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Ghostly Lover
Book by Hardwick, Elizabeth
Paperback
First published January 1, 1982
240 people want to read
About the author
Elizabeth Hardwick
47 books204 followersElizabeth Hardwick was an American literary critic, novelist, and short story writer.
Hardwick graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1939. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1947. She was the author of three novels: The Ghostly Lover (1945), The Simple Truth (1955), and Sleepless Nights (1979). A collection of her short fiction, The New York Stories of Elizabeth Hardwick, will be published in 2010. She also published four books of criticism: A View of My Own (1962), Seduction and Betrayal (1974), Bartleby in Manhattan (1983), and Sight-Readings (1998). In 1961 she edited The Selected Letters of William James and in 2000 she published a short biography, Herman Melville, in Viking Press's Penguin Lives series..
In 1959, Hardwick published in Harper's, "The Decline of Book Reviewing," a generally harsh and even scathing critique of book reviews published in American periodicals of the time. The 1962 New York City newspaper strike helped inspire Hardwick, Robert Lowell, Jason Epstein, Barbara Epstein, and Robert B. Silvers to establish The New York Review of Books, a publication that became as much a habit for many readers as The New York Times Book Review, which Hardwick had eviscerated in her 1959 essay.
In the '70s and early '80s, Hardwick taught writing seminars at Barnard College and Columbia University's School of the Arts, Writing Division. She gave forthright critiques of student writing and was a mentor to students she considered promising.
From 1949 to 1972 she was married to the poet Robert Lowell; their daughter is Harriet Lowell.
In 2008, The Library of America selected Hardwick's account of the Caryl Chessman murders for inclusion in its two-century retrospective of American True Crime writing.
Hardwick graduated from the University of Kentucky in 1939. She was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship in 1947. She was the author of three novels: The Ghostly Lover (1945), The Simple Truth (1955), and Sleepless Nights (1979). A collection of her short fiction, The New York Stories of Elizabeth Hardwick, will be published in 2010. She also published four books of criticism: A View of My Own (1962), Seduction and Betrayal (1974), Bartleby in Manhattan (1983), and Sight-Readings (1998). In 1961 she edited The Selected Letters of William James and in 2000 she published a short biography, Herman Melville, in Viking Press's Penguin Lives series..
In 1959, Hardwick published in Harper's, "The Decline of Book Reviewing," a generally harsh and even scathing critique of book reviews published in American periodicals of the time. The 1962 New York City newspaper strike helped inspire Hardwick, Robert Lowell, Jason Epstein, Barbara Epstein, and Robert B. Silvers to establish The New York Review of Books, a publication that became as much a habit for many readers as The New York Times Book Review, which Hardwick had eviscerated in her 1959 essay.
In the '70s and early '80s, Hardwick taught writing seminars at Barnard College and Columbia University's School of the Arts, Writing Division. She gave forthright critiques of student writing and was a mentor to students she considered promising.
From 1949 to 1972 she was married to the poet Robert Lowell; their daughter is Harriet Lowell.
In 2008, The Library of America selected Hardwick's account of the Caryl Chessman murders for inclusion in its two-century retrospective of American True Crime writing.
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Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews
March 28, 2015
4.5 stars
I have read reviews of Hardwick’s last novel (Sleepless Nights) and friends on here (notably Aubrey, Garima, spenki, Brian and Jonathon) have all been very positive about it. So when I saw this one in my favourite book repository for a couple of quid, I couldn’t resist. This is Hardwick’s first novel, published in 1945 and is a coming of age tale. The story of Marian who is sixteen at the start of the novel and living in Kentucky at the time of the depression. The story switches between Kentucky and New York. Marian lives with her grandmother and brother. Her parents move around and are too disorganised and irresponsible to look after children. Marian meets Bruce a 26 year old divorcee and a relationship develops. Marian goes to college in New York and then returns to look after her grandmother during her final illness. The novel ends with Marian returning to New York.
