Lives of the Wives. Five Literary Marriages

A witty look inside the tumultuous marriages of five famous writers--focusing on the "wives" of either gender--that illuminates the creative process as well as the role of money, fame, and power in these complex, fascinating relationships. "With an ego the size of a small nation, the literary lion is powerful on the page, but a helpless kitten in daily life--dependent on his wife to fold an umbrella, answer the phone, or lick a stamp." The history of wives is largely one of silence, resilience, and forbearance. Toss in celebrity, male privilege, ruthless ambition, narcissism, misogyny, infidelity, alcoholism, and a mood disorder or two, and it's easy to understand why the marriages of so many famous writers have been stormy, short-lived, and mutually destructive. As writer and critic Carmela Ciuraru reveals, the most conventional couple in Lives of the Wives is perhaps the partnership of two lesbians, Una Troubridge and Radclyffe Hall. The legendary British theatre critic Kenneth Tynan encouraged his American wife, Elaine Dundy, to write, then watched in a jealous rage as she became a bestselling author and a critical success. Roald Dahl enjoyed basking in the glow of his…

Издательство

Harper

Год

2023

Язык

английский

ISBN

9780062356918