Anne Tyler, Vol. 5

Anne Tyler is one of America's most significant contemporary writers. This book is a solid introduction to her life and work. It includes the first biography of Tyler, along with a record of her writings and the response to her work. It incorporates source materials from the Anne Tyler Papers at Duke University and letters from Tyler to the author. The volume lists all of Tyler's novels, short stories, articles, and book reviews and provides an annotated bibliography of critical studies.

The first half of the book is a biography of Tyler. The author describes her childhood in a North Carolina commune, her high school years in Raleigh, her college years at Duke, and her earliest writing efforts. The biography charts the development of her life and career through her marriage, motherhood, early novels and stories, her life in Baltimore and career as a book reviewer, her rise to fame, and the themes of her major works. The bibliography that follows lists her novels, short stories, nonfiction articles and essays, poetry, children's books, book reviews, and the manuscripts in her papers at Duke University, along with an annotated secondary bibliography.

The first biography of Anne Tyler, together with a comprehensive bibliography of writings by and about her.

Booknews

The first part of the book comprises a critical biography incorporating source materials from the Anne Tyler Papers at Duke University and some correspondence. The last third of the book provides two bibliographies: in one, all of her novels, short stories, articles, and book reviews are listed. The non-fiction is annotated. The other part is a bibliography of books, articles, dissertations, and theses written about her fiction. The book, thesis, and dissertation listings are annotated. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

ROBERT W. CROFT is Assistant Professor of English at Gainesville College in Gainesville, GA.