The novel is introspective, with Marian being a rather critical narrator and the focus is very much on her. The ghostly lover of the title is Bruce, who appears in the first couple of chapters, but is pretty much absent from then on, although he pays for her year at college. There is something of a Southern Gothic feel to parts of it and Marian’s grandmother at times reminded me of Miss Havisham (Great Expectations), especially during her final illness. An interesting vignette portraying a dementing illness. The minor character studies are very sharp and telling. The men are mostly absent (or hopeless) and Hardwick clearly identifies freedom as being alone (untrammelled by family or lovers). Race relations in the South are tangentially addressed and Marian asks questions about her own attitudes; particularly in relation to the family cleaner, Hattie.
It is a first novel and Hardwick herself looked back on it with a little ambivalence. There is little in the way of plot, but the novel drifts along well and Marian is an interesting narrator and not so easy to second guess. I enjoyed this.
I have read reviews of Hardwick’s last novel (Sleepless Nights) and friends on here (notably Aubrey, Garima, spenki, Brian and Jonathon) have all been very positive about it. So when I saw this one in my favourite book repository for a couple of quid, I couldn’t resist. This is Hardwick’s first novel, published in 1945 and is a coming of age tale. The story of Marian who is sixteen at the start of the novel and living in Kentucky at the time of the depression. The story switches between Kentucky and New York. Marian lives with her grandmother and brother. Her parents move around and are too disorganised and irresponsible to look after children. Marian meets Bruce a 26 year old divorcee and a relationship develops. Marian goes to college in New York and then returns to look after her grandmother during her final illness. The novel ends with Marian returning to New York.
The novel is introspective, with Marian being a rather critical narrator and the focus is very much on her. The ghostly lover of the title is Bruce, who appears in the first couple of chapters, but is pretty much absent from then on, although he pays for her year at college. There is something of a Southern Gothic feel to parts of it and Marian’s grandmother at times reminded me of Miss Havisham (Great Expectations), especially during her final illness. An interesting vignette portraying a dementing illness. The minor character studies are very sharp and telling. The men are mostly absent (or hopeless) and Hardwick clearly identifies freedom as being alone (untrammelled by family or lovers). Race relations in the South are tangentially addressed and Marian asks questions about her own attitudes; particularly in relation to the family cleaner, Hattie.
It is a first novel and Hardwick herself looked back on it with a little ambivalence. There is little in the way of plot, but the novel drifts along well and Marian is an interesting narrator and not so easy to second guess. I enjoyed this.
November 11, 2017
First things first, let’s get it out of the way – this title is terrible. No doubt the title wouldn’t have been quite so cringey when it was first published in 1945 – however these days a title like that makes us think of Mills and Boon. Elizabeth Hardwick however is a serious writer – and The Ghostly Lover; her first novel is pretty serious, don’t let that title fool you.
I had read this novel before – probably almost thirty years ago – I remembered the title and the cover and nothing else really except that I found it quite hard going. Now I know why, The Ghostly Lover is an intelligent, introspective coming of age novel – which I can’t imagine having engaged with in my late teens, but which I enjoyed very much indeed this time around. Four years ago, I read Hardwick’s 1979 novel Sleepless Nights – which is an altogether different kettle of fish, it’s an elegant novel of little plot, beautiful imagery and quiet wisdom. The work of an older more accomplished writer. The Ghostly Lover, however is an astonishingly good first novel – and I remain a fan of Elizabeth Hardwick’s.
“Life seemed to be an enormous subterranean existence in which nobody spoke and in which people died for want of a few words they needed.”
Marian Coleman is sixteen in the long hot summer of depression era Kentucky. Marian and her brother Albert have been living with their grandmother, while their unreliable parents are absent, moving from job to job, chasing the seemingly unobtainable American dream. Sitting on the porch of her home as the novel opens, Marian becomes aware of a man watching her. Bruce, is a neighbour, ten years older, he is already divorced, and rather attractive, he wanders over to talk to her. As Marian sits talking to Bruce that day, she is awaiting the return of her parents, who have been absent on this occasion for two years. Their return is anticipated with a mixture of nerves and excitement.
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2017/...
