The Late Mrs. Dorothy Parker by Frewin, Leslie - 1987

New York U. S. A.: Macmillan Publishing Company. As New in Very Good- dust jacket 1987. First Edition. Hardcover. Marfree, acidfree Fine 1/4 cloth bound 1stEd w/ 8pp glossy photo's, unclipped shiny photographic dh as a 1 inch corner chip; no names, not marked-in, underscored, clearance or discard. Mails from NYC usually within 12 hours. ; 345 pages; \n From Library Jour Dorothy Parker, the "Guinevere of the legendary Algonquin Round Table, " lived at the center of American intellectual life from the mid-1910s to the 1950s. Peppered with Parker's quips and verses, Frewin's book pulls together biographical details and the impressions of her contemporaries to portray the "surface gaiety and hidden misery" of Parker's life and times. In this regard, Frewin's work largely duplicates John Keats's You Might as Well Live (1970) . Parker's friends saw her as an enigma, and she remains frustratingly remote in Frewin's biography. Had he offered an artistic critique of her work, the book would have been more satisfying. Recommended for public and academic libraries, although Keats may suffice. Barbara Carroll, M. L. S. , Eau Claire, Wis. Copyright 1986 Reed. \n"Thin line between witt and menace, Dec 26, 2001 \nBy Sasha "lampic" (at sea...sailing towards Mediterrean) -\nIts fascinating to read interesting book about quitte anoying character: supposedly sharp and witty Dorothy Parker was not one of the most loved persons between her contemporaries and at the end she was left alone because nobody had energy to deal with her. Leslie Frewin wrotte very interesting biography: he is clearly fascinated with his subject but he is not covering her weknesses under the rug and althought its said that nobody ever knew real Dorothy Parker, somehow the picture of insecure woman who had protect herself with sarcasm and menacing jokes eventually emerges from these pages. Parker could be funny occasionally but it gets tiresome after some time - people who are loved and find their satisfaction in life dont have a need to critisize everything under the sun, and Parker had her share of "issues" - yes, she was life & soul of the party, but nobody really wanted her around after the party was finished. Frewin gives clear picture of jet-set in 1920's and some of the characters in the background (Lillian Helman, Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald) are as fascinating and important as the main subject. .