame. Today, no one reads him. Most have never heard of him.
Birmingham, who slavishly wrote about the "rich" (how did he keep fr killing himself?), presents a reasonable bio of social climber JPM who married a Sedgwick, then a portly heiress whose sister was Blanchette Rockefeller. But his sexy turn was w the wife (Carol) of his literary agent (Carl Brandt) who didn't mind. Birmingham's bio of an insecure, ambitious man is better than anything JPM wrote, and exudes energy about class & sexuality. Writers, JPM said, should never marry. His two marriages were disasters, but he liked the status benefits.
A GR member burbled, Who are the great writers today? Only time will tell. And I don't mean Time. No, J Yardley, I doubt if JPM will ever be redicovered. For the curious, best JPM: "Wickford Point." A cast of memorable Bostonians. (Based on his New England cousins, the Hale family, now called the Brills, a Marquand-like writer reports his comically tangled and romantic interplay with the delightfully eccentric Brills, who have the name, the cachet and property, but little available cash. The Hales threatened to sue. Later JPM, urged on by his now fat and overbearing/alcoholic 2d wife Adelaide!,tried to take the entire Wickford property away from them, because of a niggly-clause in the Estate. The Hales won; this was heavily reported by the media c 1948. JPM could be a wussy pussy.)
Trivia or no? He dictated his novels.
September 22, 2011
A pretty fascinating biography of John Marquand, the 1930s and '40s version of Jonathan Franzen. Marquand won the Pulitzer Prize, and was one of the America's richest and best loved novelists. But no one reads him anymore.
August 15, 2016
Highly anecdotal, but still informative, biography of Marquand. Timeline occasionally got a bit confused, but overall it was fine.
November 17, 2022
Few topics interest me less than the regional fiction of New England, especially Boston. Yet that subject drives this biography of John P. Marquand. Today, Marquand's novels are all but forgotten. If remembered at all, it is usually due to his Mr. Moto crime thrillers. His "serious literature," which gained him a Pulitzer and made him one of America's most recognized and successful mid century authors, now dwells in obscurity. And I must admit that it is his Moto and other thrillers that I think are his best works. His high and mighty New England social dramas simply have no traction. Social satires with a light comic touch, they seemed out of place even back then--the dominating region for American fiction being the South. And I'm not sure they were ever destined to appeal much beyond their contemporary readers in the Northeast. Yet they form the focus of Birmingham's biography. He seems to overvalue them at the expense of Marquand's exceptionally well crafted thrillers. It marks the difference between literary studies of the seventies, when Birmingham wrote this book, and today. Few serious scholars would set apart the two types of works. In fact, they probably would defend the idea that the Moto novels are more worthy of study, as an insight to American views on race, ethnicity, and the approach of World War II.
What do we then learn from Birmingham? It's this. John P. Marquand was a high-functioning alcoholic who treated his wives and women in general brutally. That they behaved with equal moral depravity does not excuse his outright misogyny. He's also a terrible parent who seems to have barely tolerated his children. Envious of his relatives when growing up, he plotted and schemed against them once he became successful. Marquand was also a miser, a skinflint, an exceptionally wealthy man who likely married his second wife for her money, and then never missed another turn to have someone else pick up his check at dinner or pay his way on trips, ocean excursions, vacations, or at country clubs. Of course, Birmingham explains this all while smiling and attesting to what a great guy John was (Marquand helped him to get his first book published). But at the end of it all, Marquand seems a nasty, greedy individual, always with a drink sloshing around in his hands while making fun of his wives and relatives.
This is a lively biography, written in a popular style. Well worth reading. And it's all taken from personal memories and interviews with Marquand's friends and family. There are no citations as such. Yet I suspect this is as true of a picture as possible of one of America's most famous writers in the twentieth century who has now descended into almost utter obscurity. And he shouldn't. After reading his work, I think the Moto novels exquisite and the "serious fiction" good enough to merit serious study. Poor John Marquand died in 1960 at 66 years of age. Looking at his photographs he looked old and decrepit in his 50s. He spent most of his life wanting to become a high society snob. He achieved his goal through satirizing the high society snobs around him. His works are full of tragic heroes who never really find fulfillment. They're sad figures. Just like their creator. All that lust for money, for social approval and status. And, here, some sixty-two years later, few people would even recognize his name. Was all the anger, jealousy, hate, and greed worth it all, John P. Marquand? How much of your success did you take with you?
What do we then learn from Birmingham? It's this. John P. Marquand was a high-functioning alcoholic who treated his wives and women in general brutally. That they behaved with equal moral depravity does not excuse his outright misogyny. He's also a terrible parent who seems to have barely tolerated his children. Envious of his relatives when growing up, he plotted and schemed against them once he became successful. Marquand was also a miser, a skinflint, an exceptionally wealthy man who likely married his second wife for her money, and then never missed another turn to have someone else pick up his check at dinner or pay his way on trips, ocean excursions, vacations, or at country clubs. Of course, Birmingham explains this all while smiling and attesting to what a great guy John was (Marquand helped him to get his first book published). But at the end of it all, Marquand seems a nasty, greedy individual, always with a drink sloshing around in his hands while making fun of his wives and relatives.
This is a lively biography, written in a popular style. Well worth reading. And it's all taken from personal memories and interviews with Marquand's friends and family. There are no citations as such. Yet I suspect this is as true of a picture as possible of one of America's most famous writers in the twentieth century who has now descended into almost utter obscurity. And he shouldn't. After reading his work, I think the Moto novels exquisite and the "serious fiction" good enough to merit serious study. Poor John Marquand died in 1960 at 66 years of age. Looking at his photographs he looked old and decrepit in his 50s. He spent most of his life wanting to become a high society snob. He achieved his goal through satirizing the high society snobs around him. His works are full of tragic heroes who never really find fulfillment. They're sad figures. Just like their creator. All that lust for money, for social approval and status. And, here, some sixty-two years later, few people would even recognize his name. Was all the anger, jealousy, hate, and greed worth it all, John P. Marquand? How much of your success did you take with you?
August 31, 2019
Lots of information
Told in an interesting way and included many details of this author’s very full, very crazy and very wonderful life.
Told in an interesting way and included many details of this author’s very full, very crazy and very wonderful life.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews