Louis Stanton Auchincloss (/ˈɔːkɪŋklɒs/; September 27, 1917 – January 26, 2010)[1] was an American lawyer, novelist, historian, and essayist. He is best known as a novelist who parlayed his experiences into books exploring the experiences and psychology of American polite society and old money. His dry, ironic works of fiction continue the tradition of Henry James and Edith Wharton.[2][3] He wrote his novels initially under the name Andrew Lee,[4] the name of an ancestor who cursed any descendant who drank or smoked.[5]
Born in Lawrence, New York, Auchincloss was the son of Priscilla Dixon (née Stanton) and Joseph Howland Auchincloss.[6] His brother was Howland Auchincloss and his paternal grandfather, John Winthrop Auchincloss, was the brother of Edgar Stirling Auchincloss (father of James C. Auchincloss) and Hugh Dudley Auchincloss (father of Hugh D. Auchincloss, Jr.).[7][8] He grew up among the privileged people about whom he would write, although, as he put it, "There was never an Auchincloss fortune…each generation of Auchincloss men either made or married its own money".
Auchincloss was an associate at Sullivan & Cromwell from 1941 to 1951 (with an interruption for war service from 1942 to 1945 in the United States Navy during World War II, which might have inspired his 1947 novel The Indifferent Children). He applied to join the Naval Reserve as an intelligence specialist on December 4, 1940 and was appointed as a lieutenant on December 1, 1942.[9]
After taking a break to pursue full-time writing,[10] Auchincloss returned to working as a lawyer, first as an associate (1954–58) and then as a partner (1958–86) at Hawkins, Delafield and Wood in New York City as a wills and trusts attorney, while writing at the rate of a book a year.
Literary careerEdit
Auchincloss is known for his closely observed portraits of old New York and New England society. Among his books are the multi-generational sagas The House of Five Talents (1960), Portrait in Brownstone (1962), and East Side Story (2004). The Rector of Justin (1964) is the tale of a renowned headmaster of a prep school like the one he attended, Groton School,[11] trying to deal with changing times.
In the early 1980s, Auchincloss produced three novels which were not centered on the New York he knew so well, i.e. The Cat and the King, set in Louis XIV's Versailles, Watchfires, concerned with the American Civil War, and Exit Lady Masham, set in Queen Anne's England. Auchincloss would remain close to New York again, however, in his later fiction writing.
Gore Vidal said of his work: "Of all our novelists, Auchincloss is the only one who tells us how our rulers behave in their banks and their boardrooms, their law offices and their clubs.... Not since Dreiser has an American writer had so much to tell us about the role of money in our lives."[12]
Andrew Sloan Auchincloss, a lawyer who married Tracy Lee Ehrlich in 1999.[16]
John Winthrop Auchincloss II, a lawyer who married Dr. Tracy Pennoyer, sister of architect Peter Pennoyer (both great-grandchildren of J.P. Morgan Jr.), in April 1988.[17][15]
Blake Leigh Auchincloss, an architect[15] who married in Lauren Stewart Moores, a daughter of John Duer Moores Jr., in June 1988.[18]
Pioneers and Caretakers: A Study of Nine American Women Novelists (1965)
On Sister Carrie (1968)
Motiveless Malignity (1969)
Edith Wharton: A Woman in Her Time (1972)
Richelieu (1972)
A Writer's Capital (1974)
Reading Henry James (1975)
Life, Law, and Letters: Essays and Sketches (1979)
Persons of Consequence: Queen Victoria and Her Circle (1979)
False Dawn: Women in the Age of the Sun King (1985)
The Vanderbilt Era: Profiles of a Gilded Age (1989)
Love without Wings: Some Friendships in Literature and Politics (1991)
The Style's the Man: Reflections on Proust, Fitzgerald, Wharton, Vidal, and Others (1994)
The Man Behind the Book: Literary Profiles (1996)
Woodrow Wilson (Penguin Lives) (2000)
Theodore Roosevelt (The American Presidents Series) (2002)
A Voice from Old New York: A Memoir of My Youth (2010)[24]
AdaptationsEdit
Auchincloss's The Great World and Timothy Colt (1956) was adapted for television in an episode of the Climax! series (Season 4, Episode 22; Broadcast 27 March 1958). Composer Paul Reif adapted Portrait in Brownstone into an opera upon which he was working at the time of his death;[25] it has remained unperformed.[26]
ReferencesEdit
Notes
^ abcdeHolcomb B. Noble and Charles McGrath, Louis Auchincloss, Chronicler of New York's Upper Crust, Dies at 92 The New York Times. Retrieved on January 27, 2010.
