Background
Godwin, Gail Kathleen was born on June 18, 1937 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Daughter of Mose Winston and Kathleen (Krahenbuhl) Godwin.
(“True, time is the villain and we are trapped in him. Tru...)
“True, time is the villain and we are trapped in him. True, love is sometimes not returned. True, friends are sometimes false. But to be aware of this—all of it—and still want to go on living, that is the triumph. It is the reward.” As a young woman and aspiring author, Gail Godwin kept a detailed journal of her hopes and dreams, her love affairs, daily struggles, and small triumphs as she yearned for the day when she would finally become a published writer. At the urging of her friend Joyce Carol Oates, Godwin has distilled these early journals into two parts: This second and final volume opens in London in 1963 and concludes with the triumphant sale of Godwin’s first novel in 1969. Newly divorced and filled with literary ambition, Godwin arrives in London in 1962. At the start of this second volume, the call to write has become ingrained in the trajectory of her life. Though she is hobbled by a tedious but well-paying job with the U.S. Travel Service (“I thought I should no more be doing this job than raising skunks”), Godwin’s journals brim with the emotional complexity and intellectual curiosity that will soon distinguish her novels, and a sharp wit that belies her twenty-six years. Through these pages, Godwin’s development as a writer takes center stage, bolstered by her keen observations of human relationships—especially those between men and women: “I want to exploit, define, name, place this ever-shifting contest between men and women.” Her own love affairs are varied, doomed, and fascinating: There’s a short-lived engagement to a rugby player, a dalliance with a policeman, a tortured marriage to a psychiatrist obsessed with Scientology. “Men have let me down,” she writes, “and I construct my meaning in the emptiness they’ve left behind.” Leaving London and all its passionate wonders and disappointments, Godwin arrives in Iowa City to study at the Iowa Writers’ Workshop. There, taught by Kurt Vonnegut and José Donoso, building friendships with Jane Barnes, John Casey, David Plimpton, and John Irving, Gail Godwin finally achieves her dream—and a published novelist is born. The Making of a Writer, Volume 2 is a remarkable window into the life of one of the most notable American writers of a generation, and an extraordinarily candid look at the very heart of a woman who has written herself to acclaim.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1400064333/?tag=2022091-20
(Justin Stokes would never forget the summer she turned fo...)
Justin Stokes would never forget the summer she turned fourteen, nor the woman who transformed her bleak adolescent life into a wondrous place of brilliant color. In the little pondside hut also known as the “finishing school,” eccentric, free-spirited Ursula DeVane opened up a world full of magical possibilities for Justin, teaching her valuable lessons of love and loyalty, and encouraging her to change, to learn, to grow. But the lessons of the finishing school have their dark side as well, as Justin learns how deep friendship can be shattered by shocking, unforgivable betrayal.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345431901/?tag=2022091-20
("Compelling, beautiful. . .Miraculous. . . Astonishing. ....)
"Compelling, beautiful. . .Miraculous. . . Astonishing. . . So deeply satisfying, as to be breathtaking." --The Philadelphia Inquirer In fifteen extraordinary and lyrical short stories, esteemed novelist Gail Godwin has created worlds in which we discover ourselves as lovers, mothers, wives, and friends. Carefully, delicately, Ms. Godwin peels back the layers of defense and reveals women who search for meaning and connection in a world of abstraction and isolation. In "Dream Children," a reckless young wife finds herself unable to separate from the child she has lost; in "My Love, His Summer Vacation," the mistress of a married man so closely follows his every action that she has no life of her own; and in "Indulgences," a woman makes a list of her lovers, only to wonder if she can love. A keen observer of both heart and mind, Ms. Godwin has conjured up a stunning collection of stories that strike at the center of our lives. "In Dream Children, Gail Godwin shows her capabilities as a clear-seeing uncoverer of thought. . . . What she knows about the workings of the human mind as it deals with grand tragedies, tiny sorrows, she knows with conviction." --The Christian Science Monitor "The work of a writer who is moving confidently to the forefront of contemporary American fiction." --The Miami Herald "The stories are all. . . detailed with expertise and frosted with elegance." --Kirkus Reviews
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345389921/?tag=2022091-20
(Every evening at five o’clock, Christina and Rudy began t...)
Every evening at five o’clock, Christina and Rudy began the ritual commonly known as Happy Hour, sharing drinks along with a love of language and music (she is an author, he a composer, after all), a delight in intense conversation, a fascination with popes, and nearly thirty years of life together. Now, seven months after Rudy’s unexpected death, Christina reflects on their vibrant bond—with all its quirks, habits, and unguarded moments—as well as her passionate sorrow and her attempts to reposition herself and her new place in the very real world they shared.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345461037/?tag=2022091-20
("HER BEST BOOK SO FAR....It is one of the most literate, ...)
