A Journey into Dorothy Parker's New York (ArtPlace series) - Softcover

Kevin C. Fitzpatrick

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0976670607 ISBN 13: 9780976670605

Publisher: Roaring Forties Press, 2005

Synopsis

Taking the reader through the New York that inspired, and was in turn inspired by, the formidable Mrs. Parker, this guide uses rarely seen archival photographs from her life to illustrate Dorothy Parker's development as a writer, a formidable wit, and a public persona. Her favorite bars and salons as well as her homes and offices, most of which are still intact, are uncovered. With the charting of her colorful career, including the decade she spent as a member of the Round Table, as well as her intense private life, readers will find themselves drawn into the lavish New York City of the 1920s and 30s.

About this title

About the Author:

Kevin C. Fitzpatrick is the founder of the Dorothy Parker Society, which has been featured in The New York Times, USA Today, National Geographic Traveler, and Time Out New York. He wrote, designed, and produced dorothyparkerNYC.com, which was named a 2001 Site of the Year by Yahoo! In conjunction with the Algonquin Hotel, he leads monthly walking tours of the former Round Table homes and haunts in Manhattan. He lives in New York City.

From Publishers Weekly:

Part biography, part walking tour, Fitzpatrick's meticulously researched first book is an eye-opening account of the life and times of Dorothy Parker and a paean to Old Gotham. Parker's finest work, mostly of verse and short stories for The New Yorker and Vanity Fair, as well as her reign as Queen of the Algonquin round table of writers and wits, were integral to literary New York during the Prohibition era when, as writes Fitzpatrick, "the speakeasies are always hopping, the party is just beginning." This segment of Parker's life is well-known, and fans will enjoy using the photos and maps to find Parker's many apartments, the Algonquin Hotel, the first office of The New Yorker and The 21 Club, where connoisseurs of fine cocktails can still get a crisp Tom Collins (with non-bathtub gin, even). Casual Parker fans may not know about Parker's stint as New York's first female drama critic (for Vanity Fair), nor her leftist activism that led to her inclusion on McCarthy's black list. Fitzpatrick does an admirable job of summarizing these time periods in the writer's life, and also of capturing Parker's lonely last days, when Gloria Vanderbilt was one of her few friends. Less a guidebook than a loving testimonial and guide to a pioneering New York writer, this book will win Parker-and Fitzpatrick-new fans. Photos.
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About this edition

• Publisher: Roaring Forties Press
• Publication date: 2005
• ISBN 10: 0976670607
• ISBN 13: 9780976670605
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 160