Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell Is This? [Paperback]

Marion Meade (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 3, 1989

This edition features a new afterword by Marion Meade.

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

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

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

''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 --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 458 pages
• Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (March 3, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140116168
• ISBN-13: 978-0140116168
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (40 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #222,506 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

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.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

131 of 138 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Only Decent Parker Biography October 23, 2000

By A.Trendl HungarianBookstore.com VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I don't think there is another decent review of Dorothy Parker's life in print.

I could go on and on about the individual bits of interesting data the book highlights: her relationship with Benchley, the Algonquin Round Table, Vanity Fair, the New Yorker, plus her socio-political views, her misguided love life, her bitterness/love toward men. I suppose I could tell you a lot about what this book says in these regards.

I could lament how I think she is still an underrated fiction writer, as most people get stuck on her quips and witticisms, but her better skill was in unpeeling the subtleties of the everyday moment. I could, couldn't I?

There is plenty I could say about her insecurities, her foolish business mistakes and something bizarre about her dog. Oh yes, that would be interesting, that whole dog thing.

Instead, I'll just tell you this book is what is says, a thorough examination of the life of Dorothy Parker. You will be happy you bought it. It says everything I didn't say and more.

I fully recommend this book.

Anthony Trendl
editor, HungarianBookstore.com

54 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Wonderful biography November 27, 2002

By Patricia R. Andersen VINE™ VOICE

Format:Paperback

I was amazed to learn what I didn't know about Dorothy Parker - despite the fact I thought I knew a _lot_ about her. I was wrong and you might be, too. Did she really marry a homosexual man twice? What really was the relationship between Dorthy and Robert Benchley? Was she a Communist? And is Lillian Hellman as wonderful as M's Hellman makes herself out to be? These questions (and of course much more) are answered by this book.
You may think you know Dorthy Parker, with her "Men don't make passes.." and other witticisms that seemed to spring effortlessly from her mouth, but she was a lot more than a "flapper" or perhaps an "early feminist" - she was a true bundle of contradictions.
It's not the "feel good" story of the year, after all, if you've been interested in Dorothy Parker enough to read this far, you already know how the story will end. But it still is a wonderful read.
I suggest reading this with "The Portable Parker" as it definitely gives you an insight into the way her mind worked.
I intend to find out the exact address of her ashes and pay a visit to that esteemed place, since I now know where her ashes are located. And you will, too, if you take my advice and read this book.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Balanced Biography on a Brilliant Woman July 11, 2005

By Melanie's Reviews

Format:Paperback

All I could think of when I finished reading this biography was...wow. What a life, what a career, and what foolish choices smart ladies like Dorothy Parker can make. Parker had risen to almost iconic status with me as a writer and social commentator of her time. This book brings her back down with the balance of her brilliance with the reality of her misfortunes. The book could have used a *tighter* editor, but this is a must-read biography!