Mary Ann in Autumn: A Tales of the City Novel [Hardcover]

Armistead Maupin (Author)

Book Description

Release date: November 2, 2010 | Series: Tales of the City

A hilarious and touching new installment of Armistead Maupin's beloved Tales of the City series

Twenty years have passed since Mary Ann Singleton left her husband and child in San Francisco to pursue her dream of a television career in New York. Now a pair of personal calamities has driven her back to the city of her youth and into the arms of her oldest friend, Michael "Mouse" Tolliver, a gardener happily ensconced with his much-younger husband.

Mary Ann finds temporary refuge in the couple's backyard cottage, where, at the unnerving age of fifty-seven, she licks her wounds and takes stock of her mistakes. Soon, with the help of Facebook and a few old friends, she begins to reengage with life, only to confront fresh terrors when her checkered past comes back to haunt her in a way she could never have imagined.

After the intimate first-person narrative of Maupin's last novel, Michael Tolliver Lives, Mary Ann in Autumn marks the author's return to the multicharacter plotlines and darkly comic themes of his earlier work. Among those caught in Mary Ann's orbit are her estranged daughter, Shawna, a popular sex blogger; Jake Greenleaf, Michael's transgendered gardening assistant; socialite DeDe Halcyon-Wilson; and the indefatigable Anna Madrigal, Mary Ann's former landlady at 28 Barbary Lane.

More than three decades in the making, Armistead Maupin's legendary Tales of the City series rolls into a new age, still sassy, irreverent, and curious, and still exploring the boundaries of the human experience with insight, compassion, and mordant wit.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the sure-to-please follow-up to Michael Tolliver Lives, the bestselling Tales of the City reboot, it's been 20 years since series anchor Mary Ann Singleton left her family and headed to New York. Maupin's San Francisco is comforting in its familiarity, and the gang is (mostly) all here, older, wiser, and settled in: Michael "Mouse" Tolliver is married to Ben; Shawna, Mary Ann's estranged daughter, is a popular sex blogger who is dating Otto, an enigmatic professional clown; and grand dame Anna Madrigal, once landlady to Michael and Mary Ann, is still kicking in her late 80s. Into this milieu returns Mary Ann, who ditched her husband and the young Shawna for a career in television. Now, nearing 60, she's back with news she can't bear to tell anyone but Michael. From the haven of his tiny garden cottage, Mary Ann regroups and confronts some uncomfortable chapters in her past. As ever, Maupin's edgy wit energizes the layered story lines. His keen eye for irony and human foible is balanced by an innate compassion in this examination of the life of a woman of a certain age.
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From Booklist

San Francisco in the 1960s was ground zero of the hippie movement and the fertile sprouting field of gay culture and liberation—in other words, tolerance of the unconventional was the meat and spice of the place. Maupin’s cult series Tales of the City, three novels of which, Tales of the City (1978), More Tales of the City (1980), and Further Tales of the City (1982), served as the basis for a popular television series, captures with sheer delight the many faces of diversity in that electric city in those Grace Slick times. Now, in Maupin’s new novel, as his devoted readership has aged, so have the greatly loved characters who gravitated to 28 Barbary Lane. The focal character is Mary Ann Singleton, who for a long time has been living a by-the-book life in Connecticut, but when she is diagnosed with cancer and confronted with her husband’s infidelity, she needs retreat and restoration, which she seeks back in her old haunts, among old friends. The graying of the Tales of the City cast won’t sadden readers. This affectionate novel, with its carefully unfolding story line (and perfect ending), will work its warmth and charm. High-Demand Backstory: Maupin will make appearances on the West Coast, online publicity will be focused on writing blogs and LGBT sites, and a social-networking campaign will be carried out on Facebook, Twitter, Goodreads, and LibraryThing. --Brad Hooper

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Harper; 1 edition (November 2, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061470880
• ISBN-13: 978-0061470882
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.4 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (138 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #279,273 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

73 of 76 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars These Tales never grow old October 4, 2010

By Susan Tunis TOP 100 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

I'd never been to San Francisco when I read the first five Tales of the City books. Armisted Maupin had created this wacky, wonderful city that seemed as fictional as the setting of any fantasy. I saved book six for my first visit to San Francisco, and once I arrived, I discovered the magical city that Maupin had created was exactly as described. On that first visit to San Francisco, I called my best friend and said, "I'm pulling a Mary Ann." I've been here nearly a decade.