^Meyers, Jeffrey (2004), Notes in Wharton, Edith (2004). The House of Mirth. Barnes & Noble. ISBN1-59308-153-7.
^"The novelist Louis Auchincloss talks about how he has been able to write fifty-four books – while also practicing law". The Atlantic Online. 15 October 1997. Retrieved 25 October 2018.
^Joseph F. Clarke (1977). Pseudonyms. BCA. p. 100.
^. Archived from the original on 2008-02-19. Retrieved 2008-02-05. 1986 interview with Louis Auchincloss
^In an essay discussing his novel The Rector of Justin, Auchincloss says he modeled the main character not on an actual boarding school headmaster but on "the greatest man it has been my good luck to know--" Judge Learned Hand. SeeOrigin of a Hero, in Auchincloss, Louis (1979). Life, Law, and Letters: Essays and Sketches. Houghton Mifflin. ISBN0-395-28151-2.
^"Blake Leigh Lawrence". The New York Times. 25 June 1986. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
^"ADELE LAWRENCE WED IN VERMONT; Bride of Louis Auchinoloss, a Virginia Law Alumnus, in Shelburne Church". The New York Times. September 8, 1957. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
^ abc"Adele L. Auchincloss, An Artist, 59, Is Dead". The New York Times. 8 February 1991. Retrieved 14 October 2016.
^"WEDDINGS; Tracy Ehrlich, Andrew Auchincloss". The New York Times. 23 May 1999. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
^"Dr. Pennoyer, a Psychologist, Is Wed To John W. Auchincloss 2d, a Lawyer". The New York Times. 10 April 1988. Retrieved 28 May 2020.
^"Lauren Stewart Moores, Economist, Marries Blake Auchincloss, Architect". The New York Times. 5 June 1988. Retrieved 26 September 2023.
louis, auchincloss, louis, stanton, auchincloss, ɔː, september, 1917, january, 2010, american, lawyer, novelist, historian, essayist, best, known, novelist, parlayed, experiences, into, books, exploring, experiences, psychology, american, polite, society, mone. Louis Stanton Auchincloss ˈ ɔː k ɪ ŋ k l ɒ s September 27 1917 January 26 2010 1 was an American lawyer novelist historian and essayist He is best known as a novelist who parlayed his experiences into books exploring the experiences and psychology of American polite society and old money His dry ironic works of fiction continue the tradition of Henry James and Edith Wharton 2 3 He wrote his novels initially under the name Andrew Lee 4 the name of an ancestor who cursed any descendant who drank or smoked 5 Louis AuchinclossAuchincloss receiving the National Medal of Arts from President Bush 2005 BornLouis Stanton Auchincloss 1917 09 27 27 September 1917Lawrence New York United StatesDied26 January 2010 2010 01 26 aged 92 Manhattan New York United StatesOccupationWriter lawyerLanguageEnglishNationalityAmericanAlma materYale UniversityUniversity of VirginiaNotable awardsNational Medal of Arts 2005 SpouseAdele LawrenceChildren3RelativesNina Auchincloss Straight cousin Contents 1 Early life 2 Career 2 1 Literary career 3 Personal life 3 1 Awards and legacy 4 Works 4 1 Novels 4 2 Short story collections 4 3 Nonfiction 5 Adaptations 6 References 7 External linksEarly life EditBorn in Lawrence New York Auchincloss was the son of Priscilla Dixon nee Stanton and Joseph Howland Auchincloss 6 His brother was Howland Auchincloss and his paternal grandfather John Winthrop Auchincloss was the brother of Edgar Stirling Auchincloss father of James C Auchincloss and Hugh Dudley Auchincloss father of Hugh D Auchincloss Jr 7 8 He grew up among the privileged people about whom he would write although as he put it There was never an Auchincloss fortune each generation of Auchincloss men either made or married its own money He attended St Bernard s School Groton School and Yale University where he was editor of the Yale Literary Magazine Although he did not complete his undergraduate studies at Yale he was admitted to and attended law school at the University of Virginia He graduated in 1941 and was admitted to the New York bar the same year 1 Career EditAuchincloss was an associate at Sullivan amp Cromwell from 1941 to 1951 with an interruption for war service from 1942 to 1945 in the United States Navy during World War II which might have inspired his 1947 novel The Indifferent Children He applied to join the Naval Reserve as an intelligence specialist on December 4 1940 and was appointed as a lieutenant on December 1 1942 9 After taking a break to pursue full time writing 10 Auchincloss returned to working as a lawyer first as an associate 1954 58 and then as a partner 1958 86 at Hawkins Delafield and Wood in