Product Description
Three meticulously crafted novels by Isabel Bolton--of whom critic Edmund Wilson wrote in 1946 that ›her| writing "either makes people talk or talks itself"--examine New York City of the 1940s. In DO I WAKE OR SLEEP, the lives of two Americans and a beautiful European refugee intersect for just 24 hours; both THE CHRISTMAS TREE and MANY MANSIONS explore the experience of older women whose lives bridge the Victorian and modern eras.Amazon.com Review
Literary reputations come and go, often with little reason orjustice, so it is always a joy when a great "lost" author isrediscovered. Isabel Bolton (the pen name of Mary Britton Miller)wrote and published three critically acclaimed novels in the late1940s: Do I Wake or Sleep, The Christmas Tree, andMany Mansions. Diana Trillingcalled her "the most important new novelist to appear inyears," and Edmund Wilsoncompared her to Virginia Woolf. Today she is almost unknown. NewYork Mosaic collects all three novels and brings Bolton'sbeautiful and incisive prose to a whole new audience. The ChristmasTree is of particular interest because of the honest andempathetic way that it deals with a gay man who, with his lover,appears at a family Christmas dinner that has tragic results. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

The idea behind the re-issue of I. Bolton's works.
Isabel Bolton was a well considered writer, but forgotten by the 1990's.Leonard Goldstein the late NYC businessman greatly admired Bolton's work amd was instrumental in getting Bolton back in print.

Goldtein was a writer for the now defunct New York Native weekly. He was also active in both the NYC literary and political worlds.In 1995 Goldstein approached Michael Moore of Steerforth Press with the idea to re-publish these three Bolton works (There are several other novels, but Golsdstein considered these three the superior). Goldstein sent these to Moore. Moore replied that he did not know the works, but after reviewing them, thought they were "too old fashioned".Goldstein did not give up.Even though he was dying of lung cancer, he contacted and met with Bolton's heirs to ask their permission to have these books re-issued. Shortly after this Goldstein died.

I was shocked and pleased to see the "New York Mosaic - Three Novels By Isabel Bolton"inbookstores in Jan. of this year.Doris Grumbach, a fine writer and a commentator for NPR, did the intro. (Goldstein had suggested that Diana Trilling do the intro.Trilling had accepted, but died shortly afer Goldstein.) Grumbach writes that she had sent Moore ONE of the vary same novels and he had rejected it as "too old fashioned".Moore must have not only changed his mind, but decided to re-publish Grumbach's suggestion along with the other two novels Goldstein had proposed.

It is good that these fine writings are now back in print. I am sure that Goldstein would be pleased they are. What is just plain wrong is that Moore did not give any note or mention in the book jacket or elsewere that the idea and spark for the re-issue of these novels came to him from Leonard Goldstein of New York.

Mr. Moore:Now the truth is out. What you have is unethical. Goldstein deserves credit for beinging this idea to your attention.All that said,thanks for re-publishing these works.They are a memorial to not only B! olton's work, but to the fine idea and efforts of Leonard Goldstein.

Mr. Moore: It is just plain good manners to give credit where credit is due...

Kevin Foley Darien, CT ... Read more

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Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

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An exquisite memoir celebrates the undying bond of twin sisters more than half a century after one of their deaths. Long before the loss of her twin sister Grace, Isabel Bolton's parents both died of cholera and their five children were raised by relatives. Bolton's prose captures the chaotic and unstructured life she and her siblings led, finding comfort in each other among the violet-scented meadows of their uncle's estate in New London - until Grace's untimely death. First published in 1966, this extraordinary memoir is a classic evocation of childhood at the turn of the century. ... Read more

Product Description
Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more

Product Description
Kessinger Publishing is the place to find hundreds of thousands of rare and hard-to-find books with something of interest for everyone! ... Read more