All the King's Men: Three Stage Versions

by Robert Penn Warren, James A. Perkins (Editor), James A. Grimshaw Jr. (Editor)

The novel All the King's Men had its genesis in Warren's stage play Proud Flesh, unpublished in his lifetime. He also wrote a subsequent unpublished play titled Willie Stark: His Rise and Fall and a later dramatic version of the novel that shared the title All the King's Men.

This volume is the first to collect all three dramatic texts.

Genres: Fiction, Drama, Classics, American, Plays, Ebooks, Historical Fiction

264 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1960

About the author

Robert Penn Warren was an American poet, novelist, and literary critic and was one of the founders of New Criticism. He was also a charter member of the Fellowship of Southern Writers. He founded the literary journal The Southern Review with Cleanth Brooks in 1935. He received the 1947 Pulitzer Prize for the Novel for All the King's Men (1946) and the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry in 1958 and 1979. He is the only person to have won Pulitzer Prizes for both fiction and poetry.

Reviews

[Isadora Wagner]

There are some books I love, and others I respect or emulate and admire. All the King's Men managed to be all three; indeed, as I write this an hour or two after finishing, I am hard-pressed to describe either the book or my feelings for it, except to say that it is a big aching book, big as life itself, and that one ought to read it if only for the churning, impossible feeling it leaves you with after. Georg Lukacs, in his 1916 classic, The Theory of the Novel, wrote that great novelists finger the chasm of impossibility in life: they find the places where one part of existence rubs up against the other, and a chasm or gap opens up because they don't fit. These are the holes we fall into in life--the stuff of terror and truth, chasms of depth. Robert Penn Warren does just this with his exploration of the Time-Reponsiblity-Historical Greatness-Fate-Corruption question. A book both Greek and Shakespearean in proportions, ancient in its portrayal of tragedy, and yet every bit American, modern and fresh, it asks the big questions and--with the exception of one or two rather obvious plot conveniences that occur late in the book but which, in hindsight seem necessary if inelegant--takes neither shortcuts nor easy answers, but presses steadily and solidly at the faults of life itself. A must read. Also a beautiful read at the sentence level--from about the middle of the book on, I kept bookmarking passages and re-reading sentences (some as long as two pages; Warren is a master of the run-on), partly for the sheer breathtaking beauty and originality of how they were written, but also to learn (thus the emulation). From meditations on the incongruities of life to questions of fate, free will, and faith, to what, to this reader at least, read as extended riffs on the nature of the writing life and perspective of the writer, the book offers a dazzling array of ideas, questions, problems, possible solutions, and images. So this book is a thing of beauty and greatness--a massive accomplishment for anyone, but one perhaps made understandable by Warren's having also earned a Pulitzer in poetry (the only writer to do so ever).

This was hands down the best American novel I have read. I still may love "To Kill a Mockingbird" more, but ATKM has my deepest respect.

[Realini Ionescu]

The Maltese Falcon by Dashiell Hammett is ranked 10th in Top 100 Crime Novels of All Time list by the Crime Writers' Association, and The Mystery Writers of America Best 100, the novel has the second place, while on The Greatest Books of All Time site you find this in the 124th spot, we could go on like this, but let me tell you where you find hundreds of reviews, the best of which is https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20...

10 out of 10


I am hoping that writing about this superb mystery novel will make me forget about the turmoil, crimes committed in the world now, when we are at war, in Ukraine and some other realms, a real one, and in Canada, European Union there is a tariff war going on started, by the vile leader of the MAGA cult, the epitome of

- Evil

Nevertheless, perhaps I should try and concentrate on Sam Spade, and forget about the symbol of darkness, at least for now, maybe there would be opportunities to laugh at this, and besides, they say that writing helps, first, we use a different part of the brain, and then when you put something down, or on the screen

- It helps, due to a detachment, and then it may make more sense

At the beginning of The Maltese Falcon, the beautiful Miss Wonderley walks into the office of Sam Spade and Miles Archer, to say that she is worried about her sister, who has been somehow seduced, entrapped by this fellow, Floyd Thursby, and she wants the private detective firm to help her and the sibling
Miles Archer is impressed, and so is the hero, and he offers to tail this seducer, but things move fast in this enticing, captivating narrative – actually, this may be the moment for a spoiler alert, perhaps it is the second, since I warned potential readers already, on account of a predictable move towards the mess in the world

The police come to ask the main character questions, because Miles Archer is dead, shot, and from here on, his partner – now the only one in the firm – is a suspect, he had had an affair with his deceased associate’s wife, and that offers a quite strong mobile, to get rid of the husband, so that he can be with this widow

