Rhoda: A Life in Stories [Paperback]

Ellen Gilchrist (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1995

A collection of all twenty-two previously published short stories featuring the author's most popular character, Rhoda Katherine Manning, a vivacious, wholly liberated writer, is complemented by two new tales. Reprint.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Gilchrist's fictional Southern belle turned writer, Rhoda Manning, has appeared in all five of her previous short-story collections and in the novel Net of Jewels. Rhoda loves to shop, swear and get her own way; she has always been a vivid and indelible character. This welcome if inconsistent collection assembles all 21 of the Rhoda stories, an excerpt from Net of Jewels plus two new tales. The pieces are arranged in chronological order of Rhoda's age?from eight to 60. There's also an introduction by the author admitting that some of the stories are "made up" while others are "blatantly autobiographical." True or not, the exploits of Rhoda in her youth (which make up most of the book) are generally better than the portraits of Rhoda in midlife or later, and nearly a decade of Rhoda's life?from 27 to 39?is missing. Thus there is no transition between the spoiled, impetuous rich girl who gulps diet pills, drinks a lot and, while reading Hemingway, comments about his "terrible looking" wife and the middle-aged Rhoda who, a few pages later, places her work with the Paris Review as easily as she might buy a new outfit. And as a biography of sorts, there are other inconsistencies?for example, the age that Rhoda runs away to get married differs in three stories. Despite the distractions, Rhoda remains the same sassy and outspoken gal she has always been and always will be.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

Prolific author Gilchrist (Age of Miracles, LJ 4/1/95) has a winner in this delightful collection that includes old favorites plus two new stories about Rhoda Katherine Manning as she ages from ten to 58. Red-haired, spunky, and precocious, Rhoda grows up in the shadow of World War II, experiencing rites of passage that include puberty, drinking, first love, and elopement. Adulthood brings obsessions with sex, alcohol, her appearance, and her father's wealth. Increasingly promiscuous, Rhoda is wild, confused, and unhappy, gaining direction only after finally attaining success as a writer. An independent but impetuous thinker, Rhoda is as real as anyone who has ever "lived" in a book. Recommended for all public libraries.?Ellen R. Cohen, Rockville, Md.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc.

Product Details

• Paperback: 432 pages
• Publisher: Back Bay Books; 1st edition (November 1, 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316314641
• ISBN-13: 978-0316314640
• Product Dimensions: 8 x 5.5 x 1.1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #225,446 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars All the Rhoda Stories under One Cover, March 28, 2001

By 

C. M. Dempsey "avid reader" (Texas) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Rhoda: A Life in Stories (Paperback)

Rhoda Manning is easily my favorite Gilchrist character and this book contains all the Rhoda stories from all Gilchrist's other published short story collections. That makes this the book to own for Rhoda fans, in my opinion.

The author has written before how she is/is not like Rhoda, but regardless of how much Rhoda's character may be autobiographical, Rhoda sparkles and comes to life in these stories.

Recommended also is "Net of Jewels", a novel starring Rhoda, but Gilchrist does much better at short stories than novels, in my opinion.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining, December 14, 2003

By 

Greta Rudolph (Tokyo, Japan) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rhoda: A Life in Stories (Paperback)

The first few stories in this book, which chronicle the character Rhoda as she goes through adolescence, are captivating. However, Rhoda`s character dims slightly as she enters adulthood. She gets married, divorces, and has sex; all for a couple hundred pages that aren`t particularly inspired. The last two stories, however, make up for the lapse, as we see Rhoda finally matured.
Overall, I reccomend this book. It is a page turner, and the complex character of Rhoda is enchanting and memorable.

5.0 out of 5 stars Hemingway-ish Feel, August 11, 2011

By 

Debnance at Readerbuzz (Alvin, Texas) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Rhoda: A Life in Stories (Paperback)

I zipped through Rhoda yesterday and
today and ended up liking Rhoda even
more than my earlier Gilchrist read,
Dreamy Dreams. Linked stories,
with the same main character, almost a novel
but not quite, is a fun idea. Even the little
discrepancies between the stories
(Just how old was Rhoda when she first got
married, anyway? She is said to be twenty
and nineteen and seventeen in various stories)
add a feeling of authenticity to the book
(Do you always remember just how old you
were when you got married? I sometimes tell
different people different ages.)
Gilchrist's writing has a Hemingway-ish feel
to it, especially when she has Rhoda begin to
write and when she has Rhoda fall in love.
I loved Rhoda when she was a fearless child,
was saddened by her in her twenties as she
seemed to let life carry her along, but
fell back in love with this character when
she hit her fifties and began to be courageous
again (I really really wanted her to meet up
with the bullfighter...oh well.) Wonderful book.