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Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady: A Memoir Paperback – October 15, 1990

by Florence King (Author)

4.2 315 ratings

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Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady is Florence King's classic memoir of her upbringing in an eccentric Southern family, told with all the uproarious wit and gusto that has made her one of the most admired writers in the country. Florence may have been a disappointment to her Granny, whose dream of rearing a Perfect Southern Lady would never be quite fulfilled. But after all, as Florence reminds us, "no matter which sex I went to bed with, I never smoked on the street."

Review

“The damndest adventures in autobiography hilarity to come down the pike in recent years...She is a Bombeck with bite, a female Art Bushwald with Southern sass, an A-one original American humorist down to her wicked, wicked bones.” ―Susan Brownmiller

“An outrageous commentator on men, women, and other sources of amusement, particularly the Southern variety...Florence King never loses her warmth, her humor, or her ability to be delighted by life's inherent contradictions.” ―Chicago Sun-Time

“Miss King, who lives in Virginia, is among the few writers who can make you laugh and gasp out loud...She is a social commentator who wipes away the thick-as-molasses layers of Southern sham...Write on, Miss King.” ―Chattanooga Times

“She lesves more Old South traditions in shreds than Gen. William T. Sherman...Confessions of Failed Southern Lady should appeal to all belles, Southern not, failed or not.” ―Atlanta Journal-Constitution

“Witty, intelligent, freewheeling...Surely the author told these stories before she wrote them, stretching and perfecting them with each telling, mining them for humor.” ―Newsday

About the Author

Florence King (1936-2016) is the author of Southern Ladies and Gentlemen, With Charity Toward None, and other books. A prolific writer of essays, articles, and books under various pseudonyms, she was best known for her columns "The Misanthrope's Corner" and "The Bent Pin" in National Review, and for her semi-autobiographical book, Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady.

Print length

278 pages
Language

English
Publication date

October 15, 1990
Dimensions

5.5 x 0.65 x 8.5 inches
ISBN-10

0312050631
ISBN-13

978-0312050634
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Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ St. Martin's Press (October 15, 1990)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 278 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0312050631
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0312050634
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 12 ounces
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.65 x 8.5 inches

Best Sellers Rank: #966,227 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,963 in Literary Criticism & Theory
- #4,630 in Author Biographies
- #10,098 in Women's Biographies

Customer Reviews:
4.2 315 ratings

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4.2 out of 5

315 global ratings

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JordanJasper

Indefatigably Hilarious, Intelligent, and Raw

Reviewed in the United States on April 8, 2016

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Having discovered Miss King's existence only after happening upon her January 2016 obituary, I feel as if I've missed-out on a lifetime of brilliance I could have enjoyed while she was actually in the process of releasing her incandescent work. Fortunately for me (and for all of us), the written word can defy the mortality of its creator, and if any essayist/satirist of the past one hundred years merits the nimbus of immortality, it's got to be Florence King. Her memoir about growing-up in a family of Southern eccentrics is a non-stop romp --uproariously funny, scathing, witty, heartbreaking, incisive, fascinating, and clever in a deliriously relentless way. Few authors of any milieu can turn a phrase like Florence King, much less conjure genuine belly laughs from the unexpected twists and turns that characterized her unconventional life. I laughed out loud, with constant surprise and almost mischievous delight, from the first page of this book to the last. She is the funniest writer I have ever encountered in my life, bar none, and certainly one of the most intelligent. Confessions of a Failed Southern Lady is candid about everything Miss King experienced in the time period covered by this narrative, so be sure to bring your worldly faculties to the experience. Beyond that, just sit back and enjoy some of the best storytelling and wordsmithery contemporary American literature has to offer. I read this work in less than two days and then proceeded to order all of her other publications. This is definitely a book for smart people who take particular pleasure in laughing "with" the world and "at" the world. Malkins need not apply.

8 people found this helpful

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Sandy Hatton

Never Smoke on the Sidewalk

Reviewed in the United States on October 19, 2018

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I've never read a book by Florence King and this one is a little bit uncomfortable for me. However, Ms. King , to my sense of reasoning , had
a fairly hard life , at least in her younger more informative years. Her Mother, wasn't what you would call a " hold me your lap, kind of Mom ",
and that probably made it somewhat hard for Ms. King to be a truly "sweet" little girl. On the other hand , her Grandmother was so "caught-up"
in being a really and truly Southern Belle, and wanted her granddaughter to be ," all that and then some ". Her Mother pulling her one way and
her Grandmother pulling her the other way, until finally Ms. King as she grew up and tried to find out , who she was, ….she had to trust in herself
and I don't think she ever really did find out. She did fall in love, and was devoted to her partner, until they broke up and the partner was in killed
in a bad car wreck. I don't think Ms. King ever got over this tragedy . I gave this book 5 stars, because it has all the drama, and her writing is truly remarkable.