"HER BEST BOOK SO FAR....It is one of the most literate, intelligent and powerful novels I have ever read." --Eugenia Thornton The Cleveland Plain Dealer Professor Jane Clifford is in her early thirties, smart, and attractive. A popular teacher at a midwestern college, she appears to be going somewhere. But Jane knows better. After a lifetime habit of looking to books for the answers to life's mysteries, she seems to be finding only more questions. Then her beloved grandmother suddenly dies, and Jane returns home for the funeral, where she is faced with the little dramas and fictions of both the past she has lived and the past she has only been told about. In the midst of it all, she is considering breaking off a long-term, long-distance affair, but like the family stories she tries to make sense of, she cannot seem to find a reason to claim a life of her own.... "PROVOCATIVE...The Odd Woman is an ambitious and intricately developed novel....One of the most realistic, intelligent and skillful character studies of a contemporary woman to date....Godwin is an extraordinarily good writer....She is a shrewd observer of human sensibilities and shortcomings--particularly those of women--and she explores them in depth with sensitivity, wit and an uncanny eye for the truth." --Chicago Sun-Times "EXCITING AND AFFIRMATIVE...It is a privilege to watch the unfolding of her impressive talent." --Minneapolis Tribune
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345389913/?tag=2022091-20
(Violet Clay had come to New York City from Charleston to ...)
Violet Clay had come to New York City from Charleston to take the art world by storm. But nine years, many affairs, and thousands of drinks later, the reality of her shadow life is made clear when she is fired from her job as a freelance illustrator. That same day, she hears that her beloved Uncle Ambrose, an unsuccessful writer, has shot himself. As Violet collects the shattered pieces of her uncle's life, she is forced to face herself and her own tattered dreams. And what she discovers is that she has just been going through the motions of living. She's not even sure she can do anything else. But she's in her mid-thirties and knows she still has time to try again. If she succeeds, she will have broken from her family of dreamers forever and can deservedly claim both the rich rewards and frustrating adversities of the artist's life....
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/034538993X/?tag=2022091-20
(From Gail Godwin, three-time National Book Award finalist...)
From Gail Godwin, three-time National Book Award finalist and acclaimed New York Times bestselling author of Evensong and The Finishing School, comes a sweeping new novel of friendship, loyalty, rivalries, redemption, and memory. It is the fall of 1951 at Mount St. Gabriel’s, an all-girls school tucked away in the mountains of North Carolina. Tildy Stratton, the undisputed queen bee of her class, befriends Chloe Starnes, a new student recently orphaned by the untimely and mysterious death of her mother. Their friendship fills a void for both girls but also sets in motion a chain of events that will profoundly affect the course of many lives, including the girls’ young teacher and the school’s matriarch, Mother Suzanne Ravenel. Fifty years on, the headmistress relives one pivotal night, trying to reconcile past and present, reaching back even further to her own senior year at the school, where the roots of a tragedy are buried. In Unfinished Desires, a beloved author delivers a gorgeous new novel in which thwarted desires are passed on for generations–and captures the rare moment when a soul breaks free. From the Hardcover edition.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345483219/?tag=2022091-20
("A BRILLIANT, WITTY AND PROVOCATIVE NEW NOVEL." --San Fra...)
"A BRILLIANT, WITTY AND PROVOCATIVE NEW NOVEL." --San Francisco Chronicle As a young woman, the brilliant and eternally curious Magda Danvers took the academic world by storm. Then, to everyone's surprise, she married Francis Lake, a mild, midwestern seminarian, who has devoted his life to taking care of his charismatic wife. Now, Magda's grave illness puts their marriage to its ultimate test. Though facing her "Final Examination," Magda continues to arouse her visitors with compelling thoughts and questions. Into this provocative atmosphere comes Alice Henry, retreating from family tragedy and a crumbling marriage to novelist Hugo Henry. But is it the incandescence of Magda's ideas that draws Alice, or the secret of "the good marriage" that she is desperate to discover? For Alice, Hugo, Francis, and Magda will learn that the most ideal relationship--even a perfect marriage--doesn't come without a price.... "COMPELLING WRITING...REMARKABLY SKILLFUL...Gail Godwin shows herself to be at the height of her considerable power as a storyteller and a writer." --The Boston Globe "ONE OF HER FINEST BOOKS...It is not only a well-written story, but a mature and wise one, affirmative in its vision of love, unblinking in its portrayal of tragic loss." --Atlanta Journal & Constitution "FASCINATING...A BIG SUMPTUOUS BOOK...HER BEST NOVEL." --Entertainment Weekly "A BRILLIANTLY CRAFTED NOVEL, full of fun and mischief and resonating with wisdom and moral depth." --New Woman A Featured Selection of the Book-of-the-Month Club
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345396456/?tag=2022091-20
(Gail Godwin was twenty-four years old when she wrote: “I ...)
