George V. Higgins
Encyclopedia
George V. Higgins was a United States
author
, lawyer
, newspaper columnist, and college professor. He is best known for his bestselling crime novels. His full name was George Vincent Higgins, but his books were all published as by George V. Higgins. ACtually, his full name was George V. Higgins II, after an uncle living in Randolph, but he dropped the numeric (unofficially) in mid life.
, grew up in the nearby town of Rockland, Massachusetts
, and attended Boston College
. He later received an MA degree from Stanford University
in 1965, and a law degree from Boston College
in 1967. He was married twice, first to Elizabeth Mulkerin Higgins (divorced 1979); second to Loretta Cubberley Higgins.
Higgins worked as a deputy assistant attorney general for the Commonwealth, and a deputy United States Attorney and a journalist
and newspaper columnist before becoming a novelist. He wrote for the Associated Press
, the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald American, and the Wall Street Journal. He spent seven years in anti-organized-crime government positions, including Assistant U.S. Attorney
for Massachusetts
. He entered the private practice of law in 1973, and was active for ten years. During those years he represented famous figures of the left: Eldridge Cleaver
but also the right: G. Gordon Liddy
. He was a professor at Boston College and Boston University
.
He died of a heart attack one week before his 60th birthday at his home in Milton, Massachusetts
.
.
This dialogue-laden approach did not appeal to everyone. Roderick MacLeish
said in Washington Post Book World that "the plot of a Higgins novel – suspense, humor and tragedy – is a blurrily perceived skeleton within the monsoon of dialogue." (quoted in Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, vol. 51, 213).
On the other hand, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
wrote that The Friends of Eddie Coyle was "one of the best of its genre I have read since Hemingway
's The Killers
."
George V. Higgins was proud of his skill in rendering dialogue with great accuracy; he liked to point out that accurate dialogue was not a verbatim transcription of things said but an imaginative
recreation in compressed form. Higgins was also an expert in lending atmosphere to a series of harsh or barren facts, and in inducing his readers to figure out certain things artfully implied in the text but never stated.
Higgins once wrote wryly: "The success of The Friends of Eddie Coyle was termed 'overnight' in some quarters; that was one hell of a damned long night, lasting seventeen years..." During those 17 years, Higgins had written 14 previous novels; he eventually destroyed them.
Roderick MacLeish in the Times Literary Supplement wrote: "Like Joyce, Higgins uses language in torrents, beautifully crafted, ultimately intending to create a panoramic impression." (also quoted in Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, vol. 51, 213.) "He was an exceptional, perhaps the exceptional, postwar American political novelist," said Lord Grey Gowrie, chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain. (quoted in the USC Higgins collection article, see the external links section)
Many of Higgins's works focus on the criminal element and the cops that pursue them, in and around Boston. The four Jerry Kennedy books form a connected series, but characters important in some of his books often are mentioned in other books, usually in passing but significant references. This is true of Trust, Outlaws, Bomber's Law and the Kennedy books, and perhaps others.
In many cases, much of the text of a Higgins book consists of dialogue, often discursive and apparently rambling, from which the plot can be teased out by the reader.
In 1990, Higgins published "On Writing," a book of hard-bitten advice for aspiring writers. The book was notable for its long excerpts of writers Higgins admired, including Gay Talese
, William Manchester
and Irwin Shaw
, and also for its unusually blunt judgments ("If you do not seek to publish what you have written, then you are not a writer and you never will be.")
The book's final paragraph might serve as an epitaph for George V. Higgins:
"The secret remains that there is no secret. The way to determine whether you have talent is to rummage through your files and see if you have written anything; if you have, and quite a lot, then the chances are you have the talent to write more. If you haven't written anything, you do not have the talent because you don't want to write. Those who do can't help themselves. We do it for the hell of it, and those who raise a lot of hell, and then get very lucky, well, we make a living, too. There are worse ways to travel through this vale of tears than by doing the things you love, and making a living at it."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, lawyer
Lawyer
A lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person who is practicing law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain the stability of political...
