February House

The Story of W. H. Auden, Carson McCullers, Jane and Paul Bowles, Benjamin Britten, and Gypsy Rose Lee, Under One Roof in Brooklyn

Fiction & Literature, Literary Theory & Criticism, Gay & Lesbian, Biography & Memoir, Literary, Nonfiction, History, Americas, United States, 20th Century
Cover of the book February House by Sherill Tippins, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart
Author: Sherill Tippins ISBN: 9780544987364
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publication: July 26, 2016
Imprint: Mariner Books Language: English
Author: Sherill Tippins
ISBN: 9780544987364
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt
Publication: July 26, 2016
Imprint: Mariner Books
Language: English

An “irresistible” account of a little-known literary salon and creative commune in 1940s Brooklyn (The Washington Post Book World).

A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year

February House is the true story of an extraordinary experiment in communal living, one involving young but already iconic writers—and America’s best-known burlesque performer—in a house at 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn. It was a fevered yearlong party, fueled by the appetites of youth and a shared sense of urgency to take action as artists in the months before the country entered World War II.

In spite of the sheer intensity of life at 7 Middagh, the house was for its residents a creative crucible. Carson McCullers’s two masterpieces, The Member of the Wedding and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, were born, bibulously, in Brooklyn. Gypsy Rose Lee, workmanlike by day, party girl by night, wrote her book The G-String Murders in her Middagh Street bedroom. W. H. Auden—who, along with Benjamin Britten, was being excoriated back in England for absenting himself from the war—presided over the house like a peevish auntie, collecting rent money and dispensing romantic advice. And yet all the while, he was composing some of the most important work of his career.

Enlivened by primary sources and an unforgettable story, this tale of daily life at the most fertile and improbable live-in salon of the twentieth century comes from the acclaimed author of Inside the Dream Palace: The Life and Times of New York’s Legendary Chelsea Hotel.

“Brimming with information . . . The personalities she depicts [are] indelibly drawn.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Magnificent . . . Not to mention funny and raunchy.” —The Seattle Times

View on Amazon View on AbeBooks View on Kobo View on B.Depository View on eBay View on Walmart

An “irresistible” account of a little-known literary salon and creative commune in 1940s Brooklyn (The Washington Post Book World).

A San Francisco Chronicle Best Book of the Year

February House is the true story of an extraordinary experiment in communal living, one involving young but already iconic writers—and America’s best-known burlesque performer—in a house at 7 Middagh Street in Brooklyn. It was a fevered yearlong party, fueled by the appetites of youth and a shared sense of urgency to take action as artists in the months before the country entered World War II.

In spite of the sheer intensity of life at 7 Middagh, the house was for its residents a creative crucible. Carson McCullers’s two masterpieces, The Member of the Wedding and The Ballad of the Sad Cafe, were born, bibulously, in Brooklyn. Gypsy Rose Lee, workmanlike by day, party girl by night, wrote her book The G-String Murders in her Middagh Street bedroom. W. H. Auden—who, along with Benjamin Britten, was being excoriated back in England for absenting himself from the war—presided over the house like a peevish auntie, collecting rent money and dispensing romantic advice. And yet all the while, he was composing some of the most important work of his career.

Enlivened by primary sources and an unforgettable story, this tale of daily life at the most fertile and improbable live-in salon of the twentieth century comes from the acclaimed author of Inside the Dream Palace: The Life and Times of New York’s Legendary Chelsea Hotel.

“Brimming with information . . . The personalities she depicts [are] indelibly drawn.” —Los Angeles Times Book Review

“Magnificent . . . Not to mention funny and raunchy.” —The Seattle Times

More books from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt

Cover of the book Betty Crocker Halloween Cookbook by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book The Last of the Doughboys by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book Changing Planes by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book Jekel Loves Hyde by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book When Jesus Became God by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book Third Class Superhero by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book Yellow Elephant by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book It's Not Over by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book Boris by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book The Diary of Anaïs Nin, 1966–1974 by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book This Is Not Civilization by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book The Cloud of Unknowing by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book CliffsNotes on Remarque's All Quiet on the Western Front by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book Please Don't Come Back from the Moon by Sherill Tippins
Cover of the book Why I Am a Catholic by Sherill Tippins
We use our own "cookies" and third party cookies to improve services and to see statistical information. By using this website, you agree to our Privacy Policy