A Death in the Family
Encyclopedia
A Death in the Family is an autobiographical novel
by author James Agee
, set in Knoxville, Tennessee
. He began writing it in 1948, but it was not quite complete when he died in 1955. It was edited and released posthumously in 1957 by editor David McDowell. Agee's widow and children were left with little money after Agee's death and McDowell wanted to help them by publishing the work. Agee won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
in 1958 for the novel. The novel was included on Time
s list of the 100 best English-language novels
2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923.
, showing how such a loss affects the young widow, her two children, her atheist father and the dead man's alcoholic brother.
professor Michael Lofaro claimed the version published in 1957 was not the version intended for print by the author. He discussed his work at a conference that was part of the Knoxville James Agee Celebration (April 2005). Lofaro tracked down the author's original manuscripts and notes and has reconstructed a version he says is more authentic. Lofaro's version of the novel, A Death in the Family: A Restoration of the Author's Text, was published in 2007 as part of a 10-volume set, The Collected Works of James Agee (University of Tennessee Press). Lofaro is also the author of Agee Agonistes: Essays on the Life, Legend, and Works of James Agee (2007).
, a 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tad Mosel
.
The movie, All The Way Home (1963), was adapted by Philip H. Reisman, Jr. from the Agee novel and the Mosel play. It was filmed in the same neighborhood where Agee grew up in Knoxville. Produced by David Susskind
and directed by Alex Segal, it stars Robert Preston
, Jean Simmons
and Pat Hingle
.
Samuel Barber wrote Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (1947, revised 1950) on commission from the American soprano Eleanor Steber
, who had asked for a work for soprano with orchestra. Barber’s piece is about childhood, the reminiscence of childhood fashioned from Agee's A Death in the Family is poetic in novelistic terms but unusually long-limbed for vocal setting. Barber's contemplative monologue turns Agee's irregular prose rhythms into simple musical meters, bringing intensity to phrases that were casual in the prose telling, and emphasizing two undercurrents: nostalgia and intimations of mortality. The scene is still viewed through the eyes of a child, but the mature voice of the writer is also there, emerging especially in the elements of fore-knowledge which give the setting a special poignance.
Autobiographical novel
An autobiographical novel is a form of novel using autofiction techniques, or the merging of autobiographical and fiction elements. The literary technique is distinguished from an autobiography or memoir by the stipulation of being fiction...
by author James Agee
James Agee
James Rufus Agee was an American author, journalist, poet, screenwriter and film critic. In the 1940s, he was one of the most influential film critics in the U.S...
, set in Knoxville, Tennessee
Knoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
. He began writing it in 1948, but it was not quite complete when he died in 1955. It was edited and released posthumously in 1957 by editor David McDowell. Agee's widow and children were left with little money after Agee's death and McDowell wanted to help them by publishing the work. Agee won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
The Pulitzer Prize for Fiction has been awarded for distinguished fiction by an American author, preferably dealing with American life. It originated as the Pulitzer Prize for the Novel, which was awarded between 1918 and 1947.-1910s:...
in 1958 for the novel. The novel was included on Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
s list of the 100 best English-language novels
TIME's List of the 100 Best Novels
Times List of the 100 Best Novels, is an unranked list of the 100 best novels—and 10 best graphic novels—published in the English language between 1923 and 2005. The list was compiled by Time critics Lev Grossman and Richard Lacayo....
2005 list of the 100 best English-language novels written since 1923.
Plot
The novel is based on the events that occurred to Agee in 1915 when his father went out of town to see his own father, who had a heart attack. During the return trip, Agee's father was killed in a car accident. The novel provides a portrait of life in Knoxville, TennesseeKnoxville, Tennessee
Founded in 1786, Knoxville is the third-largest city in the U.S. state of Tennessee, U.S.A., behind Memphis and Nashville, and is the county seat of Knox County. It is the largest city in East Tennessee, and the second-largest city in the Appalachia region...
, showing how such a loss affects the young widow, her two children, her atheist father and the dead man's alcoholic brother.
New version
University of TennesseeUniversity of Tennessee
The University of Tennessee is a public land-grant university headquartered at Knoxville, Tennessee, United States...
professor Michael Lofaro claimed the version published in 1957 was not the version intended for print by the author. He discussed his work at a conference that was part of the Knoxville James Agee Celebration (April 2005). Lofaro tracked down the author's original manuscripts and notes and has reconstructed a version he says is more authentic. Lofaro's version of the novel, A Death in the Family: A Restoration of the Author's Text, was published in 2007 as part of a 10-volume set, The Collected Works of James Agee (University of Tennessee Press). Lofaro is also the author of Agee Agonistes: Essays on the Life, Legend, and Works of James Agee (2007).
Differences
According to Lofaro, McDowell altered the original text in a number of ways:- Removed the original opening, a nightmare scene, and instead started the novel with "Knoxville: Summer of 1915," a previously published short work of Agee's that was not intended as part of the novel.
- Altered the order of the book, which was intended to be chronological.
- Some chapters were removed.
- Some chapters were chopped up.
- Some chapters were moved and presented as flashbacks.
- The number of chapters was changed from 44 short chapters to 20.
Adaptations
The novel was adapted into All the Way HomeAll the Way Home (play)
All the Way Home is a 1960 play written by American playwright Tad Mosel, adapted from the 1957 James Agee novel, A Death in the Family. Both authors received the Pulitzer Prize for their separate works....
, a 1961 Pulitzer Prize-winning play by Tad Mosel
Tad Mosel
Tad Mosel was an American playwright and one of the leading dramatists of hour-long teleplay genre for live television during the 1950s. He received the 1961 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play All the Way Home....
.
The movie, All The Way Home (1963), was adapted by Philip H. Reisman, Jr. from the Agee novel and the Mosel play. It was filmed in the same neighborhood where Agee grew up in Knoxville. Produced by David Susskind
David Susskind
David Susskind was a producer of TV, movies, and stage plays and also a pioneer TV talk show host.-Personal:...
and directed by Alex Segal, it stars Robert Preston
Robert Preston (actor)
-Early life:Preston was born Robert Preston Meservey in Newton, Massachusetts, the son of Ruth L. and Frank Wesley Meservey, a garment worker and billing clerk for American Express. After attending Abraham Lincoln High School in Los Angeles, California, he studied acting at the Pasadena Community...
, Jean Simmons
Jean Simmons
Jean Merilyn Simmons, OBE was an English actress. She appeared predominantly in motion pictures, beginning with films made in Great Britain during and after World War II – she was one of J...
and Pat Hingle
Pat Hingle
Martin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
.
Samuel Barber wrote Knoxville: Summer of 1915 (1947, revised 1950) on commission from the American soprano Eleanor Steber
Eleanor Steber
Eleanor Steber was an American operatic soprano. Steber is noted as one of the first major opera stars to have achieved the highest success with training and a career based in the United States.-Biography:...
, who had asked for a work for soprano with orchestra. Barber’s piece is about childhood, the reminiscence of childhood fashioned from Agee's A Death in the Family is poetic in novelistic terms but unusually long-limbed for vocal setting. Barber's contemplative monologue turns Agee's irregular prose rhythms into simple musical meters, bringing intensity to phrases that were casual in the prose telling, and emphasizing two undercurrents: nostalgia and intimations of mortality. The scene is still viewed through the eyes of a child, but the mature voice of the writer is also there, emerging especially in the elements of fore-knowledge which give the setting a special poignance.