Joseph Hergesheimer

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Joseph Hergesheimer (February 15, 1880 – April 25, 1954) was an American writer best known for his first-century novels in a decadent period of prosperity amongst the wealthy.

Early life

Hergesheimer was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on February 15, 1880. He was educated in a Quaker school and graduated from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.

Personal life and death

Dorothy Hemphill, the Hergesheimer, was married. They lived in Stone Harbor, New Jersey.

Hergesheimer died in Sea Isle City, New Jersey, on April 25, 1954. He was buried in West Chester, Pennsylvania, at Oaklands Cemetery.

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Career

In 1914, Hergesheimer published The Lay Anthony, his first book. Three Black Pennys, which came after 1915, chronicled three generations of Pennsylvania ironmasters' lives, establishing the author's distinctive way of dealing with upperclass characters in a floridly descriptive style that he referred to as "aestheticism." The first original American novel to be published by the newly formed Alfred A. Knopf publishing house was also three Black Pennys. Shegesheimer has also been praised for his books Java Head (191919), Linda Condon (1919), and Balisand (1924).

Hergesheimer's name fluctuated during his lifetime, from a moment of acclaim and fame in the 1920s to near-obscurity by the time of his death. Java Head, a miscegenation tale told from various angles, was a huge success, and his flamboyant, ornate, highly descriptive style (which can be seen to the fullest in works like San Cristobal de la Habana) was described as chic and robust. Hergesheimer's style, which was often associated with James Branch Cabell), remained in demand throughout the 1920s (with F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby being the most complete example of a book published in this style). The novel Babbitt by Sinclair Lewis includes a lengthy passage in which the title character reads from Three Black Pennys. Hergesheimer was the "most influential American writer" at the time, according to a 1922 survey by literary Digest critics. Both male and female readers loved Hergesheimer's works of long-form and short fiction; a 1929 teaser in Cosmopolitan called Hergesheimer a writer "who knows women better than any writer alive today." On the other hand, John Drinkwater wrote that "the persistent complaint is that women readers, with their desire for sensationality, are a blighting presence on the American fiction of the time."

However, tastes in the 1930s changed dramatically, with both analysts and writers favouring a more terse, tough-guy style. Hergesheimer's gift for flowery writing did not work in this new setting, and by the middle of the decade, his fame had diminished. In 1934, his last book, The Foolscap Rose, appeared. H.L. According to one literary legend, when Mencken asked whether anyone was interested in his books anymore, she answered, "I don't know, Joe." I'll always love to watch you swing from tree to tree."

Although Hergesheimer's reputation hasn't recovered from this low point, he does have some champions. In books like Cytherea, the author's aesthetic insecurity dominates all other aspects of the writing, resulting in a lackluster plot and characterization and a certain precious quality in the descriptions. In fact, Clifton Fadiman's books were described as "deficient in mere brainpower." On the other hand, his descriptive writing has a tendency to be stale. When asked in 1962 what was his favorite American book, Samuel Beckett replied, "one of the best I ever read was Hergesheimer's Java Head."

His short story "Tol'able David" was turned into a hugely popular and acclaimed 1921 silent film. Java Head (US, 1923), The Great Shawl (US, 1923), Wild Oranges (1924), and Cytherea (1924). Hergesheimer's film eight films and one television special were adapted from her artwork.

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