She was known for her outrageous one-liners, her ruthless theater criticism, her clever verses and bittersweet stories. But there was another side of Dorothy Parker: a private life set on a course of destruction. This lively biography illuminates both sides of Parker.
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She was known for her outrageous one-liners, her ruthless theater criticism, her clever verses and bittersweet stories. But there was another side of Dorothy Parker: a private life set on a course of destruction. This lively biography illuminates both sides of Parker.
Read Less
Add this copy of Dorothy Parker: What Fresh Hell is This? to cart. $47.73, good condition, Sold by Bonita rated 4.0 out of 5 stars, ships from Newport Coast, CA, UNITED STATES, published 2012 by Blackstone Audiobooks.
Truly a well-written biography of the wonderful and strange woman that was Dorothy Parker. Fond of her since childhood, her verse adorned my mother's bookshelf, and I was allowed to read them as a part of my quest to devour every book in the house when I was five. So it was long before I could understand what she was truly talking about; but I kept returning to them as I grew. Now nearly sixty, I can appreciate Dorothy more than ever. I am re-reading her short stories with more pleasure than ever. Her time in Hollywood, writing screenplays, is often overlooked in favor of her Algonquin Round Table days. Her personal life seems always to verge on tragedy. This volume is so well-written that one feels as though we are passing through her life perched on her shoulder. The times that she went through and the amazing set of people she knew--Fitzgerald, Benchley, Lillian Hellman and Dashiell Hammett (he couldn't stand her!), Marilyn Monroe, Hemingway (she couldn't stand him!), Robert Sherwood, on and on--are breathtaking. Highly recommended to those who enjoy a good biography, especially about unique and quirky characters. I just sent for "Eleanor of Aquitaine" also by Marion Meade. I hope it is as good!
AnnieLou
Dec 28, 2007
A female "first"
This biography, although written in 1989, skillfully propels the reader into the life and times of the glamourous twenties and thirties, in Hollywood and New York !!! Dorothy Parker, ne Rothschild, was raised in a wealthy home where servants and maids kept the household "going". Never having been exposed to cooking a meal or doing a laundry for herself, she becomes a "spoiled" yound adult, who seemed to need supervision and assistance for most of her life ! A talented magazine and play writer, she is called to Hollywood to screen write many a play. In New York she writes for several magazine and has a famous column noted for its humor and wit. An "unlucky in love gal," she manages to survive the fifties and sixties. Her wit and humorous quotations survive her until today ! You will enjoy this one!
