Synopses & Reviews
He is our sublime master of manners, our "most astute observer of moral paradox among the affluent" (Arthur Schlesinger, Jr.), and "one of the essential American writers" (Kirkus). Now, in his fifty-seventh book, Louis Auchincloss delivers a brilliant collection of ten new, previously unpublished, stories; once again, he unfailingly "voices truths with elegant precision" (Publishers Weekly).
MANHATTAN MONOLOGUES charts a colorful New York century through a series of personal accounts from the rarefied circle that fills Auchincloss's best short fiction. Here are characters who confidently finesse their way through society's uppermost tiers and yet are just as easily undone by the smallest upset in a day. Like all of Auchincloss's richest creations, they bump up against their consciences, with often surprising results. What, for instance, is a woman to do when she must choose between true love and high society when making a marriage? How can a man stay true to himself, his family, and his country when it goes to war? How can a determined marriage broker salvage matters when the young man she has so painstakingly steered toward a love match becomes charmed by another woman?
These tales, and many more, fashion a glamorous, yet all too human, societal portrait -- from the aristocratic loyalties of the early twentieth century to the complicated twists of modern-day mergers and acquisitions. MANHATTAN MONOLOGUES is Louis Auchincloss at his most clever, his most discerning, his best.
Review
"There isn't a dud among the dozen stories..."
Review
...writing with grace and perception... Each story is a mini masterpiece impeccably crafted and imaginatively told.
Review
...a subtly unified social history.
Review
"For the sheer elegance of his prose, Louis Auchincloss deserves a large and enthusiastic audience"
Review
Auchincloss is urbane, humourous, and somewhat ironic in his storytelling, making this collection a treat to read.
Review
Once again, he lives up to his reputation as one of our great men of letters.
Review
...readers are drawn along to discover the calculations that are required to maintain the polished surfaces of the characters' lives.
Review
[Auchincloss] voices his characters with a precision and care almost unheard of in a sloppy age.
Review
[Auchingloss's] sense of irony is sharper than ever.
Review
Auchincloss is not a cheerleader for his class, but a patient unraveler of problems that are far from class specific.
The Weekly Standard
[Auchingloss's] sense of irony is sharper than ever.
The New York Daily News
...finely etched portraits of the kind of men we've become used to meeting in his fiction.
The New York Times Book Review
...writing with grace and perception... Each story is a mini masterpiece impeccably crafted and imaginatively told.
Amazon.com
...a subtly unified social history.
The Seattle Times
For the sheer elegance of his prose, Louis Auchincloss deserves a large and enthusiastic following.
The Baltimore Sun
...10 highly nuanced portraits...
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
"There isn't a dud among the dozen stories..." The Wall Street Journal
Auchincloss is urbane, humourous, and somewhat ironic in his storytelling, making this collection a treat to read.
Library Journal
Auchincloss digs deep below the surface and delivers emotional and memorable portraits.
Book Magazine
Once again, he lives up to his reputation as one of our great men of letters.
Publishers Weekly, Starred
The high society that Louis Auchincloss writes about is Chekhovian...
Los Angeles Times
...readers are drawn along to discover the calculations that are required to maintain the polished surfaces of the characters' lives.
Booklist, ALA
[Auchincloss] voices his characters with a precision and care almost unheard of in a sloppy age.
Kirkus Reviews
"For the sheer elegance of his prose, Louis Auchincloss deserves a large and enthusiastic audience" The Chicago Tribune
About the Author
Louis Auchincloss was honored in the year 2000 as a "Living Landmark" by the New York Landmarks Conservancy. During his long career he wrote more than sixty books, including the story collection
Manhattan Monologues and the novel
The Rector of Justin. The former president of the Academy of Arts and Letters, he resided in New York City until his death in January 2010.
Table of Contents
Old NewYork
all that may become a man · 3 the heiress · 19 harrys brother · 51
Entre Deux Guerres
the marriage broker · 67 collaboration · 89 the justice clerk · 111 he knew he was right · 126
Nearer Today
the treacherous age · 153 the merger · 170 the scarlet letters · 186