The most lauded playwright in American history, Eugene O'Neill (1888-1953) won four Pulitzer Prizes and a Nobel Prize for a body of work that includes The Iceman Cometh, Mourning Becomes Electra, Desire Under the Elms, and Long Day's Journey into Night. His life, the direct source for so much of his art, was one of personal tumult from the very beginning. The son of a famous actor and a quiet, morphine-addicted mother, O'Neill had experienced alcoholism, a collapse of his health, and bouts of mania while still a young man. Based on years of extensive research and access to previously untapped sources, Sheaffer's authoritative biography examines how the pain of O'Neill's childhood fed his desire to write dramas and affected his artistically successful and emotionally disastrous life.

About the Author
Louis Sheaffer (1912-1997), a former reporter and press agent, was awarded three Guggenheim fellowships and a grant from the National Endowment of the Humanities for his work on O'Neill.

Reviews
Sheaffer's Pulitzer Prize-winning study of Eugene O'Neill is not only the foremost portrait of the artist but also one of the most stunning literary biographies, period. * Library Journal *
Should take its place in every library of those seriously interested in American theater, literature, and consciousness. * The New York Times *
A model of what a biography should be... Ought to prove spellbinding for O'Neill buffs and theater addicts, and scarcely less so for readers who enjoy biographies. * Publishers Weekly *
A magnificent study. * The Review of Higher Education *



Book Information
ISBN 9780815412434
Author Louis Scheaffer
Format Paperback
Page Count 568
Imprint Cooper Square Publishers Inc.,U.S.
Publisher Cooper Square Publishers Inc.,U.S.
Weight(grams) 907g
Dimensions(mm) 226mm * 154mm * 35mm