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by: John P. Marquand  List Price: $14.95 Price: $10.23 You Save: $4.72 (32%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Format: Bargain Price Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 368 Publication Date: March 09, 2004 Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: Sweeping us into the inner sanctum of Boston society, into the Beacon Hill town houses and exclusive private clubs where only the city's wealthiest and most powerful congregate, this novel gives us-through the story of one family and its patriarch, the recently deceased George Apley-the portrait of an entire society in transition. Gently satirical and rich with drama, the novel moves from the Gilded Age to the Great Depression as it projects George Apley's world-and subtly reveals a life in which success and accomplishment mask disappointment and regret, a life of extreme and enviable privilege that is nonetheless an imperfect life. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Quaint New England/Boston Brahmin culture... You could call this a boring book about a boring guy, but underneath the stale and quaint New England/Boston Brahmin culture is actually a history that is quite remarkable. It was, after all, the Brahmins who built the state of Massachusetts on the back of shipping (the Old China Trade), mills, industry, investments and so forth. Almost every Massachusetts institution from the American Revolution to the Boston Symphony Orchestra to Transcendentalism was built upon, or came forth from, Boston Brahmin ... Read More Rating:  - Freedom's just another word for...THE LATE GEORGE APLEY is not an action novel. Not much happens. It's the fictional biography of an upper class, proper, Bostonian man who lived in the late 1800's & early 1900's, as supposedly written by a friend after Apley's death at the urging of Apley's son, who has provided letters and other documents on which the story is purportedly based. The turning point in Apley's life occurs when, as a young man, he falls in love with a girl "not of the proper set", and is somehow (the text is vague here)forced ... Read More Rating:  - An Aging World and ManMr. Marquand's book does an excellent job of tracing one man's psyche as he ages in a changing world. The mode of writing (little narration; heavy examination of letters written by the characters), was an interesting route to take. Overall, it was a pleasant read, although I cannot say excellent read. One observation that I found problematic was which letters were including in the pseudo-biography. More of the letters appear to be letters that the late George Apley authored rather than received. ... Read More Rating: - It is a tragedy that this book is out of print...John P. Marquand probably was one of the most successful authors of his day and this book, for which he won a Pulitzer prize was the start of his brilliant career. Unfortunately, with Marquand's death in 1960, he fell from favor with the academy who was itself enamoured with tales of life in a university and stories addressing issues of gender and sex. Marquand's stories about middle aged WASPs in Boston coping with trying to come to grips with their lives were no longer in fashion and sadly have not returned ... Read More Rating: - The lifecycle of a gentlemanTHE LATE GEORGE APLEY is a departure from my habitual choice of biographical reading, which is usually limited to real-life individuals who've stood astride human history. And George Apley of (merely) Boston is fictional. Author John Marquand has invented a make-believe chronicler named Mr. Willing to tell the story of the latter's life long friend, George Apley (1866-1933). The biographer's source material is comprised primarily of his own recollections and numerous letters exchanged between Apley ... Read More 
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