New York City as a wills and trusts attorney while writing at the rate of a book a year Literary career Edit Auchincloss is known for his closely observed portraits of old New York and New England society Among his books are the multi generational sagas The House of Five Talents 1960 Portrait in Brownstone 1962 and East Side Story 2004 The Rector of Justin 1964 is the tale of a renowned headmaster of a prep school like the one he attended Groton School 11 trying to deal with changing times In the early 1980s Auchincloss produced three novels which were not centered on the New York he knew so well i e The Cat and the King set in Louis XIV s Versailles Watchfires concerned with the American Civil War and Exit Lady Masham set in Queen Anne s England Auchincloss would remain close to New York again however in his later fiction writing Gore Vidal said of his work Of all our novelists Auchincloss is the only one who tells us how our rulers behave in their banks and their boardrooms their law offices and their clubs Not since Dreiser has an American writer had so much to tell us about the role of money in our lives 12 Personal life EditIn 1957 Auchincloss married Adele Burden Lawrence 1931 1991 the daughter of Florence Irvin nee Burden Lawrence and Blake Leigh Lawrence 13 14 Her grandfather was prominent industrialist James A Burden Jr and her great grandmother was Vanderbilt heiress Emily Thorn nee Vanderbilt Sloane White Adele was an artist environmentalist and later became a deputy administrator of the New York City Parks and Recreation Department 15 Together they had three children 1 Andrew Sloan Auchincloss a lawyer who married Tracy Lee Ehrlich in 1999 16 John Winthrop Auchincloss II a lawyer who married Dr Tracy Pennoyer sister of architect Peter Pennoyer both great grandchildren of J P Morgan Jr in April 1988 17 15 Blake Leigh Auchincloss an architect 15 who married in Lauren Stewart Moores a daughter of John Duer Moores Jr in June 1988 18 He was president and chairman of the Museum of the City of New York and chairman of the City Hall Restoration Committee and was a member of the Century Association and the American Academy of Arts and Letters where he served as president 1 On January 26 2010 Auchincloss died from complications of a stroke at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York City 1 Awards and legacy Edit Significant collections of Auchincloss s papers reside at the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia and at the Beinecke Library at Yale University In addition he was the recipient of the following awards and accolades National Book Award Finalist 1960 1961 1965 1967 19 Member American Academy of Arts and Letters 1965 Honorary degree New York University Litt D 1974 Honorary degree Pace University 1979 President American Academy of Arts and Letters 19 Honorary degree The University of the South 1986 Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences 1997 20 Living Landmark status 2000 New York Landmarks Conservancy National Medal of Arts 2005 Works EditAuchincloss wrote more than 60 books Novels Edit The Indifferent Children 1947 Sybil 1952 21 A Law for the Lion 1953 The Great World and Timothy Colt 1956 Venus in Sparta 1958 Pursuit of the Prodigal 1959 National Book Award Finalist The House of Five Talents 1960 National Book Award Finalist Portrait in Brownstone 1962 The Rector of Justin 1964 National Book Award Finalist 22 The Embezzler 1966 National Book Award Finalist A World of Profit 1968 I Come as a Thief 1972 The Dark Lady 1977 The Country Cousin 1978 The House of the Prophet 1980 The Cat and the King 1981 Watchfires 1982 Exit Lady Masham 1983 The Book Class 1984 Honourable Men 1986 Diary of a Yuppie 1987 The Golden Calves 1988 Fellow Passengers A Novel in Portraits 1989 The Lady of Situations 1990 Three Lives 1993 The Education of Oscar Fairfax 1995 Her Infinite Variety 2000 The Scarlet Letters 2003 East Side Story 2004 23 The Headmaster s Dilemma 2007 Last of the Old Guard 2008 Short story collections Edit The Injustice Collectors 1950 The Romantic Egoists 1954 Powers of Attorney 1963 Tales of Manhattan 1967 Second Chance Tales of Two Generations 1970 The Partners 1974 The Winthrop Covenant 1976 Narcissa and Other Fables 1982 Skinny Island More Tales of Manhattan 1987 False Gods 1992 Tales of Yesteryear 1994 The Collected Stories of Louis Auchincloss 1994 The Atonement and Other Stories 1997 The Anniversary and Other Stories 1999 Manhattan Monologues 2002 The Young Apollo and Other Stories 2006 The Friend