James Agee's
A Death in the Familyis a posthumous novel based on the largely complete manuscript that the author left upon his death in 1955. Agee had been working on the novel for many years, and portions of the work had already appeared in
The Partisan Review,
The Cambridge Review,
The New Yorker, and
Harper's Bazaar.
Published in 1957, the novel was edited by David McDowell. Several lengthy passages, part of Agee's manuscript whose position in the chronology was not identified by the author, were placed in italics by the editor, whose decision it was to place them at the conclusion of Parts I and II. These dream-like sequences suggest the influence of James Joyce, especially of Ulysses, on Agee's writing.
Published in 1957, the novel was edited by David McDowell. Several lengthy…
2007 words
Citation: Folks, Jeffrey J.. "A Death in the Family". The Literary Encyclopedia. First published 07 July 2001 [https://www.litencyc.com/php/sworks.php?rec=true&UID=7198, accessed 23 November 2024.]
