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Marion Meade
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Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This? Kindle Edition

by Marion Meade (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 406 ratings
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Marion Meade's engrossing and comprehensive biography of one of the twentieth century's most captivating women

In this lively, absorbing biography, Marion Meade illuminates both the charm and the dark side of Dorothy Parker, exploring her days of wicked wittiness at the Algonquin Round Table with the likes of Robert Benchley, George Kaufman, and Harold Ross, and in Hollywood with S. J. Perelman, William Faulkner, and Lillian Hellman. At the dazzling center of it all, Meade gives us the flamboyant, self-destructive, and brilliant Dorothy Parker.

This edition features a new afterword by Marion Meade.
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  1. Print length
    500 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    Penguin Books
  5. Publication date
    March 3, 1989
  6. Reading age
    18 years and up
  7. Grade level
    12 and up
  8. File size
    5997 KB
  9. Page Flip
    Enabled
  10. Word Wise
    Enabled
  11. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  12. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

"Meade's lively biography recounts the unhappy life of the wise-cracking versifier, short story writer and critic," reported PW. "So detailed is Meade's book that this, one imagines, is the last time a biographer will need to explain why so talented a writer could at the same time be so nasty a human being." Photos.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Review

''This well-read, well-written biography caresses your ears like a tautly written novel. (Narrator) Conlin, whose voice is both rich and melodious, reads with great style.'' --AudioFile

''An intensely readable biography . . . Wonderfully full, richly researched.'' --Mademoiselle

''A compelling and somewhat frightening tale . . . Meade is also to be applauded for a great feat of detective work.'' --Cosmopolitan

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B00452V3XW
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Penguin Books; Reprint edition (March 3, 1989)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ March 3, 1989
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 5997 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 500 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.4 4.4 out of 5 stars 406 ratings

About the author

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Marion Meade

Marion Meade

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Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

Marion Meade is a biographer and novelist.

Her most recent biography is Lonelyhearts: The Screwball World of Nathanael West and Eileen McKenney. Other subjects include Eleanor of Aquitaine, Madame Blavatsky, Dorothy Parker, Buster Keaton, and Woody Allen. Bobbed Hair and Bathtub Gin: Writers Running Wild in the Twenties tells the story of Edna St. Vincent Millay, Zelda Fitzgerald, Dorothy Parker, and Edna Ferber becoming writers in the Jazz Age.

She has also written two novels set in medieval France, Stealing Heaven: The Love Story of Heloise and Abelard and Sybille.

Aside from her writing, she edited Dorothy Parker's collected works, The Portable Dorothy Parker; Parker's play The Ladies of the Corridor; and introduced Parker's Complete Poems.

Customer reviews

4.4 out of 5 stars
4.4 out of 5
406 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Laura E.
5.0 out of 5 stars Unbiased biography
Reviewed in the United States on April 22, 2019
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An interesting, incisive and informative biography. If you're interested at all in Dorothy Parker, this book is a must read. An in depth and unbiased account. Ms. Meade portrays all aspects of Dorothy's character (good, bad, witty, etc.) in such a way that the reader is at times understanding, sympathetic and, yes, frustrated by the waste of such talent. Poor Dottie was a very unhappy soul, her literary output stunted to a noticeable degree because of her unhappiness and alcoholism. I read "The Portable Dorothy Parker" shortly before reading the biography which I would recommend doing. It definitely helps the reading experience if you understand the references to certain short stories which are mentioned throughout.
11 people found this helpful
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IzzyBizzy
4.0 out of 5 stars A Life Worth Examining (and reading about)
Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2015
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This is a beautifully written book and I've highlighted more passages than usual. The book mines Parker's life soup to nuts; the chapters are chronological and cover several years at a time. Hard to imagine a more thorough look at this amazing woman. But I give it four stars simply because for me the middle feels weighty and overwrought----how many times does one need to read about fantastical NYC parties and Mrs. Parker's boozy binges that stem from her poor self-esteem? Yet, in this way, I felt that the author has given insight into what it meant to be Dorothy Parker----a life of high society, intense and complex friendships, passionate and volatile love, difficult and inspired sessions of creativity, loneliness, and non-stop revelry that wasn't always that fun.

All that said, the author thoroughly records the origins and circumstances that bred her pitch-perfect wisecracks. Always, they came from within without a moment's notice, her sharp mind ever at work even when altered by drink or depression. This book doesn't settle for what made her popular and well known, it explores her poetry, reviews, short stories, novels, movie scripts, and even her personal notes and telegrams. Her writing and wit survive her era, still fresh and apt. It’s hard to overstate her popularity and influence in her time, and a little puzzling as to why she hasn’t continued to attract a wider audience. Had it been around in her day she surely would have won a MacArthur's Genius Grant and while she might have accepted it, in need of cash, she certainly would have disparaged their selection----a la Groucho’s “I can’t join a country club that would have me for a member”----and then found a way to mock the whole institution just to underline her unworthiness. Such was Dorothy Parker: in desperate need of love and attention, genius enough to have earned it, but doubting intentions when it was acknowledged.

