No personage is too big, no nuance too small, no subject too far out for Groucho’s spontaneous, hilarious, and ferocious typewriter. He writes to comics, corporations, children, presidents, and even his daughter’s boyfriend. Here is Groucho swapping photos with T. S. Eliot (”I had no idea you were so handsome!”); advising his son on courting a rich dame (”Don’t come out bluntly and say, ’How much dough have you got?’ That wouldn’t be the Marxian way”); crisply declining membership in a Hollywood club (”I don’t care to belong to any social organization that will accept me as a member”); reacting with utmost composure when informed that he has been made into a verb by James Joyce (”There’s no reason why I shouldn’t appear in Finnegans Wake. I’m certainly as bewildered about life as Joyce was”); responding to a scandal sheet (”Gentleman: If you continue to publish slanderous pieces about me, I shall feel compelled to cancel my subscription”); describing himself to the Lunts (”I eat like a vulture. Unfortunately the resemblance doesn’t end there”); and much, much more. That mobile visage, that look of wild amazement, and that weaving cigar are wholly captured, bound but untamed, in The Groucho Letters.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
From Library Journal
Letters are often a window to a person's true self, or, in this case, selves. This "book of letters in the old tradition of correspondence" (LJ 2/15/67) displays not only the great wit of the one, the only, Groucho but also the private, serious side of Julius Marx. Recipients include fellow show business figures and family members as well as T.S. Eliot, President Harry Truman, and Edward R. Murrow.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1994 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Review
"It is hard to keep from reading bits of this aloud to friends and relations. Groucho in letters is just as devastatingly witty as he was in the movies, to say nothing of other media."
-- Publishers Weekly
"...these letters are good reading, for out of the book Groucho emerges, eyebrows bounding, eyes rolling, cigar jauntily clamped between his teeth, the wisecracks coming a mile a minute. Even Calvin Coolidge might have smiled."
-- Book Week
"Written...with the impudence, irreverence and general lunacy that made Groucho the immortal wise guy of the American screen."
-- Newsweek --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
34 of 35 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
This classic collection of Groucho Marx's correspondence, which was donated to the Library of Congress, at their request, gives the best glimpse into who Groucho Marx was. Not only do we see his letters to his family and friends, who included some of the century's most famous people, but we get to see what people wrote in return. Groucho's personality and wit shine through, and these letters are a rare treasure.
With little formal education, Groucho could construct a letter better than most people with college degrees. He shows himself as witty, acerbic, sometimes sentimental and, yes, often grouchy. The book starts off with his infamous exchange with the legal department at Warner Brothers, who claim they own the rights to the movie title "Casablanca." Groucho responds that, perhaps, since the Marx Brothers were famous before the Warner Brothers, that perhaps they owned the rights to use "Brothers"?
We see Groucho's exchanges with many of his friends, but not much between the brothers themselves, since they were almost always together and there was no need of correspondence. We see Groucho's complaints and his praise. The most memorable part of the book is Groucho's legendary correspondence with the poet, T.S. Elliot. Groucho is clearly in awe of the poet, who seems equally in awe of the comic. It takes several years for this predecessor of the modern "Email friendship" to become a "real life friendship" when Groucho and his wife fly to London to meet "Tom" and his wife. We find out about the evening via a letter Groucho sent to another person. We also see a letter where Groucho mourns T.S. Elliot's passing.
This collection of letters is never out-dated, and never becomes boring. There is always something to read, somewhere in the book. It is not a book that you will read, then forget about. It's an amazing, historical collection of wit, sarcasm and genuine tenderness that is essential to any humor library.
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
For some, a criterion of great art is: it makes you feel creative. Reading Groucho's letters makes one look around for pen and paper.
It is a pity Groucho Marx's prose isn't better known, because it was quite good. He found a voice all his own, with due influence or inspiration from Robert Benchley and, most certainly, S.J. Perelman.
This collection of letters ranges from warm and teasing, to wry and satirical, to scathing (a section entitled "Short Shrift" showcases letters designed to sting and fly away, like a wasp). Yet throughout, Marx's wit is belied by a language that is literate and witty but uses an ordinary vocabulary. They reflect the man himself, who had a third-grade education and hit the books in later years. His willingness to address himself to unknown corporate officers, well-known politicians, or to put on a major film studio work the way much of Groucho's humor worked: he comes from the level of the ordinary person, caring not a whit for ceremony or status; and he is willing to talk circles around just about anybody, to their vexation and our delight.
