Brendan Gill Work Referenced
“All the Right People.” Saturday Evening Post 213 (38): 12–114.
“Country Fire.” The New Yorker. October 1, 1938, 36-38. Continue reading Brendan Gill – Biographical and Critical Sources
Category Archives: Brendan Gill
Something You Just Don’t Do in a Club
“Something You Just Don’t Do in a Club,” first published in The New Yorker (April 29, 1961), may seem in its first few pages to be out of touch with the average reader—assuming that the average reader has little experience with or interest in exclusive New York clubs for men of wealth—but the reversals and revelations toward the end of the story are worth the wait. Continue reading Something You Just Don’t Do in a Club
Country Fire
“Country Fire,” first published in The New Yorker (October 1, 1938), is an event-driven short story that seems to prefigure Gill’s later interest in architecture and preservation as well as his personal reckoning with a New York/Connecticut divide. While there are many people in the story, the only character that is developed is the community of this Connecticut country town, in amalgamation. If there is an antagonist other than the fire, it is the New Yorkers and the architect lurking in the outskirts of the town’s consciousness. Continue reading Country Fire
The Triumph
“The Triumph” was originally published in The New Yorker (February 1, 1941) and is described as Gill’s finest by the article on his fiction in Gale’s Contemporary Novelists. The story is set in Connecticut and is centered on an elderly woman and her daughter clinging to the mores and social distinctions of the Old World in a way that contrasts ironically with their present circumstances. “The Triumph” ends in a subtle revelation of character that exposes a layer to the story the reader may have missed and increases the title’s irony. Continue reading The Triumph
The Mischievous Sinfulness of Mother Coakley
“The Mischievous Sinfulness of Mother Coakley,” a thoroughly reworked version of his New Yorker story “Mother Coakley’s Reform” (March 18, 1944), is an example of Gill’s exploration of the life of Catholic clergy in his fiction and is set in a monastery in a Carolina town. The narrative tone is warm and somewhat whimsical in telling the story of a nun struggling with sins of pride, envy, and greed stemming from, of all things, her competitiveness on the tennis court and a priest facing two specific weaknesses of his own. The hopefulness of faith and the capacity for change make this a meaningful pairing with “The Knife.” Continue reading The Mischievous Sinfulness of Mother Coakley
The Knife
“The Knife,” originally published in The New Yorker (March 16, 1940), is described by John Updike as “a desolating sketch of faith’s clash with reality.” Themes familiar in Gill’s fiction and derived from personal experience motivate this story: namely, coping with the untimely death of a young mother and the role of Catholicism in that process. Continue reading The Knife
The Trouble of One House
The chapters selected for this anthology come late in the book. Elizabeth has just died and family members arrive that evening to visit. These two chapters explore the tensions in the family and the internal conflicts experienced by Elizabeth’s husband, Doctor Thomas Rowan. Readers may find it helpful to refer to the cast of characters below for an orientation to the selected chapters. Continue reading The Trouble of One House