, newspaper columnist, and college professor. He is best known for his bestselling crime novels. His full name was George Vincent Higgins, but his books were all published as by George V. Higgins. ACtually, his full name was George V. Higgins II, after an uncle living in Randolph, but he dropped the numeric (unofficially) in mid life.
Life and career
Higgins was born in Brockton, MassachusettsBrockton, Massachusetts
Brockton is a city in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States; the population was 93,810 in the 2010 Census. Brockton, along with Plymouth, are the county seats of Plymouth County...
, grew up in the nearby town of Rockland, Massachusetts
Rockland, Massachusetts
Rockland is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The 2010 census records its population at 17,489. As of December 31, 2009, there are 11,809 registered voters in the community.-History:...
, and attended Boston College
Boston College
Boston College is a private Jesuit research university located in the village of Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, USA. The main campus is bisected by the border between the cities of Boston and Newton. It has 9,200 full-time undergraduates and 4,000 graduate students. Its name reflects its early...
. He later received an MA degree from Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
in 1965, and a law degree from Boston College
Boston College Law School
Boston College Law School is one of the six professional graduate schools at Boston College. Located approximately 1.5 miles from the main Boston College campus in Chestnut Hill, Boston College Law School is situated on a wooded campus in Newton, Massachusetts.With approximately 800 students and...
in 1967. He was married twice, first to Elizabeth Mulkerin Higgins (divorced 1979); second to Loretta Cubberley Higgins.
Higgins worked as a deputy assistant attorney general for the Commonwealth, and a deputy United States Attorney and a journalist
Journalist
A journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
and newspaper columnist before becoming a novelist. He wrote for the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, the Boston Globe, the Boston Herald American, and the Wall Street Journal. He spent seven years in anti-organized-crime government positions, including Assistant U.S. Attorney
United States Attorney
United States Attorneys represent the United States federal government in United States district court and United States court of appeals. There are 93 U.S. Attorneys stationed throughout the United States, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, Guam, and the Northern Mariana Islands...
for Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
. He entered the private practice of law in 1973, and was active for ten years. During those years he represented famous figures of the left: Eldridge Cleaver
Eldridge Cleaver
Leroy Eldridge Cleaver better known as Eldridge Cleaver, was a leading member of the Black Panther Party and a writer...
but also the right: G. Gordon Liddy
G. Gordon Liddy
George Gordon Liddy was the chief operative for the White House Plumbers unit that existed from July–September 1971, during Richard Nixon's presidency. Separately, along with E. Howard Hunt, Liddy organized and directed the Watergate burglaries of the Democratic National Committee headquarters in...
. He was a professor at Boston College and Boston University
Boston University
Boston University is a private research university located in Boston, Massachusetts. With more than 4,000 faculty members and more than 31,000 students, Boston University is one of the largest private universities in the United States and one of Boston's largest employers...
.
He died of a heart attack one week before his 60th birthday at his home in Milton, Massachusetts
Milton, Massachusetts
Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and part of the Greater Boston area. The population was 27,003 at the 2010 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush and architect Buckminster Fuller. Milton also has the highest percentage of...
.
Writing
Higgins was a stylist, particularly noted for his realistic dialogue, as in works like The Friends of Eddie CoyleThe Friends of Eddie Coyle (novel)
The Friends of Eddie Coyle, published in 1970, was the debut novel of George V. Higgins, then an Assistant United States Attorney in Boston.The novel is a realistic depiction of the Irish-American underworld in Boston...
.
This dialogue-laden approach did not appeal to everyone. Roderick MacLeish
Roderick MacLeish
Roderick MacLeish was an American journalist and writer. Born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, he grew up in the Chicago suburbs and graduated from the University of Chicago...
said in Washington Post Book World that "the plot of a Higgins novel – suspense, humor and tragedy – is a blurrily perceived skeleton within the monsoon of dialogue." (quoted in Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, vol. 51, 213).
On the other hand, Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt is an American journalist, critic and novelist who has worked in the field of books all of his professional career. He began as an editor for various New York City publishing houses, among them Holt, Rinehart and Winston and The Dial Press, from where he moved in 1965 to...
wrote that The Friends of Eddie Coyle was "one of the best of its genre I have read since Hemingway
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway was an American author and journalist. His economic and understated style had a strong influence on 20th-century fiction, while his life of adventure and his public image influenced later generations. Hemingway produced most of his work between the mid-1920s and the...
