Born in Chicago in 1870, Frank Norris led a life of adventure and art. He moved to San Francisco at fifteen, spent two years in Paris painting, returned to San Francisco to become an internationally famous author, and died at age thirty-two from a ruptured appendix. During his short life, he wrote an inspired series of novels about the United States coming of age, including The Octopus, The Pit, and McTeague. Until recently, various obstacles prevented a comprehensive biography of Norris: the writer burned most of his correspondence, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire devoured more, and his brother and widow dispersed his surviving papers as gifts. Joseph R. McElrath Jr. and Jesse S. Crisler spent over thirty years amassing the material necessary for this truly full-scale portrait of Norris.
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Editorial Reviews
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"An important book. Norris is a compelling figure in American letters--youthful, ambitious, prolific, Californian--and he merits just this kind of learned assessment."--Los Angeles Times
"Not only is the narrative readable and captivating, but McElrath and Crisler correct a number of common misconceptions about Norris and his work, persuasively demonstrating that he was much more than simply the 'American Zola' that many of his contemporaries made him out to be. This book demonstrates that Norris and his writings deserve much more careful attention from students and scholars. Essential."--Choice
"The authors . . . began their research as graduate students in 1971 and have devoted most of their scholarly careers to finding out who Frank Norris really was. Norris died unexpectedly of a ruptured appendix in 1902 at the age of 32, and the authors conclude that much of our existing information about his brief life is plain wrong. . . . In setting the record straight, the meticulous McElrath and Crisler have written the definitive biography of Norris. In it, they emphasize how appreciation of Norris's literary genius is inseparable from an untimely death that forever raised the unfulfilled promise of even greater work to come."--New York Times Book Review
"The meticulous McElrath and Crisler have written the definitive biography of Norris. In it, they emphasize how appreciation of Norris's literary genius is inseparable from an untimely death that forever raised the unfulfilled promise of even greater work to come."--New York Times Book Review
Book Description
Born in Chicago in 1870, Frank Norris led a life of adventure and art. He moved to San Francisco at fifteen, spent two years in Paris painting, returned to San Francisco to become an internationally famous author, and died at age thirty-two from a ruptured appendix. During his short life, he wrote an inspired series of novels about the United States coming of age, including McTeague, The Octopus, and The Pit. Until recently, various obstacles prevented a comprehensive biography of Norris: the writer burned most of his correspondence, the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire devoured more, and his brother and widow dispersed his surviving papers as gifts. Joseph R. McElrath Jr. and Jesse S. Crisler spent over thirty years amassing the material necessary for this truly full-scale portrait of Norris.
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1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A remarkable man from a literary family,
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This review is from: Frank Norris: A LIFE (Hardcover)
who wrote some of the 20th century's most important books before he died at 32.
1 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Frank Norris,
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This review is from: Frank Norris: A LIFE (Hardcover)
As a third generation native San Franciscan pushing 80, I am fascinated with what went on in my native city before me.
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The American novelist Frank Norris was a universally well-liked person with an inextinguishable joie de vivre, a fine sense of humor, a gift for maintaining long-term friendships, and a degree of self-confidence that early career-related disappointments could not dampen. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
les jeunes, phantom fleet, neglected epic, atavistic lapse Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
San Francisco, The Octopus, New York, Frank Norris, The Pit, Key West, United States, Southern Pacific, The Ware, South Africa, Franklin Walker, The Wave, Cape Town, Cecil Rhodes, Gertrude Norris, Stephen Crane, News Gathering, Sister Carrie, West Coast, Bruce Porter, University of California, Ernest Peixotto, Three Friends, San Franciscans, Santa Cruz Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Front Flap | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Flap | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
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