{"product_id":"virginia-faulkner-a-life-in-two-acts-hardback-9781496230621","title":"Virginia Faulkner; A Life in Two Acts (Hardback) 9781496230621","description":"\u003cfont face=\"Georgia\"\u003e\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"6\"\u003eVirginia Faulkner\u003c\/font\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\r\n\u003cfont size=\"5\"\u003eA Life in Two Acts\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"4\"\u003eBrad Bigelow (Author)\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e9781496230621, University of Nebraska Press\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eHardback, published 1 January 2026\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e280 pages, 23 photographs\u003cbr\u003e22.9 x 15.2 x 1.5 cm, 0.666 kg\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cem\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003e\u003cp\u003e\"Bigelow sketches an intimate portrait of Faulkner and makes a convincing case that her efforts were foundational to future Cather researchers. This restores Faulkner to her rightful place in literary history.\"—\u003ci\u003ePublishers Weekly\u003c\/i\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“Intimidating, brilliant, and scathingly funny, Virginia Faulkner is a true American original. She fled her corn-fed Midwestern childhood in 1928 and reinvented herself as an international sophisticate and renowned wit. . . . Famous for her impeccable taste and stubborn eccentricities, Faulkner masterminded the literary reputations of authors ranging from Polly Adler to Willa Cather, but her own fascinating story has been forgotten until now. Brad Bigelow brings this complex, trailblazing woman back to life and restores her to her rightful place in American history.”—Debby Applegate, Pulitzer Prize-winner and author of \u003ci\u003eMadam: The Biography of Polly Adler, Icon of the Jazz Age\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“\u003ci\u003eVirginia Faulkner: A Life in Two Acts\u003c\/i\u003e is a fascinating tribute to literary obsession. Not only does Brad Bigelow offer a captivating tale of Virginia Faulkner’s mad devotion to Willa Cather; he provides a portrait of how profoundly one scholar, one editor, can amplify one writer’s voice.”—Timothy Schaffert, author of \u003ci\u003eThe Titanic Survivors Book Club\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Perfume Thief\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“I’m a bit embarrassed to confess that I’d never even heard of Virginia Faulkner before I met her in this engrossing biography, and now I wish I could have met her in person.”—Nancy Pearl, author of the best-selling \u003ci\u003eBook Lust\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eMore Book Lust\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“This is a tale of struggle, uncertainty, and commitment, but it is mostly one of triumph. Brad Bigelow brings Virginia Faulkner and her partner, the distinguished, pathbreaking Willa Cather scholar Bernice Slote, alive on the page. This biography is a significant contribution.”—Robert Thacker, historical editor of Willa Cather’s \u003ci\u003eComplete Poems\u003c\/i\u003e and author of \u003ci\u003eAlice Munro: Writing Her Lives; A Biography\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e \u003cdiv\u003e“In this impeccably researched and entertaining biography, Virginia Faulkner emerges as a waspish, Dorothy Parker–like novelist and newspaper columnist, whose glamorous (if sometimes rackety) life has the makings of a Hollywood motion picture. In pages of lucid prose, Brad Bigelow does this neglected American writer full justice. Terrific.”—Ian Thomson, author of \u003ci\u003ePrimo Levi: A Life and Dante’s Divine Comedy: A Journey Without End\u003c\/i\u003e\n\u003c\/div\u003e\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp align=\"justify\"\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eFeatured writer for the \u003ci\u003eWashington Post\u003c\/i\u003e at twenty. Author of a hit novel at twenty-one. Coaxed Greta Garbo out of seclusion for a Hollywood party. Ghostwrote the memoirs of New York’s most famous madam, Polly Adler. It’s no wonder Virginia Faulkner was spoken of as the next Dorothy Parker.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e But Faulkner also struggled with alcoholism and depression, lost respect for her own work as a writer, and at age forty-two returned to her hometown of Lincoln, Nebraska, unsure what her next move would be. Asked to assemble an anthology to celebrate Nebraska, she joined the University of Nebraska Press and soon found herself fascinated by the challenges of work as an editor. The press, she realized, offered her the opportunity to champion the work of the writer she respected above all others: Willa Cather. And after finding an ideal colleague and life partner in Bernice Slote, Faulkner launched a series of books that helped establish Cather as one of America’s greatest writers.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eVirginia Faulkner: A Life in Two Acts\u003c\/i\u003e, Brad Bigelow tells Faulkner’s story-one that’s lively, irreverent, and rich in its commitment to literature of lasting importance. Though her own books have since been forgotten, Faulkner left a legacy of achievement and success in American literature against social and personal odds, and her voice and spirit shine forth in the pages of this book.\u003cbr\u003e  \u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\u003cp\u003e\u003cfont size=\"3\"\u003eList of Illustrations\u003cbr\u003e Prologue\u003cbr\u003e Act 1. To Bohemia\u003cbr\u003e 1. The Meyers and the Faulkners\u003cbr\u003e 2. Ginny and Eddie\u003cbr\u003e 3. Rome\u003cbr\u003e 4. Limbo\u003cbr\u003e 5. Radcliffe\u003cbr\u003e 6. Washington\u003cbr\u003e 7. New York City\u003cbr\u003e 8. Hollywood\u003cbr\u003e 9. All in Fun\u003cbr\u003e 10. Dana\u003cbr\u003e 11. It Takes Two\u003cbr\u003e 12. The Haven\u003cbr\u003e 13. A House Is Not a Home\u003cbr\u003e 14. Pacific Grove\u003cbr\u003e Act 2. Back to Lincoln\u003cbr\u003e 15. Roundup\u003cbr\u003e 16. Hostiles and Friendlies\u003cbr\u003e 17. Bernice\u003cbr\u003e 18. The Literature of Possibility\u003cbr\u003e 19. The Road Is All\u003cbr\u003e 20. “\u003cbr\u003eAnniversary”\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e 21. The Kingdom of Art\u003cbr\u003e 22. The World and the Parish\u003cbr\u003e 23. Willa Cather’\u003cbr\u003es Imagination\u003cbr\u003e 24. The Art of Willa Cather\u003cbr\u003e 25. Out to the Wind\u003cbr\u003e 26. Breaking Down\u003cbr\u003e A Note on Sources\u003c\/font\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\r\n\u003c\/font\u003e","brand":"Bison Books","offers":[{"title":"Brand New","offer_id":52693184184600,"sku":"9781496230621","price":22.79,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/freshlyprintedbooks.co.uk\/products\/virginia-faulkner-a-life-in-two-acts-hardback-9781496230621","provider":"Freshly Printed Books","version":"1.0","type":"link"}