Literary Fiction · MelancholicA Knoxville family in 1915 copes with a sudden loss
A Death in the Family
by James Agee
A Knoxville family in 1915, and the days after a sudden death
In Knoxville, Tennessee, in the mid-1910s, the Follet family has to cope with a sudden loss. The novel follows the days around the tragedy and the funeral that follows. Rufus, a six-year-old, is the author's alter ego.
More about this book
Who
The Follet family: Mary, a devout wife; Jay, the father; and Rufus, their six-year-old son, who is the author's alter ego.
World
Knoxville, Tennessee, in the mid-1910s.
What makes it different
Agee died in May 1955 before finishing it, and David McDowell edited the manuscript into the 1957 book. A restored edition appeared in 2007. It won the 1958 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction, awarded posthumously.
Feel
Quiet and tender, a short book about grief.
Page count and cover shown for: Selected edition
Behind the book
James Agee died in May 1955 before finishing the novel. David McDowell of McDowell, Obolensky edited the manuscript into published form. In 2007, Michael Lofaro's restored edition, based on Agee's drafts, was published by the University of Tennessee Press.
Source: Wikipedia
Further reading
- A Death in the FamilyWikipedia