However, readers see this is not the case – we do not know ‘who did it’ though – because, for one thing, Spade avoids the grieved woman, asks his secretary to keep her away, when they do meet, the widow asks Sam if he has killed her spouse, and he is taken aback, he sees Mrs. Archer as a nuisance, not a future consort
Joel Cairo and other figures enter the frame, while the client is revealed to have another name, she is Brigid O'Shaughnessy, and it is close to that joke we had in the communist days, with Radio Yerevan – a question there was ‘is it true that Mr. Ionescu (my name) was given a white Dacia car? And the answer is surprising:

- It is not a car, it is a bicycle, it is not white, it is black, and it was not given to him, it was taken from him

Ergo, Miss O’Shaughnessy does not want her sister back, if she has one, she is after this statuette, The Maltese Falcon, though we do not know the name or indeed, anything about it at this stage – I think I am sort of decent, probably I will stay away from revealing things that happen well into the plot and maybe avoid this Orange Fool
So is Joel Cairo, who comes to the office of Sam Spade to make an offer, five thousand for the missing object, which he thinks the detective may have, so after the first exchange, the alleged client pulls out a gun and wants to search the premises, only the hero is not just smart, brave, intrepid, creative, he is also strong

Figuratively and literally, Sam Spade will have other chances to show he can avoid trouble, another shady figure who wants the precious statue is Casper Gutman, who is fat, and the author could say that in 1930, the latter sends a gun man to follow the detective, and Spade outsmarts this and the other foes in the plot
What I find incredible, to some point, is the ending, I will not reveal it, just muse on this for some time, yes, it makes perfect sense – somehow, maybe – but in my mind, there is doubt, surely, because I would not have the same reaction, and this must be explained in various ways, staring with age, which is so different

Yes, I take part in a lot of exercise, there is this difficult thing I do and advertise here, sitting on my head in the lotus position – I wish I could make some money with this, for the firm is not doing too well now, and look at what the Orange MAGA Fool is doing – but still, maybe I am 35 in body, but do not think like Sam Spade
Let me just use these last three lines to vent a little, about this Dumb Mafia Boss – Trudeau was right to call what he does stupid, albeit he avoided an outright insult – he is a calamity, and I kept saying this, you can look at my older notes, and I was right, the end is Nigh

Now for my standard closing of the note with a question, and invitation – maybe you have a good idea on how we could make more than a million dollars with this https://realinibarzoi.blogspot.com/20... – as it is, this is a unique technique, which we could promote, sell, open the Oscars show with or something and then make lots of money together, if you have the how, I have the product, I just do not know how to get the befits from it, other than the exercise per se

There is also the small matter of working for AT&T – this huge company asked me to be its Representative for Romania and Bulgaria, on the Calling Card side, which meant sailing into the Black Sea wo meet the US Navy ships, travelling to Sofia, a lot of activity, using my mother’s two bedrooms flat as office and warehouse, all for the grand total of $250, raised after a lot of persuasion to the staggering $400…with retirement ahead, there are no benefits, nothing…it is a longer story, but if you can help get the mastodont to pay some dues, or have an idea how it can happen, let me know

As for my role in the Revolution that killed Ceausescu, a smaller Mao, there it is http://realini.blogspot.com/2022/03/r...

Some favorite quotes from To The Hermitage and other works

‘Fiction is infinitely preferable to real life...As long as you avoid the books of Kafka or Beckett, the everlasting plot of fiction has fewer futile experiences than the careless plot of reality...Fiction's people are fuller, deeper, cleverer, more moving than those in real life…Its actions are more intricate, illuminating, noble, profound…There are many more dramas, climaxes, romantic fulfillment, twists, turns, gratified resolutions…Unlike reality, all of this you can experience without leaving the house or even getting out of bed…What's more, books are a form of intelligent human greatness, as stories are a higher order of sense…As random life is to destiny, so stories are to great authors, who provided us with some of the highest pleasures and the most wonderful mystifications we can find…Few stories are greater than Anna Karenina, that wise epic by an often foolish author…’

[Wherefore Art Thou]

Falls flat - a little dependent on a narrator to inform the audience, as there is not enough time to unwind the lengthy plot of the original novel into a short play.

It seems like Warren tried to fit in all the entanglements of the original work into a much shorter runtime, so it loses the emotional build of the novel. What he really should have done was cut the side-plots short and focused much more intensely on the rise and fall of Stark and Jack, even eliminating some of the side characters.

