- A Death in the Family
infobox Book |
name = A Death in the Family
image_caption = 1st edition cover
author =James Agee
country =United States
language = English
genre =Novel
publisher =McDowell Obolensky
release_date = 1956
media_type = Print (hardcover )
pages = 339 pp
oclc = 123180486"A Death in the Family" is an
autobiographical novel by authorJames Agee , set inKnoxville, Tennessee . He began writing it in 1948, but it was not quite complete when he died in 1955. It was edited and released posthumously in 1957 by editor David McDowell. Agee's widow and children were left with little money after Agee's death and McDowell wanted to help them by publishing the work. Agee won thePulitzer Prize for Fiction in 1958 for the novel."Time" included the novel in its "Time" 100 Best English-language Novels from 1923 to 2005." [http://www.time.com/time/2005/100books/]
Plot
The novel is based on the events that occurred to Agee in 1915 when his father went out of town to see his own father, who had a heart attack, and was killed in a car accident during the return trip. The novel provides a portrait of life in
Knoxville, Tennessee , showing how such a loss affects the young widow, her two children, her atheistic father and the dead man’s alcoholic brother.New version
University of Tennessee professor Michael Lofaro claimed the version printed in 1957 was not the version intended for print by the author. He discussed his work at a conference that was part of the Knoxville James Agee Celebration (April 2005). Lofaro tracked down the author's original manuscripts and notes and has reconstructed a version he says is more authentic. Lofaro's version of the novel, "A Death in the Family: A Restoration of the Author's Text", was published in 2007 as part of a 10-volume set, "The Collected Works of James Agee" (University of Tennessee Press). Lofaro is also the author of "Agee Agonistes: Essays on the Life, Legend, and Works of James Agee" (2007).Differences
According to Lofaro, McDowell altered the original text in a number of ways:
*Removed the original opening, a nightmare scene, and instead started the novel with "Knoxville: Summer of 1915," a previously published short work of Agee's that was not intended as part of the novel.
*Altered the order of the book, which was intended to be chronological.
*Some chapters were removed.
*Some chapters were chopped up.
*Some chapters were moved and presented as flashbacks.
*The number of chapters was changed from 44 short chapters to 20.Adaptations
The novel was adapted into "All the Way Home", a 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by
Tad Mosel .The movie, "All The Way Home" (1963), was adapted by Philip H. Reisman, Jr. from the Agee novel and the Mosel play. It was filmed in the same neighborhood where Agee grew up in Knoxville. Produced by
David Susskind and directed by Alex Segal, it starsRobert Preston ,Jean Simmons andPat Hingle .References
External links
* [http://www.pprize.com/BookDetail.php?bk=40 Photos of the first edition of A Death in the Family]
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