Still, do not be turned away from reading this powerful book---even if you have to take a rest at the hard parts---she occupied a part of American literary history that no one has since filled. If you are unsure, start with her obituary in the New York Times, which appeared on page one and continued on an entire inside page---a distinction reserved for few. http://www.dorothyparker.com/nytobit.html
31 people found this helpful
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Sharon Almquist
5.0 out of 5 stars Well written but intense
Reviewed in the United States on June 28, 2023
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Intriguing and in-depth research and analysis of Dottie’s life. Only caveat is that the endless procession of names causes confusion. I had to look up many of these people to understand their importance.
One person found this helpful
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Wayne Summers
5.0 out of 5 stars The Brilliance of Dorthy Parker.
Reviewed in the United States on August 14, 2010
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I first became interested in Dorothy many years ago. As a writer I was in awe of her wit, although I didn't really know much about her. This biography by Marion Meade is thorough, detailed and compelling. It includes a good sprinkling of Dorothy's wittier quotes as well as a great collection of photographs. I was very happy with this purchase and although it has over 500 pages it is well worth the time invested. You really get to know Dorothy Parker and the times she lived in through Marion Meade's well-written and methodically researched book. I think I read it in 3 nights, and was loathe to put it down even though the hour was late and I had work in the morning. It actually prompted me to go ahead and buy "The Portable Dorothy Parker" - a collection of Dorothy's short stories and poems.
3 people found this helpful
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Prolix prognosticator
3.0 out of 5 stars One of America’s greatest wits
Reviewed in the United States on January 4, 2024
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A solid biography. I am not sure if there has been more recent scholarship since this book appeared, but it is well worth the read as Dorthy Parker was a firecracker. What it must have been like to sit at that round table at the Algonquin for lunch!

While the author obviously did a stunning amount of research and for this merits our great praise, I have to admit that Dorthy herself just ground on and on and on.

I do not mean to sound judgmental, but unfortunately it will come across that way as this the internet and one can only praise a historical figure and not be critical of one. Very often drunk. Very often entertaining suicide. Didn't like movies or the radio and could not meet a deadline. I guess in her rarefied circle one did that, but it got old VERY quickly.

Would have like to have known more about the works themselves instead of her treadmill of pathos laden struggles. She could, and did, work very hard at times but to me she seemed a very sad and lonely figure. YMMV
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R. Glueck
5.0 out of 5 stars Booze, Paper, and Smoke
Reviewed in the United States on August 20, 2013
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You can almost smell the atmosphere around the Algonquin Round Table. Dorothy Parker has written so much, yet I find she is somewhat overlooked by high school literature teachers. Why? Well, a life based on excessive drinking, excessive sexual liasons, and suicide attempts would tend to be factors. Still, she is a model writer and thinker for young adults of both genders. Using words to gut her foes and take pot shots at life, remains an art form that I fear will be eroded in this age of twittering and texting. Dorothy Parker knew the power of language, the power of thinking, and admired those who could give as well as they took it. Her contemporaries are likewise, people who should not be forgotten.
This single biography is the essence of Parker's like. It is a wonderful, fast read, holding one's interest. If you're student of The Marx Brothers, Alexander Woolcott, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ring Lardner, Moss Hart, George S. Kaufman, and the rest, you must read this book. I gave it five stars, but it should be a constellation.
5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

Rory Carr
5.0 out of 5 stars ...but Heaven for the reader.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on November 24, 2011
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A biographer worthy of her subject. And what a subject. Readers already familiar with the wit and wisdom of Dorothy Parker will know what I mean; those who first find her in these pages are in for the literary treat of their lives.

That's for the book. For the seller my praise is just as unstinting. Great condition, prompt delivery, god price and a truly great biography.
One person found this helpful
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Rafe Mair
4.0 out of 5 stars Was Dotty dotty?
Reviewed in Canada on October 17, 2015
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I am a great fan and this is, by far, the best biography of a witty, fascinating and basically unhappy man
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A. Hunt
3.0 out of 5 stars The gamut of emotions from A to B?
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 19, 2012
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This is a highly detailed biography and has clearly been the fruit of much research, but if you're looking for the real Dorothy, you won't find her here. We learn that Dorothy's childhood was challenging, but as soon as she begins her writing career, we're overwhelmed with a litany of names, events and detail that left me (and others in our book group) frequently flicking back through the pages in search of just who had done or said what to whom, until we lost the will to keep up. Little sense of narrative emerges from this catalogue of somewhat disjointed facts. Of her emotions, to borrow a Parkerism, only those from A to B are glimpsed.

What is lacking in real insight is made up for to some extent in the snippets of Dorothy's own words, and a number of interesting and less-known facts that were surprising. And perhaps she was an elusive person, making this biography a tall order. Still, unless you're willing to slog through a rather turgid and lengthy tome, this probably isn't the way to celebrate your love of all things Dorothy.
6 people found this helpful
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Anne Davies
5.0 out of 5 stars Love it and her
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on June 14, 2017
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Recently was in New York and stumbled on Algonquin Hotel and had a drink there. Prompted me to download book which I read before many years ago. Love it and her!!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Dorothy Parker
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 2, 2014
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love this book, full of interesting facts about Dorothy as well as some of her quotes

Highly recommend this book
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