Mawrdew Czgowchwz is the debut novel of American writer James McCourt first published in 1975 by Farrar, Straus & Giroux. After falling out of print it was reprinted in a slightly revised form in 2002 by NYRB Classics. [1]
The novel follows the cult around an opera singer called Mawrdew Czgowchwz, pronounced Mardu Gorgeous. Mawrdew was loosely based on real life opera singer Miliza Korjus. [2]
McCourt continued to write various works about Mawrdew Czgowchwz after publication of his novel. In 1983 a story featuring the character entitled Mawrdew Czgowchwz in Dublin was published in the Summer issue of The Paris Review . [3] In 2007 he published a sequel to the novel entitled Now Voyager. [4]