I had read this novel before – probably almost thirty years ago – I remembered the title and the cover and nothing else really except that I found it quite hard going. Now I know why, The Ghostly Lover is an intelligent, introspective coming of age novel – which I can’t imagine having engaged with in my late teens, but which I enjoyed very much indeed this time around. Four years ago, I read Hardwick’s 1979 novel Sleepless Nights – which is an altogether different kettle of fish, it’s an elegant novel of little plot, beautiful imagery and quiet wisdom. The work of an older more accomplished writer. The Ghostly Lover, however is an astonishingly good first novel – and I remain a fan of Elizabeth Hardwick’s.
“Life seemed to be an enormous subterranean existence in which nobody spoke and in which people died for want of a few words they needed.”
Marian Coleman is sixteen in the long hot summer of depression era Kentucky. Marian and her brother Albert have been living with their grandmother, while their unreliable parents are absent, moving from job to job, chasing the seemingly unobtainable American dream. Sitting on the porch of her home as the novel opens, Marian becomes aware of a man watching her. Bruce, is a neighbour, ten years older, he is already divorced, and rather attractive, he wanders over to talk to her. As Marian sits talking to Bruce that day, she is awaiting the return of her parents, who have been absent on this occasion for two years. Their return is anticipated with a mixture of nerves and excitement.
Full review: https://heavenali.wordpress.com/2017/...
August 16, 2023
I have always been curious about Elizabeth Hardwick. She was mostly well-known as a literary critic and short story writer in the mid to late 20th century. She was a co-founder of The New York Review of Books in 1962. But she also wrote a few novels. The Ghostly Lover was her first, published in 1945, and I enjoyed it a great deal.
Set in Kentucky and New York City, it features Marian Coleman during her late teens and early 20s. Marion grew up in her grandmother's home with her brother. Her parents were largely absent, running around living some kind of nomadic existence, as her father could not seem to find success anywhere.
Everyone in the story is off-balance or weird in different ways which Hardwick uses to create tension, similar to characters in Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor and Thomas Wolfe. At least they are weird to me. The South in America has always struck me as another country. Not untrue, as those states did secede from the nation and caused our only civil war, so far.
Marian Coleman is a fascinating character, one of those that get into my heart and psyche, because she is seeking independence but also love. I suspect the author wrote a somewhat autobiographical novel in this one, but also a universal woman's tale. It is a fine addition to the stories of writers who must leave the South to find themselves but bring the South with them wherever they go.
Set in Kentucky and New York City, it features Marian Coleman during her late teens and early 20s. Marion grew up in her grandmother's home with her brother. Her parents were largely absent, running around living some kind of nomadic existence, as her father could not seem to find success anywhere.
Everyone in the story is off-balance or weird in different ways which Hardwick uses to create tension, similar to characters in Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Flannery O'Connor and Thomas Wolfe. At least they are weird to me. The South in America has always struck me as another country. Not untrue, as those states did secede from the nation and caused our only civil war, so far.
Marian Coleman is a fascinating character, one of those that get into my heart and psyche, because she is seeking independence but also love. I suspect the author wrote a somewhat autobiographical novel in this one, but also a universal woman's tale. It is a fine addition to the stories of writers who must leave the South to find themselves but bring the South with them wherever they go.
February 5, 2022
An incredibly impressive first novel. I'm very much looking forward to reading Hardwick's later work.
July 12, 2019
Dated but still powerful, this book has early flashes of the qualities that would become Hardwick's hallmarks. These include:
- her steely eye and steely syntax ("The aureola of sentimentality came from her static allegiance to original perceptions now perversely lacking in cogency.")
- her own bracing lack of sentimentality ("Marian saw the top of Bruce's hat above the crowd for a moment and then he vanished through the station doors so easily and with so little evidence of loss that she wondered how they had ever come to know each other.")
- her gift for finding the weird perfect word ("flagitious")
I think this book deserves more attention. It put me in mind of another mid-century "Southern" novel, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. But Hardwick's scope is wider than the South. This is a book about a woman's brave, if still uncertain, rejection of convention and expectation. It is a feminist novel that reckons with hard questions about loyalty to family and loyalty to oneself.
- her steely eye and steely syntax ("The aureola of sentimentality came from her static allegiance to original perceptions now perversely lacking in cogency.")
- her own bracing lack of sentimentality ("Marian saw the top of Bruce's hat above the crowd for a moment and then he vanished through the station doors so easily and with so little evidence of loss that she wondered how they had ever come to know each other.")