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I received this book after major surgery some years back and Groucho's wit really helped pick up my spirits and take my mind off of my body. This was one of the best gifts that I've ever received and I'm pleased to see that it's back in print. If you could have a dinner party and invite any historical figures that you wanted, wouldn't Groucho be on the list? This collection of his intimate correspondence is the next best thing.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Groucho Letters
One of his best books. I hardly ever finish books when I read them but this was a major exeption. As I had expected, the letters were full of Julius's wit, tomfoolery, and his... Read more
Published on March 29, 2010 by Nicola Mushahwar
"You Bet Your Life"
I wonder how many young people today--that is, anyone younger than 50--know or enjoy Groucho Marx. A product of the Vaudevillian Age, Groucho with his brothers Harpo, Chico, and... Read more
Published on May 30, 2009 by Thomas J. Burns
Poison Pens
I bought this book because I am a big fan of Groucho Marx (and his brothers). I found that I enjoyed the book but I wondered if there weren't a few too many letters included. Read more
Published on May 3, 2009 by Randy Keehn
A brilliant and fun collection of letters by a truly great comic and...
If you are a fan of Groucho Marx, this collection of letters to and from him will only deepen your appreciation of him. Read more
Published on March 14, 2009 by Robert Moore
Funny and Smart
Groucho wasn't always a clown off the screen as the books show, but he was definitely funny, and I learned much about how he used the humor for dealing with business problems and... Read more
Published on March 10, 2009 by A. Bryant
Groucho Marks Letterw
It was not a favorite. I've Woody Allen stuff and the GL's may be great for a museum but does not create the "meat in comedy" I was looking for.
Published on December 16, 2008 by Roger O. Sanders
Superior Service
This was my first "Amazon Experience". Like most potential Amazon users, I was a "nervous Nellie", however, I was pleasantly surprised by the efficient service and the quality of... Read more
Published on February 14, 2008 by Mr. G. Anderson-peters
Not The Screwtape Letters
The biggest compliment I can give this collection is that reading it made me wish I wrote more letters and had more celebrities among my circle of potential letter-receivers. Read more
Published on October 3, 2003 by Andrew McCaffrey
A must-have for Groucho fans!
Groucho's letters (to him and from him) are many in number, and the correspondents he had...wow! Famous authors, politicians, his family, and his numerous friends... Read more
Published on August 27, 2003 by meiringen
Great
This book is one of the greatest epistolic volumes ever published. I've reread it several times over the last couple of decades. Read more
Published on June 19, 2001 by tzefirah
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
My Favorite Picture Producer was at our house for dinner the other night and each year he eats progressively louder. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Beverly Hills, Marx Brothers, Uncle Julius, Kansas City, Max Gordon, Warner Brothers, Animal Crackers, Big Show, Palm Springs, United States, Harry Ruby, Las Vegas, Booth Tarkington, Congressional Medal of Honor, Finnegans Wake, Groucho June, Irving Berlin, King Lear, Tom Gibbons, Arthur Marx, Can You Spare, Columbia Records, Groucho November, Irwin Shaw, Jane Russell New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
My Favorite Picture Producer was at our house for dinner the other night and each year he eats progressively louder. Read the first page Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Beverly Hills, Marx Brothers, Uncle Julius, Kansas City, Max Gordon, Warner Brothers, Animal Crackers, Big Show, Palm Springs, United States, Harry Ruby, Las Vegas, Booth Tarkington, Congressional Medal of Honor, Finnegans Wake, Groucho June, Irving Berlin, King Lear, Tom Gibbons, Arthur Marx, Can You Spare, Columbia Records, Groucho November, Irwin Shaw, Jane Russell New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 27
books:
See all 27 books this book cites
10
books
cite this book:
See all 10 books citing this book
- Finnegans Wake (Classic, 20th-Century, Penguin) by James Joyce on page 144, and page 145
- Love, Groucho by Miriam Marx Allen on page 78, and page 172
- King Lear (The New Folger Library Shakespeare) by William Shakespeare on page 163
- Helen of Troy by Margaret George on page 183
- What Makes Sammy Run? by Budd Schulberg on page 47
See all 27 books this book cites
- Steal This Idea: Intellectual Property Rights and the Corporate Confiscation of Creativity by Michael Perelman in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
- The Ring of Brightest Angels Around Heaven: A Novella and Stories by Rick Moody in Back Matter
- Talking Animals And Other People by Shamus Culhane in Back Matter
- Terrible Honesty: Mongrel Manhattan in the 1920s by Ann Douglas in Back Matter
- Letters of the Century: America 1900-1999 by Lisa Grunwald in Back Matter
See all 10 books citing this book
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