Gail Godwin was twenty-four years old when she wrote: “I want to be everybody who is great; I want to create everything that has ever been created.” It is a declaration that only a wildly ambitious young writer would make in the privacy of her journal. Now, in The Making of a Writer, Godwin has distilled her early journals, which run from 1961 to 1963, to their brilliant and charming essence. She conveys the feverish period following the breakup of her first marriage; the fateful decision to move to Europe and the shock of her first encounters with Danish customs (and Danish men); the pleasures of soaking in the human drama on long rambles through the London streets and the torment of lonely Sundays spent wrestling these impressions into prose; and the determination to create despite rejection and a growing stack of debts. “I do not feel like a failure,” Godwin insists. “I will keep writing, harder than ever.” Brimming with urgency and wit, Godwin’s inspiring tome opens a shining window into the life and craft of a great writer just coming into her own. “A generous gift from a much-loved author to her readers.” –Chicago Sun-Times “Full of lively, entertaining observations on the literary life . . . captures the spirit of a young writer’s adventure into foreign lands and foreign realms of thought and creative endeavor.” –The Atlanta Journal-Constitution “As cities and continents and men change, the entries are borne along by . . . the young Godwin’s fierce conviction that she is meant to write fiction and her desire to distract herself from this mission with any man who catches her eye.” –The New York Times Book Review “Godwin describes a high-wire act of love and work. . . . She espouses fierce, uncompromising ideas about fiction.” –Los Angeles Times “Gail Godwin’s journals are a gold mine.” –The Boston Globe
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0812974697/?tag=2022091-20
(Here at last is the eagerly awaited new novel from New Yo...)
Here at last is the eagerly awaited new novel from New York Times bestselling author Gail Godwin. Queen of the Underworld is sweeping and sultry literary fiction, featuring a memorable young heroine and engaging characters whose intimate dramas interconnect with hers. In the summer of 1959, as Castro clamps down on Cuba and its first wave of exiles flees to the States to wait out what they hope to be his short-lived reign, Emma Gant, fresh out of college, begins her career as a reporter. Her fierce ambition and belief in herself are set against the stories swirling around her, both at the newspaper office and in her downtown Miami hotel, which is filling up with refugees. Emma’s avid curiosity about life thrives amid the tropical charms and intrigues of Miami. While toiling at the news desk, she plans the fictional stories she will write in her spare time. She spends her nights getting to know the Cuban families in her hotel–and rendezvousing with her married lover, Paul Nightingale, owner of a private Miami Beach club. As Emma experiences the historical events enveloping the city, she trains her perceptive eye on the people surrounding her: a newfound Cuban friend who joins the covert anti-Castro training brigade, a gambling racketeer who poses a grave threat to Paul, and a former madam, still in her twenties, who becomes both Emma’s obsession and her alter ego. Emma’s life, like a complicated dance that keeps sweeping her off her balance, is suddenly filled with divided loyalties, shady dealings, romantic and professional setbacks, and, throughout, her adamant determination to avoid “usurpation” by others and remain the protagonist of her own quest. From the Hardcover edition.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345483197/?tag=2022091-20
(Outono de 1951. Na escola para mocas Mount St. Gabriels, ...)
Outono de 1951. Na escola para mocas Mount St. Gabriels, localizada nas montanhas da Carolina do Norte, Tildy Stratton, a inesquecivel aluna lider de sua turma, faz uma nova amizade: Chloe Starnes, recem-chegada, cuja mae, pouco antes, teve uma morte misteriosa. A amizade entre as duas preenche uma lacuna na vida de ambas, mas, ao mesmo tempo, desencadeia uma serie de eventos que afetarao o rumo de muitas vidas, entre elas a da jovem professora das meninas e a de Suzanne Ravenel, entao diretora da instituicao. Segredos muito bem-escondidos virao a tona. Uma historia de amizade, lealdade, mentiras que se tornam verdades absolutas e desejos nao realizados que passam de geracao para geracao, captando com maestria o rarissimo momento de redencao em que uma alma se liberta de suas amarras. No fim, uma mensagem clara da autora: os verdadeiros desejos nunca terminam.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/8528616347/?tag=2022091-20
("Delightful. . .The drama unfolds with wonderful humor." ...)
