Around the World with Auntie Mame

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First edition (publ. Harcourt Brace) AroundTheWorldWithAuntieMame.jpg
First edition (publ. Harcourt Brace)

Around the World with Auntie Mame (1958) is a novel by Patrick Dennis and sequel to his bestseller Auntie Mame . [1]

Novel narrative text, normally of a substantial length and in the form of prose describing a fictional and sequential story

A novel is a relatively long work of narrative fiction, normally written in prose form, and which is typically published as a book.

Patrick Dennis American author

Edward Everett Tanner III, known by the nom de plumePatrick Dennis, was an American author. His novel Auntie Mame: An irreverent escapade (1955) was one of the bestselling American books of the 20th century. In chronological vignettes, the narrator — also named Patrick — recalls his adventures growing up under the wing of his madcap aunt, Mame Dennis. Dennis wrote a sequel, Around the World with Auntie Mame, in 1958. Dennis based the character of Mame Dennis on his father's sister, Marion Tanner. Dennis also wrote several novels under the pseudonym Virginia Rowans.

<i>Auntie Mame</i> book by Patrick Dennis

Auntie Mame: An Irreverent Escapade is a 1955 novel by American author Patrick Dennis chronicling the madcap adventures of a boy, Patrick, growing up as the ward of the sister of his dead father.

Contents

Plot

Narrator "Patrick" is seventeen, and has left his private prep school. His Auntie Mame takes him with her on an extended tour of Europe, which becomes a round-the-world tour before his enrollment in college. They have adventures in Paris, London, Biarritz, Venice, Austria, Russia, Lebanon, and the high seas, meeting and dealing with British nobles, con men, embarrassing relatives, Nazis, and gunrunners before they arrive home again. Much of the action is a slyly satirical commentary on such things as the practice of "presenting at Court," fashionable political activism, the naivete of some Americans abroad, and the ways in which small communities of expatriates often end up behaving.

College educational institution

A college is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering vocational education or a secondary school.

Paris Capital of France

Paris is the capital and most populous city of France, with an area of 105 square kilometres and an official estimated population of 2,140,526 residents as of 1 January 2019. Since the 17th century, Paris has been one of Europe's major centres of finance, commerce, fashion, science, and the arts.

London Capital of the United Kingdom

London is the capital and largest city of both England and the United Kingdom. Standing on the River Thames in the south-east of England, at the head of its 50-mile (80 km) estuary leading to the North Sea, London has been a major settlement for two millennia. Londinium was founded by the Romans. The City of London, London's ancient core − an area of just 1.12 square miles (2.9 km2) and colloquially known as the Square Mile − retains boundaries that follow closely its medieval limits. The City of Westminster is also an Inner London borough holding city status. Greater London is governed by the Mayor of London and the London Assembly.

The main story is encased in a "frame" narrative, in which Patrick, now grown and married, tries to placate his wife with highly edited tales from his travels with his aunt. This takes up where the original novel, Auntie Mame, left off, with Patrick's son Michael going off to India with Mame promising to have him home by Labor Day. Two years have passed, with no word beyond a few random post cards. Each chapter begins with Patrick's reassuring, off-hand comments about his journeys with Mame, and then continues with him narrating what really happened.

Labor Day public holiday in the United States

Labor Day in the United States of America is a public holiday celebrated on the first Monday in September. It honors the American labor movement and the contributions that workers have made to the strength, prosperity, laws, and well-being of the country. It is the Monday of the long weekend known as Labor Day Weekend. It is recognized as a federal holiday.

Critical reception

Critical reception for the novel in 1958:

<i>New York Herald Tribune</i> newspaper

The New York Herald Tribune was a newspaper published between 1924 and 1966. It was created in 1924 when the New York Tribune acquired the New York Herald. It was widely regarded as a "writer's newspaper" and competed with The New York Times in the daily morning market. The paper won at least nine Pulitzer Prizes during its lifetime.

<i>Chicago Tribune</i> major daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States

The Chicago Tribune is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", it remains the most-read daily newspaper of the Chicago metropolitan area and the Great Lakes region. It is the eighth-largest newspaper in the United States by circulation.

<i>New York Post</i> Daily tabloid newspaper based in New York City

The New York Post is a daily newspaper in New York City. The Post also operates the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, the entertainment site Decider.com, and co-produces the television show Page Six TV.

Dennis's novels fell out of fashion for many years, but his best sellers were reprinted in 2003, with forewords and other commentary by present-day humorists and the author's son. Around The World With Auntie Mame was reprinted with the restoration of a chapter that had been censored from the original edition. The chapter tells of Auntie Mame's and Patrick's time on a collective farm in the USSR. The publisher felt the chapter, however satirical, would not be acceptable coming, as the novel did, at the height of the Red Scare.[ citation needed ] The reprinted edition has sold well at Amazon.com, maintaining a four-and-a-half-out-of-five star rating. [2]

Red Scare any of several events where widespread fear of communism or leftism develops

A "Red Scare" is promotion of widespread fear by a society or state about a potential rise of communism, anarchism, or radical leftism. The term is most often used to refer to two periods in the history of the United States with this name. The First Red Scare, which occurred immediately after World War I, revolved around a perceived threat from the American labor movement, anarchist revolution and political radicalism. The Second Red Scare, which occurred immediately after World War II, was preoccupied with the perception of national or foreign communists infiltrating or subverting U.S. society or the federal government.

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Mary Margaret "Peggy" Cass was an American actress, comedian, game show panelist, and announcer. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her performance in the 1958 film Auntie Mame.

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Catherine Rosalind Russell was an American actress, comedian, screenwriter and singer, known for her role as fast-talking newspaper reporter Hildy Johnson in the Howard Hawks screwball comedy His Girl Friday (1940), as well as for her portrayals of Mame Dennis in Auntie Mame (1958) and Rose in Gypsy (1962). A noted comedian, she won all five Golden Globes for which she was nominated. Russell won a Tony Award in 1953 for Best Performance by an Actress in a Musical for her portrayal of Ruth in the Broadway show Wonderful Town. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress four times throughout her career.

<i>Mame</i> (musical) musical

Mame is a musical with the book by Jerome Lawrence and Robert Edwin Lee and music and lyrics by Jerry Herman. Originally titled My Best Girl, it is based on the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis and a 1956 Broadway play, by Lawrence and Lee, that starred Rosalind Russell. Set in New York City and spanning the Great Depression and World War II, it focuses on eccentric bohemian Mame Dennis, whose famous motto is "Life is a banquet and most poor sons of bitches are starving to death." Her fabulous life with her wealthy friends is interrupted when the young son of her late brother arrives to live with her. They cope with the Depression in a series of adventures.

Columnist someone who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions

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<i>Mame</i> (film) 1974 film by Gene Saks

Mame is a 1974 Technicolor musical film in Panavision based on the 1966 Broadway musical of the same name and the 1955 novel Auntie Mame by Patrick Dennis.

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References

  1. ↑ UIUC website Archived March 23, 2009, at the Wayback Machine .
  2. ↑ Around The World With Auntie Mame, Amazon.com, retrieved 2008-12-30
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