I relate the above to explain that these books have had a fairly significant influence on my life. These characters are dear friends. And at one point I did very much empathize with series protagonist Mary Ann Singleton. Over time, we grew apart. I didn't understand all the choices she had made. Now Mary Ann and I are both a lot older than we were when we first met. After all this time, it is such a pure delight to catch up with her!

Alas, things aren't going so well on her end--on a variety of levels. Robert Frost once said, "Home is the place where, when you have to go there, they have to take you in." For Mary Ann, that place is San Francisco, with Michael "Mouse" Tolliver. He and his husband Ben don't let her down. In addition to Mary Ann's crises, this novel spends significant time checking in with Michael's business partner, Jake, and Mary Ann's adopted daughter, Shawna. An extra bonus in this novel, for long-time devotees like me, is that one of the plot elements ties back to the very first Tales novel.

I read this novel in no time flat. It was a joy from start to finish! (Oh, and if I weren't blurring the lines between fact and fiction enough already, a real life acquaintance of mine makes a cameo appearance in the book! That's a first.) Armisted Maupin makes what he does look so easy, almost as if he's channeling the members of this non-traditional family. (The "logical family" as opposed to the biological family, as Anna Madrigal would say.) He imbues his tales with such humor and such heart. The stories are completely over the top, yet grounded in an emotional reality. No one does this better.

Armisted, I am so grateful that you're again telling tales of the city. I hope to visit with these friends for many years to come.

26 of 29 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars The Return of Mary Ann September 28, 2010

By Jeanne Tassotto VINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

The TALES OF THE CITY series begins with Mary Ann Singleton's decision to remain in San Francisco. We first see the other characters through her eyes as she begins to explore her new home and gather her logical (as opposed to biological) family around her.. When the first series of six books concluded Mary Ann abandoned her home and friends for yet another new life in New York, leaving many readers - this one included - feeling as though they had been let down by an old friend. When Maupin at last returned to the series with MICHAEL TOLLIVER LIVES readers were delighted to once again catch up with old friends from Barbary Lane but rather saddened that Mary Ann only passed through the story.

Now we travel full circle as Mary Ann once again returns to the City, this time not as a sweet young girl full of hope but as an older, sadder woman seeking solace. Mary Ann's prefect life in Darien had fallen apart. Her trophy husband had disappointed her, her support system had crumbled when she needed it most so once again Mary Ann had turned to logical family, primarily Michael (Mouse) Tolliver, much to the discomfort of his husband Ben. As Michael helps Mary Ann the pair reconnect, enabling her to seek out her (and our) old friends, DeDe and D'Or, Anna, and Shawna. As always with this series the various seemingly unrelated plot lines twist through the story until they ultimately combine into a satisfying climax.

For all of us who had wailed "NOOOOOOOO!" at Mary Ann's departure at the end of SURE OF YOU her return in this novel is most satisfying. The joy of her return though is somewhat bittersweet as more of the ongoing plot lines reach conclusions that seem all too final. Maupin has gently reminded us that no one, not even those in as enchanted a place as San Francisco, will live forever.

This series of novels relates the stories of a group of San Franciscans, all connected with one another in some manner, that began with TALES OF THE CITY. The overall story arc is quite strong so begin at the beginning and proceed in order through this series.

24 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Return of some long lost friends October 15, 2010

By barry TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review (What's this?)

Armistead Maupin deserves the highest kudos for what he has created. To think that TALES OF THE CITY started as a newspaper serial and then became one book, then another establishing characters that were so real it was as if the reader knew them all. San Francisco is a character just as much as the people. We have straight characters, gay characters, transgendered characters. Basically life itself is represented here. With each book over the years and decades Mr. Maupin has addressed the issues of the time and the characters have become even more endearing over time. A couple years back MICHAEL TOLLIVER LIVES brought readers back to a world of love and friends. Now he returns with MARY ANN IN AUTUMN. The main plot is about Mary Ann but many characters from the original series are here as well from the faithful Michael, Mrs. Madrigal, DeDe and D'or plus many others introduced over the years like Ben, Jake and Shawna. Barbary Lane itself has changed somewhat with the times and this is what keeps these novels alive. Armistead Maupin gives us what and who we loved from past novels while changing with the times and introduces great plots and new characters to care about with each venture. This novel is no different. Our beloved friends are back and reading this book is like curling up with your favorite blanket. The new characters are great and we even get brought back to a plot line from the past which I will leave a mystery. Just let me say this book delivers in all ways.

Please Armistead Maupin, don't stop here. Growing older with these beloved characters is a gift you cannot imagine. Highly recommended.