HISTORY OF THE GINGER MAN [Hardcover]

J. P. Donleavy (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 17, 1994

Presents the author's rags-to-riches story of his quest to create and publish his twentieth-century classic, The Ginger Man. 15,000 first printing. $15,000 ad/promo.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

From the author of The Ginger Man comes a history of that novel from its inception to its British publication in 1956. And, like The Ginger Man , it is a blasphemous read, mainly because many of the characters who inhabit the novel are here. Readers will be struck by the major role played by Brendan Behan, Donleavy's editor and tipster who knew a publisher willing to take on The Ginger Man. In 1952 Donleavy, with his wife and child left Ireland, where he had lived after graduating from Trinity, to return home to New York City. In the U.S., after becoming depressed over McCarthyism and over the many rejections of his manuscript, he and his family headed to England. It was there that Behan suggested that the manuscript be submitted to Olympia Press in Paris, the publisher of Samuel Beckett. To Donleavy's outrage, The Ginger Man appeared under Olympia's Traveller's Companion Series, a pornographic imprint. After much legal haggling over ownership of the British and American rights, the novel was published in Britain, and Donleavy outmaneuvered Maurice Giroudias to become the owner of Olympia Press and, in his own words, ended up "actually in litigation with myself." An interesting, if at times self-serving study of author and work that will appeal only to Donleavy's most dedicated fans. Photos. Author tour.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Donleavy is a gifted storyteller, and this memoir is as vivid and entertaining as the The Ginger Man itself. Donleavy recounts the four years he spent writing this popular novel in Ireland and America, describing his real-life adventures with the likes of Gainor Stephen Crist, the model for protagonist Sebastian Dangerfield, and the infamous playwright Brendan Behan, among others. As in the novel, drinking, fighting, and sex figure prominently. Donleavy also relates his struggle to find a publisher for a book that many people by 1950s standards considered obscene. After 35 rejections he finally found success with the Olympia Press in Paris, but the affair turned into a bitter 25-year legal battle. Recommended for contemporary literature collections. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 11/15/93.
- William Gargan, Brooklyn Coll. Lib., CUNY
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 517 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin (March 17, 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395515955
• ISBN-13: 978-0395515952
• Product Dimensions: 9.4 x 6.5 x 1.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,782,172 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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4.0 out of 5 stars The History of the Ginger Man, November 19, 2011

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This review is from: HISTORY OF THE GINGER MAN (Hardcover)

This hilarious trip through the tribulations associated with publishing The Ginger Man should be required reading for novelists and potential novelists. In many places, it is as hilarious as the wondrous novel itself. The charascterization of Gainor Crist is superb, as Doneavy follows his friend's totally berserk ambulations through life. A must read for Donleavy fans.