The Candy Men: The Rollicking Life and Times of the Notorious Novel Candy

by Nile Southern

In the early fall of 1958, the notorious Olympia Press in Paris published a novel entitled Candy , an erotic, Rabelaisian satire loosely based on Voltaire's Candide by one Maxwell Kenton, pseudonym of its coauthors, Terry Southern and Mason Hoffenberg. The novel drew the attention of the French censors, was banned, reissued by Olympia's intrepid publisher under the title Lollipop , rebanned, then again reissued. Within years it became one of the most talked-about novels of the tumultuous 1960s, selling in the millions of copies in America alone, its success prompting Hollywood to turn it into a movie.

The hilarious, rollicking, sometimes tragic story of Candy 's public career is recounted here in full. From the book's humble beginnings in late 1950s Paris through its agonizing three-year gestation (sometimes on paper napkins) and the authors' wily, often self-destructive business dealings with their equally wily French publisher, to its chaotic and controversial publication in the United States, The Candy Men follows Candy 's underground then mainstream success—with unblinking scrutiny on the details, including the legal shenanigans that surrounded it, the blatant piracy that plagued it, and the star-studded cast that helped make it into one of the worst movies of all time.

Skyhorse Publishing, along with our Arcade, Good Books, Sports Publishing, and Yucca imprints, is proud to publish a broad range of biographies, autobiographies, and memoirs. Our list includes biographies on well-known historical figures like Benjamin Franklin, Nelson Mandela, and Alexander Graham Bell, as well as villains from history, such as Heinrich Himmler, John Wayne Gacy, and O. J. Simpson. We have also published survivor stories of World War II, memoirs about overcoming adversity, first-hand tales of adventure, and much more. While not every title we publish becomes a New York Times bestseller or a national bestseller, we are committed to books on subjects that are sometimes overlooked and to authors whose work might not otherwise find a home.

408 pages, Paperback

First published May 7, 2004

Reviews

[Kent Winward · Rating 3 out of 5]

Candy is no Tropic of Cancer or Lady Chatterley's Lover, but rather a work for hire for the Olympia Press. The book was at the tale end of the censorship battles that provided an environment for a satire like Candy. Even with that, the book was banned. I originally thought the book would be more about censorship battles, but rather it became about artistic squabbles, the randomness of literary fame and finally, an intellectual property battle across continents. The intellectual property battle was fascinating to my literary lawyer geek side.

[Carrie Laben · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not very analytical, but informative and rich in primary sources; you don't have to master reading between the lines to see how their historical moment enabled the titular writers and publisher to break new ground - and also break their own lives into irretrievable pieces.

[Holly Eggena · Rating 4 out of 5]

Definitely not what I was expecting. This type of book isn't my normal read but it explains so much about Candy. It's that time periods think piece and is hilarious at some points.

[MikeBy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Entertaining on the whole story of two writers and a publisher that all seem to be trying to rip each other off, and as a consequence miss out on making it really big.

[Downward · Rating 1 out of 5]

do you enjoy the wild satirical wit of terry southern and mason hoffenberg? then you may enjoy hundreds of pages of contract disputes that feature none of that.

[Christy · Rating 3 out of 5]

okay, I've been obsessed with Terry Southern...and here's my article to prove it: http://www.dissidentvoice.org/2009/01...

But I'm leaving Goodreads, don't want to be a content provider for Amazon. The rest of this review is now available on LibraryThing, user name CSRodgers.

[Edward Renehan · Rating 4 out of 5]

The best book ever written about ... a book. And a deliciously scandalous book (Candy), at that.

[John Moretz · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic.