Louis Auchincloss Has Died
The Washington Post is reporting that author Louis Auchincloss has died at age 92. I’ve never read his fiction, but he is the author of a slim book, Reading Henry James, which is a sort of reader’s guide to the fiction of James. It’s not very deep, but gives a nice overview of James’ fiction. (It’s not why I chose the name for this blog, in case you’re asking.)
I was planning on reviewing this book soon, as I got a used copy from an on-line bookseller. It’s been out of print for some time, but used copies seem to be widely available.
Oddly, much of Auchincloss’ work is out of print, including his fiction. He’s written dozens of books, and a quick search on Amazon shows only a few available.
My thanks to you for noting this sad news, I knew that you would post a note about this admirable man. I associate him with Henry James, so it seems logical to find him remembered here. Mr. Auchincloss’s death has been largely ignored, or overshadowed by Salinger’s. I read a very fine interview with L.A. in The New Yorker last year, and since then I’ve attempted to find his first book. No luck! I wanted to trace his progress, as I loved two of his later books, Portrait in Brownstone and The Embezzler. I’ve just looked at some websites about his books, the non-fiction list sounds just as intriguing as the fiction offerings – (Motiveless Malignity and Newport Remembered, just for two tempting examples).