Edmund White

Tony Purvis (University of Sunderland)
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Edmund Valentine White III was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, on January 13, 1940. This Mid-Western and predominantly white middle-class location has been described by White as “very conservative” (Stephen Barber, 1999: 19). White's family can also be described as very prosperous, largely as a result of his father's business interests. Born in rural Texas, Edmund V White II, White's father, trained as an engineer and his subsequent work in the chemical equipment industry secured the family's relative wealth. His mother, Delilah T White, also born in Texas, shared this wealth until his parents divorced when White was seven. White's elder sister, psychotherapist Margaret Fleming, described how the divorce was to have a deep and lasting impact on White (Leonard Schulman, in

Time Life

, 1990).…

2088 words

Citation: Purvis, Tony. "Edmund White". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 24 January 2002 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/speople.php?rec=true&UID=4947, accessed 24 November 2024.]

4947 Edmund White 1 Historical context notes are intended to give basic and preliminary information on a topic. In some cases they will be expanded into longer entries as the Literary Encyclopedia evolves.

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