[Jacob Bleyer]

This book is a little bit tough to get into but has a huge payoff if you put a little work into it. It chronicles the story of the rise of fictional governor Willie "The Boss" Stark to power, and his subsequent fall from grace. Stark begins as an idealist, but then realizes that politics is where idealism goes to die. Stark turns into a corrupt governor, but one who uses his questionable methods to get his ideas done in an effective way. The story is told through the eyes of Jack Burden, a newspaperman who goes to work for Stark, and becomes in essence his right hand man. Burden is an interesting character and his views throughout the novel are insightful. He becomes almost as interesting as Stark at certain points but never quite makes it there. The way Stark changes throughout the book is fascinating and he deserves his place in the literary world. A winner of the Pulitzer Prize, this book is rightfully called the greatest novel ever written on american politics. As I said it can be a bit slow at times, it was written in the forties and the language can be a bit strange. Also the author has a tendency to have Burden to go on long tangents, where the plot doesn't move for ninety page stretches. These tangents are often interesting, but sometimes a bit much. When the plot does move though, it is thrilling. Everyone should read this book sometime in there lives, whether you have any interest in politics or not, it is a wonderful novel.

[Paschalis]

elibrary

[John Freeman]

Like a locomotive "All the King's Men" roared into my life, changed my view of the potential of fiction and burned the name Robert Penn Warren into my brain forever.

A powerful story told in sparkling, beautiful prose picked me up as it raced towards its conclusion with a frightening story of how a man like Huey Long could grab, keep, and abuse power.

Although Warren denies it "The Boss" seems to me to be a thinly disguised Huey Long, a populist who aspired for the White House.

Willie Stark starting out a good man but then is inexorably corrupted by the very power he once fought against. Long's motto was "Every Man a King". Warren does say his story could be a warning of the danger inherent in Democracy.

But its not the story but the long poem, the seductive, graceful, elegant prose that inspired awe in me. I was not surprised when I learned that Warren was a two time Pulitzer Prize winner and Poet Laurette. And what a wonderful combination.

Words cannot express my gratitude Robert Penn Warren once lived and stamped his own personal beauty upon the landscape of American Fiction and on me.

[Ashley Helgerson]

I wanted to read this because is is considered an American classic. It is said in many circles that it is one of the best novelizations of the American political system. It took me awhile to get through it, Robert Penn Warren's writing style may be off-putting to some people. He has long drawn out explanations that sometimes (in my opinion) are a little TOO much, taking the reader away from the central story. I think Warren's strengths in being able to weave words and make the reader really see his story is great though.

This is not an "easy" read by any means - and if you don't have any desire to read about American politics this is not for you. Took me a couple months. Overall a good book.

[Al]

A loosely fictionalized account of Governor Huey Long of Louisiana, one of the nation's most astounding politicians. All the King's Men tells the story of Willie Stark, a southern-fried politician who builds support by appealing to the common man and playing dirty politics with the best of the back-room deal-makers. Though Stark quickly sheds his idealism, his right-hand man, Jack Burden -- who narrates the story -- retains it and proves to be a thorn in the new governor's side. Stark becomes a successful leader, but at a very high price, one that eventually costs him his life. This story is a play of politics, society and personal affairs, all wrapped in the cloak of history.

[Joje]

I wrote a big fat report on this in junior year of high school and found out a lot about how politics work, so it's worth a read for that. I remember that there are some literary values to it, but it's not what I remember 30 odd years later.

[Susan Haines]

Not really a fan of the kind of play where the narrator has to continually fill the audience in on what has happened between scenes or in the past of the characters' lives. May be different to actually see the play than read it.

[Jasmin Hakes]

Phenomenal. Timeless writing. Every word seems so deliberate. Tight plot. Spun like a spinner.

[Grace Reasoner]

eh, could have lived without it!

[Carrie]

Much better than when I read it in high school.

[Latham]

It's been a long time since I read this, but I remember really loving it the first time.

[Michael Ranes]

This is one of the greatest novels I've ever read. Definitely in my top 5, along with the Bible, Shakespeare, and Faulkner.

[Karen]

For November

[Tessyohnka]

This book is a must read if only for Willy Stark's description of good and bad. An extraordinary book.

[Andrew]

A very interesting play about the rise and fall of a political figure. Other than a slow start, strong characters and interesting/shocking moments make this a play worth reading.

[Steven]

Overrated American play and novel about an ambitious politician's rise and fall.