Love, Groucho: Letters from Groucho Marx to His Daughter Miriam [Paperback]

Miriam M. Allen (Editor), Dick Cavett (Designer)

Book Description

Publication Date: April 1993

Amply displaying Groucho's famous wit, but also providing a rare glimpse of the very human and complex man behind the mustache, here are nearly 200 letters written by the legendary Groucho Marx to his daughter Miriam over a period of 30 years. Includes notes and photographs from Miriam's collection and a foreword by Dick Cavett.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this "fond remembrance of a cherished father-daughter relationship," the elder daughter of Groucho Marx (1891-1977) reprints and briefly comments on letters she received from her father from 1938, when she was 11, to 1967, when she returned to California (where he lived) and their correspondence ceased. Writing about his successes and disappointments, Groucho also criticizes associates and his three wives, including his first, the author's mother, as he reveals what Allen calls his "sneering intelligence." He throws out quips that vividly recall his presence on stage: offering his daughter belated wishes for a happy birthday, he adds, "If you have another one, let me know in advance." While Allen claims enduring love for her father, readers will suspect more ambivalence. Now in her 60s, she recalls her expulsion from Bennington College, her ongoing psychotherapy, her broken marriage and the alcoholism from which she began to recover during the year of her father's death. Photos not seen by PW.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Library Journal

Groucho's daughter has collected his correspondence to her in this volume, which reveals a different man from the leering, womanizing persona he cultivated on stage. He seems to have been a sincerely caring parent, who regularly wrote his daughter witty and encouraging letters, the bulk of them between 1945 and 1955, while Miriam was at Bennington College and later at the Menninger Clinic being treated for alcoholism. Allen's cursory notes do little to explain the contents of the letters, and in any case Groucho's comments on his radio show and Hollywood friends are so entertaining on their own that they hardly require annotation. Not a necessary purchase, but fun to read.
-Marcia L. Perry, Berkshire Athenaeum, Pittsfield, Mass.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 270 pages
• Publisher: Faber & Faber (April 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0571198090
• ISBN-13: 978-0571198092
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,601,761 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Groucho...no difference between letters and screen., December 14, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: Love, Groucho: Letters from Groucho Marx to His Daughter Miriam (Paperback)

What better way to judge a man than to see his unedited, straight from the hip letters to his daughter. I have read just about all there is to read on Groucho, but this is my most prized possession. This book shows Groucho's philosophies on family relations, government, love and home life. I felt like a fly on the wall of a private phone conversation. The letters revealed a man who had a heart of gold and a tongue of silver. I was amazed at how his wit in letters was no different from that on the screen. Big thanks to Miriam for letting us look at the private side of one of the funniest men ever.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Master Letter Writer, February 5, 2004

By 

tzefirah "tzefirah" (Media, PA United States) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Love, Groucho: Letters From Groucho Marx To His Daughter Miriam (Paperback)

Groucho Marx is known for his letter writing. This collection is great, but not as good as The Groucho Letters. Since these are only to his daughter, Miriam, they don't reflect aspects of his personality that show up in The Groucho Letters, which are collected from diverse people, family, friends, and other show people, not to mention Warner Brothers during a law suit.

But I love this collection because Groucho comes across as a loving and concerned parent who can't get enough of his children. He is supportive, generous, thoughtful and witty.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It made me laugh, it made me cry, but it also made me think!, December 29, 1997

By 

[e-mail] (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Love, Groucho: Letters from Groucho Marx to His Daughter Miriam (Paperback)

These letters show a very human side of Groucho Marx. Through all this you get to experience first hand his great wit and sense of word play. There were many dimensions to this man, and these letters provide an inside look at what made this man tick. Many thanks should be given to his daughter Miriam for this personal look into her father's life.