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People in a Magazine: The Selected Letters of S. N. Behrman and His Editors at "The New Yorker"
Playwright, biographer, screenwriter, and critic S. N. Behrman (1893–1973) characterized the years he spent writing for The New Yorker as a time defined by "feverish contact with great theatre stars, rich people and social people at posh hotels, at parties, in mansions and great estates." While he hobnobbed with the likes of Mary McCarthy, Elia Kazan, and Greta Garbo and was one of Broadway's leading luminaries, Behrman would later admit that the friendships he built with the magazine's legendary editors Harold Ross, William Shawn, and Katharine S. White were the "one unalloyed felicity" of his life.
People in a Magazine collects Behrman's correspondence with his editors along with telegrams, interoffice memos, and editorial notes drawn from the magazine's archives―offering an unparalleled view of mid-twentieth-century literary life and the formative years of The New Yorker , from the time of Behrman's first contributions to the magazine in 1929 until his death.
People in a Magazine collects Behrman's correspondence with his editors along with telegrams, interoffice memos, and editorial notes drawn from the magazine's archives―offering an unparalleled view of mid-twentieth-century literary life and the formative years of The New Yorker , from the time of Behrman's first contributions to the magazine in 1929 until his death.
372 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 2018
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Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews
January 23, 2025
My initial thoughts on this book, boring, name dropping and tedious, gradually dissipated and were replaced with admiration, love and empathy for SN Behrman (1897-1973) who climbed up from a poor Orthodox Jewish upbringing in Worcester, MA to a life as a successful, playwright, screenwriter and essayist, chiefly for "The New Yorker."
His closest friend and the subject of many letters in this book was Katharine S. White, an editor at The New Yorker, married to Andy White, legendary writer and author of "Charlotte's Web."
White worked under founder Harold Ross. She came from noble New England stock and addressed her close friend as "Mr. Behrman" until the sudden death of Ross in 1953, and his replacement by the equally venerable William Shawn. From 1953-73 they were Sam and Katharine in salutation.
Behrman was friends with a variety of prominent figures in both England and New York, and though they were men and women of great achievement they are largely forgotten today. Beerbohm, Coward, Garbo, Maugham, Gibbs, Thurber, Gielgud. These are towering stars whom Behrman befriended and profiled.
"People in a Magazine" is also a relic of another time when people sailed on ships, summered in Maine, employed secretaries to type and assist, cooks to cook, and invited people to dine with letters penned in the morning and delivered by noon. Park Avenue, The Ritz, The Algonquin and the Harvard Club are places where business and dinners were held.
But grounding this book are lives which were stricken with sickness, hospitalization and early infirmities. These people worked hard and drank, smoked and abused their bodies to make words dance and prose sing.
If you want to learn more about the world of "The New Yorker" and old New York, this book will add a splendid introduction to your reading.
His closest friend and the subject of many letters in this book was Katharine S. White, an editor at The New Yorker, married to Andy White, legendary writer and author of "Charlotte's Web."
White worked under founder Harold Ross. She came from noble New England stock and addressed her close friend as "Mr. Behrman" until the sudden death of Ross in 1953, and his replacement by the equally venerable William Shawn. From 1953-73 they were Sam and Katharine in salutation.
Behrman was friends with a variety of prominent figures in both England and New York, and though they were men and women of great achievement they are largely forgotten today. Beerbohm, Coward, Garbo, Maugham, Gibbs, Thurber, Gielgud. These are towering stars whom Behrman befriended and profiled.
"People in a Magazine" is also a relic of another time when people sailed on ships, summered in Maine, employed secretaries to type and assist, cooks to cook, and invited people to dine with letters penned in the morning and delivered by noon. Park Avenue, The Ritz, The Algonquin and the Harvard Club are places where business and dinners were held.
But grounding this book are lives which were stricken with sickness, hospitalization and early infirmities. These people worked hard and drank, smoked and abused their bodies to make words dance and prose sing.
If you want to learn more about the world of "The New Yorker" and old New York, this book will add a splendid introduction to your reading.
Displaying 1 - 2 of 2 reviews