Sandy Hatton
a

2 people found this helpful

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A. B.

A brilliant book that even Yankees will love

Reviewed in the United States on February 4, 2002

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I'm not Southern and I've never been to the South, but I adore Florence King -- and particularly this biting look at Southern culture.
King is the daughter of an intelligent, self-educated Englishman and an uber-tomboy mother with blue Southern blood. This book recounts her misanthropic childhood, spent with her mismatched parents and her Old Guard maternal grandmother. She also discusses her college years -- including her fight for a non-secretarial education, the search for alcohol in a dry state and her discovery of her true sexual orientation. (It was truly shocking to find out what barriers she and her partner had to cross to be together.)
The book is stuffed with unforgettable characters, quotable lines and alternately hilarious and horrifying scenes.

8 people found this helpful

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Yvonne Shull

Well written

Reviewed in the United States on July 27, 2020

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Although the book was well written it did not interest me.

One person found this helpful

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--SDuncan

Wonderful, funny portrait of a less well-to-do southern family.

Reviewed in the United States on April 3, 2017

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Hilarious and filled with characters so lively that I could hear them talking as I read. I enjoyed the stories of her family and the rather unusual home life that she was raised in.

Gentle readers such as myself may find the descriptions of her sexual adventures that occur towards the end of the book to be a little uncomfortable to get through. But although I may have blushed at a few places, overall the book is well worth the read.

Ms. King has a wonderful eye for people and she writes with a crisp, distinct style that left me laughing through most of the book. I would certainly recommend this book.

4 people found this helpful

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Rio Hondo

A rollicking ribald tale of failed southern gentility.

Reviewed in the United States on October 8, 2022

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Florence Kings rapier wit and keen observations are not for the faint of intellect or heart. Woke decades before it was fashionable.

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TheBanshee

She is smart, acerbic

Reviewed in the United States on October 24, 2014

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I'd read a few of King's columns in back issues of The National Review, but I have only discovered her books recently. What a pleasure they are. She is smart, acerbic, learned and wickedly funny. I only wish I'd discovered her sooner. If you think women ought to automatically get sentimental children, and simper and such in order to qualify as women, you should probably leave this book alone. But for the more courageous soul, there is so much good stuff here. King writes for herself and she is magnificent.

3 people found this helpful

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Wareagleparsons

Definitely Worth the Read

Reviewed in the United States on April 1, 2020

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The book challenged me, made me laugh and was sad when it was over. The heroine is definitely a failed Sourhern lady by standards set by her heritage, but all of us have disappointed our forefathers. Loved the setting and you will too

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Top reviews from other countries

Richmonde

I love this book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on April 30, 2013

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Florence King's life story tells you a lot about what it means to be a Southern belle - and what it means to be a woman. I'm just slightly younger than she is but I can relate to conditions when she was growing up. She is a brilliant writer, hardly known in the UK. ("The trains sounded like a knight in full armour being sawn in half.") The household consists of little Florence, her grandmother, her mother, her father (a clarinettist who sleeps in the kitchen of their tiny flat), and Jensy, her grandma's black servant. When they move to slightly more spacious quarters Jensy has a room downstairs, but she is one of the family throughout. Florence has a somewhat raucous time at university (she's bisexual and students drank just as heavily back then). Her girlfriend can't forgive her for making money writing "true confessions". She is brilliant on snobbery: her part Native American grandmother is convinced of the family's aristocratic English or Scottish connections, and has many different terms for people who aren't "quite quite". (They "had that trashy look".) Jensy's death and its aftermath is particularly moving. Mr King offers to give the eulogy at her funeral, at her church. The pastor comes to discuss it, and Florence notes his "chiselled" (as her grandmother would say) features, and perfect manners. He is obviously the one with the aristocratic connections. (Read Ms King's other books in which she sends up feminism in the kindest possible way.)

3 people found this helpful

Patricia

Wry and quirky.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on February 24, 2013

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A young woman grows up, with a grandmother desperate to mould her into the perfect Southern lady. Luckily her quirky mother and endearing father offer an eccentric home life that keeps society's constricting norms at bay. It is poignant and enlightening.

One person found this helpful

Turtledove

Great condition

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 27, 2022

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Product arrived promptly and well packaged, in good condition just as described. Very trustworthy seller

Malcolm

confessions of a failed southern lady

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on September 13, 2012

Verified Purchase

I enjoyed this book immensely. It is a poignant reminder of how far we have progressed in social matters. This is a very well written account of life in the 1950's. Both amusing snd disarming in many ways. I would reccommend this book to anyone.

One person found this helpful

noel cosgrove

Wonderful book.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 3, 2020

Verified Purchase

Funny,earthy and touching. A great read.

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