The Man Who Was Walter Mitty: The Life and Work of James Thurber

Offers new insights into James Thurber, the man who has been called "America's Twentieth Century Mark Twain."

James Thurber's (1894-1961) signature short story, "The Secret Life of Walter Mitty," is both fantasy and social criticism about an American daydreamer. In this biography, Fensch, a fellow Ohio native and prolific author (see The Man Who Was Dr. Seuss, reviewed above), relates Thurber to his fictional creations. He shows how his dominating mother, Mame, a true eccentric, provided a continuing source for the fictional women of his writings and drawings. The women created by Thurber were always stronger than his men, both mentally and physically, and only his dogs (which he loved) seemed balanced and right with this crazy world. Thurber worked in journalism in New York and Europe before joining The New Yorker, where he became friends with the writer E.B. White and editor Harold Ross. Fensch shows how both men were important influences in Thurber's short conversational prose, parodies, and fables. Critics were almost universally enthusiastic about Thurber's writing, but by 1937 the author was losing sight in his right eye and, sick with multiple ailments, became cantankerous and tedious. Fensch admirably uncovers the inimitable Thurber. Recommended for public libraries. Robert L. Kelly, Fort Wayne Community Schs., IN
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