John P. Marquand

On his visit to a remote tribe in East Africa last summer, JOHN P. MARQUAND was witness to some contrasts in that rapidly evolving territory which come powerfully alive in the pages that follow.

New England s most eminent novelist, JOHN P. MARQUAND was brought up at Curzon’s Mill on the Artichoke River, a homesite north of Boston. In this familiar essay, which holds the salt and savor of old New England in its every line, he draws a picture of the tidal mill.

Few readers will ever appreciate how much courage and self-confidence is required for a writer to change his course in midstream. When JOHN P. M ARQUAND in his early forties turned away from the Mr. Moto stories which had established his popularity in the Saturday Evening Post, and began to devote himself to a series of social satires about Boston and New Englanders, he did so despite the earnest advice of his literary agents. But the more he experimented with this new medium, the more he enjoyed it, and here is what happened to him as he wrote.

A novelist who scored first with his stories of Mr. Moto and then with his satires of New England, The Late George Apley (1937; awarded the Pulitzer Prize in 1938), Wick ford Poinl (1939), H. M. Pulham, Esquire (1941), and whose latest novel, Point of No Return, is just off press, JOHN P. MARQUAND during the war was flown a good many thousand miles in the South Pacific as an unofficial observer for Secretary Stimson. Eighteen months ago he landed briefly at Truk, the so-called Japanese Gibraltar, and his picture of the islands we left behind us is one not easily erased from mind.

A native of Newburyport and a graduate of Harvard, JOHN MARQUANDbegan writing fiction in 1921. The Late George Apley won the Pulitzer Prize for 1938, and the four novels which followed established Mr. Marquand as a painter of the contemporary scene, a novelist keen, mature, and always entertaining. Now the Atlantic presents a major theme culled from the first half of his new book. The scene is laid in the Stuyvesant Bank of New York, where two junior executives, Charles Gray, back from the war, and Roger Blakesley, are being sized up for a vice-presidency which has fallen vacant. Tony Burton, the bank’s president, will have to make the choice. Meantime we see Charles as he deals with clients and associates. The reader should remember that this is the first draft of Mr. Marquand’s work and that the wording may be changed slightly in the final version.

A native of Newburyport and a graduate of Harvard, JOHN M ARQUAND began writing fiction in 1921. In 1936 he turned away from short stories to write a satirical novel of contemporary New England. The Late George Apley won the Pulitzer Prize for 1938, and the four novels which followed established Mr. Marquand as a painter of the contemporary scene, a novelist keen, mature, and always entertaining. Now the Atlantic presents a major theme culled from the first half of his new book. The scene is laid in the Stuyvesant Bank of New York, where two junior executives, Charles Gray, back from the war, and Roger Blakesley, are being sized up for a vice-presidency which has fallen vacant. Tony Burton, the bank’s president, will have to make the final choice. The reader should remember that this is the first draft of Mr. Marquand’s work and that the wording may be changed slightly in the final version.

A native of Newburyport and a graduate of Harvard, JOHN MARQUAND began writing fiction in 1921. The noiel was his first love, but in time his stories, particularly those about Mr. Moto, earned him wide popularity in the Saturday Evening Post. In 1936 he turned away from short fiction to write a satirical novel of contemporary New England. The Late George Apley won the Pulitzer Prize for 1938; Apley and the four novels which followed have established Mr. Marquand as a painter of the contemporary scene, a novelist keen, mature, and always entertaining. In this and the next two issues the Atlantic presents a major theme culled from the first half of Mr. Marquand’s new novel. The reader should remember that this is a portion of the first draft and that the wording may be changed slightly in the final version.