"Delightful. . .The drama unfolds with wonderful humor." --The New York Times "A MOST APPEALING BOOK. . . Godwin invites the reader into her mind, into the mysterious process through which fiction is created." --The Washington Post Book World As a novelist, Gail Godwin has claimed her rightful place in the pantheon of popular American literature. Her novels and short stories speak to women and men about their most intense relationships and heartfelt feelings. In this collection of five short stories and a novella, Ms. Godwin is at her best. In the title novella, "Mr. Bedford," a young would-be writer spends time in England under the strange and watchful eye of a rather unusual elderly couple; in "Amanuensis," a charming college student cares for a famous but blocked novelist, with unpredictable results; and in "The Angry Year," a rebellious student is drawn to two different kinds of men until she discovers what she has been running to and from. Witty, insightful, and a pleasure to read, Mr. Bedford and the Muses will turn every reader into a fan of Gail Godwin. "IRRESISTIBLE." --Los Angeles Times "A SUBTLE WORK OF ALMOST CRYSTALLINE CLARITY. . . Godwin excels at portraying complex relationships." --Newsweek "Godwin, who has never been less than brilliant, is here passionate as well." --Village Voice Literary Supplement
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345390210/?tag=2022091-20
("A big, entertaining novel...Rich in character and place ...)
"A big, entertaining novel...Rich in character and place and humanity...Gail Godwin is a wonderful writer." THE BOSTON GLOBE At the death of Leonard Strickland, beloved Southern gentleman, husband and father, his family is faced with the unknown. Nell always relied on the husband of her youth for security and friendship. Fiercely independent Cate and perfect Lydia have spent their lives vying for the love and approval their father generously gave. And as each woman begins to view her life, her past, and the possibilities of the future with new eyes, each belatedly discovers that life and death are impossible to plan, and that the past that has kept them apart can bring them closer to themselves and one another....
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0345389239/?tag=2022091-20
Godwin, Gail Kathleen was born on June 18, 1937 in Birmingham, Alabama, United States. Daughter of Mose Winston and Kathleen (Krahenbuhl) Godwin.
Student, Peace Junior College, Raleigh, North Carolina, 1957. Bachelor in Journalism, University North Carolina, 1959. Doctor of Philosophy (honorary), University North Carolina, 1987.
Master of Arts in English, University Iowa, 1968. Doctor of Philosophy, University Iowa, 1971. Doctor of Philosophy (honorary), University Southern-Sewanee, 1994.
Doctor of Philosophy (honorary), State University of New York, 1996. Doctor of Divinity (honorary), General Theological Seminary, 2002.
News reporter, Miami Herald, 1959-1960; representative, consultant, United States Travel Service, London, 1961-1965; editorial assistant, Saturday Evening Post, 1966; instructor, University Iowa, Iowa City, 1967-1971; lecturer, Iowa Writer's Workshop, 1972-1973; lecturer, Vassar College, 1977; lecturer, Columbia University Writing Program, 1978, 81.
(Every evening at five o’clock, Christina and Rudy began t...)
(From Gail Godwin, three-time National Book Award finalist...)
(Justin Stokes would never forget the summer she turned fo...)
(Glass People is about a married woman who faces her depre...)
(Gail Godwin was twenty-four years old when she wrote: “I ...)
(As a young woman, brilliant, charismatic, and curious, Ma...)
(Here at last is the eagerly awaited new novel from New Yo...)
(The Marriage Promise: A Comedy in Five Acts, as Performed...)
(Violet Clay had come to New York City from Charleston to ...)
(Glass People GLASS PEOPLE By Godwin, Gail ( Author )Jan-3...)
(“True, time is the villain and we are trapped in him. Tru...)
("A BRILLIANT, WITTY AND PROVOCATIVE NEW NOVEL." --San Fra...)
("A big, entertaining novel...Rich in character and place ...)
(unabridged on 8 cassettes)
(Will be shipped from US. Used books may not include compa...)
(Will be shipped from US. Used books may not include compa...)
("Compelling, beautiful. . .Miraculous. . . Astonishing. ....)
("HER BEST BOOK SO FAR....It is one of the most literate, ...)
(15 discs in case. Very nice condition. Former library)
("REAL ARTISTRY...A FINELY CRAFTED AND ABSORBING NOVEL." -...)
(Outono de 1951. Na escola para mocas Mount St. Gabriels, ...)
("Delightful. . .The drama unfolds with wonderful humor." ...)
("Delightful. . .The drama unfolds with wonderful humor." ...)
("POWERFUL. . .GODWIN IS BRILLIANT. . .DEFTLY PLOTTED AND ...)
(1985)
Member Poets, Playwrights, Editors, Essayists and Novelists association, American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, Authors Guild, Authors League.
Married Douglas Kennedy, 1960 (divorced 1961), Married Ian Marshall, 1965 (divorced 1966).