- her gift for finding the weird perfect word ("flagitious")
I think this book deserves more attention. It put me in mind of another mid-century "Southern" novel, The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter. But Hardwick's scope is wider than the South. This is a book about a woman's brave, if still uncertain, rejection of convention and expectation. It is a feminist novel that reckons with hard questions about loyalty to family and loyalty to oneself.
July 8, 2023
Elliptical. (Readers may be uncomfortable with some of the vocabulary.)
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November 30, 2022Gelezen voor een schoolopdracht als ‘vergeten klassieker’. De vraag was of we het boek zouden heruitgeven. Nee. Ik ben er nog niet helemaal uit waarom niet, maar ik geloof niet dat hier een markt voor is.
(Sidenote: wie heeft deze titel bedacht? Was die toevallig ook met een ander manuscript bezig? Er is 0.0 overeenkomst met de inhoud van het boek.)
(Sidenote: wie heeft deze titel bedacht? Was die toevallig ook met een ander manuscript bezig? Er is 0.0 overeenkomst met de inhoud van het boek.)
May 5, 2018
The novel gets off to a slow and uncertain start as, in the first chapter, we see things mainly from 16-year-old Marian Coleman's point-of-view, but occasionally slip into the mind of her enigmatic suitor / mentor Bruce. Issues with POV soon sort themselves out, though, and stories are told exclusively from the perspective of Marian and her family: grandmother Mrs. Gorman, brother Albert, and mother Lucy. "Stories" in the plural as, at first, this seems to be a collection of vignettes, including a chapter where Albert attends a cockfight that could easily stand on its own. A novel gradually emerges from the stories: its plot concerns Marian's maturing into adulthood and coming to terms with her relationship to her mother. Supporting characters are sharply and memorably drawn: the servant Hattie, Marian's college acquaintances Gertrude and Florence. It is a strength of Hardwick's art in writing from Marian's point-of-view that the figures whose characters are less easily grasped - Bruce, Marian's father Ted, and especially her mother - are those whose role Marian herself has difficulty in defining; this is one reason it seems such a slip to give us glimpses of Bruce's thoughts in the first chapter.
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March 16, 2017going hard all spring break watching KET, recovering from minor chemical burns from anti aging cleansers*, & finishing a self published book by a New Yorker writer that graduated from HCHS and UK before living in Boston & NYC ...THAT BASICALLY ENDS THE EXACT WAY GO SET A WATCHMAN BEGINS... but it's one of those books that most likely hasn't been read and i can understand why... that being said the 277 pages led to the last page; in which the protagonist returns to NYC and does one of the most bad ass feminist moves that is eerily similar to a move i'd pull in my early 20s that could be a uniquely Lexington gift because I gotta say... No way in hell I see Jean Louise Finch pulling that move at the end of her version of THE GHOSTLY LOVER aka the second part of Gone With the Wind
September 10, 2011
Though at times overly intellectual, this is a sensitive coming-of-age (in the early 20C South--Kentucky, actually) novel told with precision, depth and at times a certain brilliance.
January 30, 2020
I can’t believe I’ve never heard of this book, especially being from the same hometown as the author, Elizabeth Hardwick. A very interesting novel written in a removed and contemplative voice. A coming of age story of a young woman making sense of obligations to family and home, and beginning to navigate the unknown future outside of those established paradigms.
Highly recommend. This should be in the modernist canon.
Also - look past the pulp romance title. I actually have no idea why it’s titled that.
Highly recommend. This should be in the modernist canon.
Also - look past the pulp romance title. I actually have no idea why it’s titled that.
Read
January 30, 2020A book with a claustrophobic, elusive feel to it. Lots of characters who don't quite seem to know what they want, and never quite seem to get it, or get things knowing they're not what they wanted. An unsettling view of the background (and, often, foreground) racism of the USA in the middle of the twentieth century.
April 2, 2021
A nasty and unpleasant book.
October 1, 2022
A strange book, picked it up due to being a Virago Modern Classic and it was really amazingly written. Strangely hollow though, the characters never really came to life.
June 11, 2025
alternate title: "confessions of an overthinker"
Displaying 1 - 15 of 15 reviews