Summer Crossing
| Summer Crossing | |
|---|---|
 1st edition |
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| Author(s) | Truman Capote |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre(s) | Fiction |
| Publisher | Random House |
| Publication date | 2005 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) & e-book, audio-CD |
| Pages | 142 |
| ISBN | ISBN 1-4000-6522-4 |
| OCLC Number | 441129903 |
Summer Crossing is Truman Capote's first novel, written during the 1940s. Capote eventually cast it aside and it was thought to be lost for over 50 years, but was eventually published in 2005.
Contents |
[edit] Conception and critical reception
Capote started writing Summer Crossing in 1943 when he was working for The New Yorker. After taking an evening walk in Monroeville, Alabama and being inspired to pen his first published novel, Other Voices, Other Rooms, he set aside the manuscript. On August 30, 1949, while vacationing in North Africa, Capote informed his publisher that he was approximately two-thirds through his first draft. Capote optimistically spoke of finalizing the manuscript by the end of the year, even making a vow that he would not return to the United States until it was finished,[1] but never did turn over more than a first draft to his publisher.[2] Capote had been reviewing and making minor edits to the work over a period of approximately 10 years. Robert Linscott, Capote's senior editor at Random House, was unimpressed with the first draft. He said he thought it was a good novel, but that it didn't showcase Capote's "distinctive artistic voice."[3] After reading the draft over several times, Capote noted that the novel was "well written and its got a lot of style", but he just didn't like it. In particular Capote began "to fear [the novel] was thin, clever, unfelt."[4] Later Capote claimed to have destroyed the unpolished manuscript, along with several other notebooks of prose, as a part of this fit of harsh self-criticism.[5]
[edit] Manuscript recovery
A number of writings including the manuscript to Summer Crossing had been rescued from the trash by the house sitter of an apartment in Brooklyn Heights, where Capote lived around 1950. Upon the death of the house sitter, his nephew discovered Capote's papers and sent them to Sotheby's for auction in 2004. The papers failed to sell at auction because of the high price and because the physical papers did not confer publication rights to the work, which were held by The Truman Capote Literary Trust. Subsequently, the New York Public Library reached an agreement to buy the papers and archived them in its permanent Truman Capote Collection. After a consultation with Capote's lawyer, Summer Crossing was published in 2005. The first edition was set from Capote's original manuscript, which was written in four school notebooks and 62 supplemental notes, with an afterword by Alan U. Schwartz, Capote's executor.[6]
An excerpt of the story was also published in the October 24, 2005 issue of The New Yorker.
[edit] Plot summary
The story takes place in New York City over the course of the hot summer of 1945.
Grady McNeil, a young Upper class Protestant débutante, steadfastly refuses to accompany her parents on their usual summer ritual of travel, in this case, to France. Left in the city for the summer by herself, she begins a covert romance with Clyde Manzer, a Jewish parking lot attendant, whom she had noticed several months earlier. Grady spends time with Clyde and meets some of his friends, and in turn the couple visits the Central Park Zoo together. There, Clyde invites Grady to his younger brother's bar mitzvah.
As the summer heats up, so does Grady's and Clyde's romance. The couple is quickly wed in Red Bank, New Jersey at 2 AM one morning. Once married, Grady meets Clyde's Middle class family in Brooklyn, and only then is the couple truly faced with the stark reality of the cultural divide between her family and his. Grady then realizes at her sister Apple's home that she is six weeks pregnant with Clyde's child.
Grady has passed over a couple of opportunities to spend time with the handsome young Peter Bell, a man of her social stature who is romantically interested in her. Eventually Grady's sister, Apple, confronts her about her relationship with Clyde. In an abrubt ending, Grady aims her speeding Buick with passengers Peter, Clyde and Gump so it will crash off the Queensboro Bridge, killing everyone.
[edit] Characters
Grady McNeil: The 17-year-old protagonist of the story. Grady is a beautiful, wealthy Manhattan socialite. Her mother names her after her stillborn brother.
Apple McNeil: Grady's conventional sister who is 8 years older than Grady.
Mrs. Lucy McNeil: Grady's mother.
Mr. Lamont McNeil: Grady's father.
Peter Bell: One of Grady's suitors.
Clyde Manzer: A young Jewish war veteran with whom Grady has an affair. Clyde is a Brooklyn native and works as a car park attendant.
Mrs. Ida Manzer: Clyde's sister.
Gump: One of Clyde's friends.
[edit] Film adaptation
An adaptation of Summer Crossing was confirmed in November 2011. Playwright Tristine Skyler will write the screenplay and actress Scarlett Johansson is directing.[7]
[edit] References
- Notes
- ^ Brinnin, John Malcolm. Truman Capote: Dear Heart, Old Buddy (1981) New York: Delacourte Press. ISBN 038529509X p 63
- ^ Clarke, Gerald. Capote: a Biography (1998) Carroll & Graff. ISBN 0-7867-1661-4 pp. 202 & 218
- ^ Clarke, Gerald. Capote: a Biography (1998) Carroll & Graff. ISBN 0-7867-1661-4 p. 218
- ^ Berendt, John. "Introduction" in Truman Capote, Other Voices, Other Rooms (2004/1948) Random House. ISBN 0-679-64322-2 p. xi.
- ^ Clarke, Gerald. Capote: a Biography (1998) Carroll & Graff. ISBN 0-7867-1661-4 p. 218
- ^ Schwartz, Alan U. "Afterword" in Truman Capote, Summer Crossing (2006/2005) Random House. ISBN 0-8129-7593-6 pp. 132-138.
- ^ Scarlett Johansson to direct Capote's 'Summer Crossing'
- Bibliography
- Brinnin, John Malcolm (1986). Truman Capote: Dear Heart, Old Buddy (1st ed.). New York: Delacourte Press. ISBN 978-038529509X.
- Capote, Truman (2004). Other Voices, Other Rooms (Modern Library ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0679643222.
- Capote, Truman (2006). Summer Crossing (Modern Library Paperback ed.). New York: Random House. ISBN 978-0812975936.
- Clarke, Gerald (1988). Capote, A Biography (1st ed.). New York: Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-0241125496.
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