Lives of the Wives

Five Literary Marriages

Carmela Ciuraru

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Hardback

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English

HARPER360
05 July 2023

Biography; Biography: historical, political & military; Biography: literary; Gender studies: women

"A witty, provocative look inside the tumultuous marriages of five writers, illuminating the creative process as well as the role of money, power, and fame in these complex and fascinating relationships.

""The five marriages that Carmela Ciuraru explores in Lives of the Wives provide such delightfully gossipy pleasure that we have to remind ourselves that these were real people whose often stormy relationships must surely have been less fun to experience than they are for us to read about.""—Francine Prose, author of The Vixen

""Delicious and infuriating...unputdownable."" —Sadie Stein, New York Times

""A tour de force...

The stories are gripping, horrific and sometimes funny, but most of all they are important."" —Washington Post

""A compulsively readable book."" —Wall Street Journal

In Lives of the Wives, author Carmela Ciuraru offers a witty, provocative look inside the tumultuous marriages of five famous writers, illuminating the creative process as well as the role of money, fame, and power in these complex and fascinating relationships.

The legendary British theater critic Kenneth Tynan encouraged his American wife, Elaine Dundy, to write, then watched in a jealous rage as she became a bestselling author. In their early years of marriage, Roald Dahl enjoyed basking in the glow of his glamorous movie star wife, Patricia Neal, until he detested her for being wealthier and more famous. Elizabeth Jane Howard had to divorce Kingsley Amis to escape his suffocating needs and pursue her own writing. In the marriage of the Italian novelists Elsa Morante and Alberto Moravia, it was Morante who often behaved abusively toward her cool, detached husband, even as he unwaveringly championed his wife’s talent and work. The most conventional partnership is a lesbian couple, Una Troubridge and Radclyffe Hall, both of whom were socially and politically conservative and unapologetic snobs.

Lives of the Wives is an erudite, entertaining project of reclamation and reparation, paying tribute to the wives who were often demonized and misrepresented, and revealing the price they paid for recognition and freedom."

By: Carmela Ciuraru
Imprint: HARPER360
Country of Publication: United States
Dimensions: Height: 229mm, Width: 152mm, Spine: 28mm
Weight: 481g
ISBN: 9780062356918
ISBN 10: 0062356917
Pages: 336
Publication Date: 05 July 2023
Audience: General/trade , ELT Advanced
Format: Hardback
Publisher's Status: Out of Stock Indefinitely

Carmela Ciuraru is a well-known critic and editor, and the author of Nom de Plume: A (Secret) History of Pseudonyms, along with several poetry anthologies. She is a member of the National Book Critics Circle, and has written for publications including the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Los Angeles Times, San Francisco Chronicle, and the Boston Globe, among others. She lives in New York City.

Reviews for Lives of the Wives: Five Literary Marriages

This bracing survey delivers. - Publishers Weekly Eye-opening . . . . A rare window into five relationships providing a respectful yet unflinching look inside the daily, often complicated lives of the writers and their wives. . . .The reality is often harsh-but also fascinating. An illuminating, well-rendered literary biography. - Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review) The five marriages that Carmela Ciuraru explores in Lives of the Wives provide such delightfully gossipy pleasure that we have to remind ourselves that these were real people whose often stormy relationships must surely have been less fun to experience than they are for us to read about. - Francine Prose, author of The Vixen