"The Fine Art of Literary Mayhem" by Myric Land

Book Details:

Title: The Fine Art of Literary Mayhem: A Lively Account of Famous Writers and Their Feuds
Author: Myric Land
Published: 1983 by Lexikos (2nd edition, revised; Orig. 1962)
ISBN: 0-938530-11-9
Genre: Non-Fiction - Authors - Literary Quarrels
Pages: 272 pages
Rating: 4 of 5


My Review:

Hemingway, Dickens, Wells- These and many other famous authors have become immortalized as generation after generation pass along their works, most earning the title of 'modern classic'. What readers don't consider is that these writers had lives outside of the words on the pages, and just like the famous media stars of today, their lives were sometimes driven to create drama. Only, their feuds with each other tended to be a little more subtle than the paparazzi fighting to get the best pictures and stories of those involved, though several legendary fights Land tells of do involve arguing in public. Newspaper pages became their most popular fighting ring- each writer's response to his opponent's editorial or book review from the week before. Another well-used weapon from one author to another involved creating ridiculous characters for their novels, loosely based on the target, where the writer can control and emphasize every aspect of their opponent's life and personality.

Myrick Land recreates the time periods for each feud by really submersing the reader in direct quotes from memoirs, magazines, newspapers, and countless other sources, including interviews he himself conducted with some of the parties involved to get every detail of the arguments and reprocutions.

Land successfully portrays the personalities and qualities of all these literary heroes so the reader can get to know them beyond their name on the cover of your favorite novels. Which famous authors were trouble-makers? Who quivered in the corner when called out by another's attack? A fascinating collection of the various feuds- from Norman Mailer and James Baldwin to Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald, this author has now immortalized a side of these legends few know or think about. It is a well-written, to-the-point account of some of their more famous social contributions and more sinister character creations.