of Women and Other Stories 2007 Nonfiction Edit Reflections of a Jacobite 1961 Pioneers and Caretakers A Study of Nine American Women Novelists 1965 On Sister Carrie 1968 Motiveless Malignity 1969 Edith Wharton A Woman in Her Time 1972 Richelieu 1972 A Writer s Capital 1974 Reading Henry James 1975 Life Law and Letters Essays and Sketches 1979 Persons of Consequence Queen Victoria and Her Circle 1979 False Dawn Women in the Age of the Sun King 1985 The Vanderbilt Era Profiles of a Gilded Age 1989 Love without Wings Some Friendships in Literature and Politics 1991 The Style s the Man Reflections on Proust Fitzgerald Wharton Vidal and Others 1994 The Man Behind the Book Literary Profiles 1996 Woodrow Wilson Penguin Lives 2000 Theodore Roosevelt The American Presidents Series 2002 A Voice from Old New York A Memoir of My Youth 2010 24 Adaptations EditAuchincloss s The Great World and Timothy Colt 1956 was adapted for television in an episode of the Climax series Season 4 Episode 22 Broadcast 27 March 1958 Composer Paul Reif adapted Portrait in Brownstone into an opera upon which he was working at the time of his death 25 it has remained unperformed 26 References EditNotes a b c d e Holcomb B Noble and Charles McGrath Louis Auchincloss Chronicler of New York s Upper Crust Dies at 92 The New York Times Retrieved on January 27 2010 Meyers Jeffrey 2004 Notes in Wharton Edith 2004 The House of Mirth Barnes amp Noble ISBN 1 59308 153 7 The novelist Louis Auchincloss talks about how he has been able to write fifty four books while also practicing law The Atlantic Online 15 October 1997 Retrieved 25 October 2018 Joseph F Clarke 1977 Pseudonyms BCA p 100 A Writer s Capital Auchinloss page 113 Gelderman Carol 2007 Louis Auchincloss A Writer s Life Univ of South Carolina Press p 9 ISBN 978 1 57003 711 5 Birmingham Stephen 1968 The Right People Little Brown p 326 Buck Albert H 1909 The Bucks of Wethersfield Connecticut Stone Printing and Manufacturing Co pp 120 3 Naval Reserve Register 1944 pg 39 Louis Auchincloss Interview with Don Swaim Archived from the original on 2008 02 19 Retrieved 2008 02 05 1986 interview with Louis Auchincloss In an essay discussing his novel The Rector of Justin Auchincloss says he modeled the main character not on an actual boarding school headmaster but on the greatest man it has been my good luck to know Judge Learned Hand See Origin of a Hero in Auchincloss Louis 1979 Life Law and Letters Essays and Sketches Houghton Mifflin ISBN 0 395 28151 2 Vidal Gore 1974 Real Class New York Review of Books Vol 21 No 12 JULY 18 Blake Leigh Lawrence The New York Times 25 June 1986 Retrieved 28 May 2020 ADELE LAWRENCE WED IN VERMONT Bride of Louis Auchinoloss a Virginia Law Alumnus in Shelburne Church The New York Times September 8 1957 Retrieved 14 October 2016 a b c Adele L Auchincloss An Artist 59 Is Dead The New York Times 8 February 1991 Retrieved 14 October 2016 WEDDINGS Tracy Ehrlich Andrew Auchincloss The New York Times 23 May 1999 Retrieved 28 May 2020 Dr Pennoyer a Psychologist Is Wed To John W Auchincloss 2d a Lawyer The New York Times 10 April 1988 Retrieved 28 May 2020 Lauren Stewart Moores Economist Marries Blake Auchincloss Architect The New York Times 5 June 1988 Retrieved 26 September 2023 Louis Auchincloss Book of Members 1780 2010 Chapter A PDF American Academy of Arts and Sciences Retrieved 7 April 2011 Review of Sybil by Louis Auchincloss Kirkus Reviews 17 January 1951 Yardley Jonathan 9 July 2008 Valuable Lessons from The Rector of Justin The Washington Post Mallon Thomas 19 December 2004 Sunday Book Review of East Side Story by Louis Auchincloss NY Times Towers Sarah 24 December 2010 Sunday Book Review of A Voice from Old New York A Memoir of My Youth by Louis Auchincloss NY Times Paul Reif Composer For Films Theater More Serious Works The New York Times 8 July 1978 Retrieved 24 October 2017 Margaret Ross Griffel Adrienne Fried Block 1999 Operas in English A Dictionary Greenwood Press ISBN 978 0 313 25310 2 SourcesGeorge Plimpton Fall 1994 Louis Auchincloss The Art of Fiction No 138 Paris Review Fall 1994 132 External links EditLouis Auchincloss Daily Telegraph obituary Louis Auchincloss Writer who chronicled the lives and times of America s WASP elite The Independent 2 February 2010 Appearances on C SPAN Louis Auchincloss papers Louis Auchincloss Collection Yale Collection of American Literature Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Louis Auchincloss amp oldid 1178731468, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