's The Killers
The Killers (short story)
'"The Killers"' is a short story by Ernest Hemingway. It first appeared to the public in 1927 in Scribner's Magazine. How much Hemingway received for the literary piece is unknown, but some sources state it was $200. Historians have some documents showing that the working title of the piece was...
."
George V. Higgins was proud of his skill in rendering dialogue with great accuracy; he liked to point out that accurate dialogue was not a verbatim transcription of things said but an imaginative
recreation in compressed form. Higgins was also an expert in lending atmosphere to a series of harsh or barren facts, and in inducing his readers to figure out certain things artfully implied in the text but never stated.
Higgins once wrote wryly: "The success of The Friends of Eddie Coyle was termed 'overnight' in some quarters; that was one hell of a damned long night, lasting seventeen years..." During those 17 years, Higgins had written 14 previous novels; he eventually destroyed them.
Roderick MacLeish in the Times Literary Supplement wrote: "Like Joyce, Higgins uses language in torrents, beautifully crafted, ultimately intending to create a panoramic impression." (also quoted in Contemporary Authors, New Revision Series, vol. 51, 213.) "He was an exceptional, perhaps the exceptional, postwar American political novelist," said Lord Grey Gowrie, chairman of the Arts Council of Great Britain. (quoted in the USC Higgins collection article, see the external links section)
Many of Higgins's works focus on the criminal element and the cops that pursue them, in and around Boston. The four Jerry Kennedy books form a connected series, but characters important in some of his books often are mentioned in other books, usually in passing but significant references. This is true of Trust, Outlaws, Bomber's Law and the Kennedy books, and perhaps others.
In many cases, much of the text of a Higgins book consists of dialogue, often discursive and apparently rambling, from which the plot can be teased out by the reader.
In 1990, Higgins published "On Writing," a book of hard-bitten advice for aspiring writers. The book was notable for its long excerpts of writers Higgins admired, including Gay Talese
Gay Talese
Gay Talese is an American author. He wrote for The New York Times in the early 1960s and helped to define literary journalism...
, William Manchester
William Manchester
William Raymond Manchester was an American author, biographer, and historian from Springfield, Massachusetts, USA, notable as the bestselling author of 18 books that have been translated into over 20 languages...
and Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw
Irwin Shaw was a prolific American playwright, screenwriter, novelist, and short-story author whose written works have sold more than 14 million copies. He is best-known for his novel, The Young Lions about the fate of three soldiers during World War II that was made into a film starring Marlon...
, and also for its unusually blunt judgments ("If you do not seek to publish what you have written, then you are not a writer and you never will be.")
The book's final paragraph might serve as an epitaph for George V. Higgins:
"The secret remains that there is no secret. The way to determine whether you have talent is to rummage through your files and see if you have written anything; if you have, and quite a lot, then the chances are you have the talent to write more. If you haven't written anything, you do not have the talent because you don't want to write. Those who do can't help themselves. We do it for the hell of it, and those who raise a lot of hell, and then get very lucky, well, we make a living, too. There are worse ways to travel through this vale of tears than by doing the things you love, and making a living at it."
Novels
- The Friends of Eddie CoyleThe Friends of Eddie Coyle (novel)The Friends of Eddie Coyle, published in 1970, was the debut novel of George V. Higgins, then an Assistant United States Attorney in Boston.The novel is a realistic depiction of the Irish-American underworld in Boston...
(1970) - The Digger's Game (1973)
- Cogan's Trade (1974)
- A City on a Hill (1975)
- The Judgment of Deke Hunter (1976)
- Dreamland (1977)
- A Year or So with Edgar (1979)
- Kennedy for the Defense (1980) (Jerry Kennedy series)
- The Rat on Fire (1981)
- The Patriot Game (1982)
- A Choice of Enemies (1984)
- Old Earl Died Pulling Traps: A Story (1984)
- Penance for Jerry Kennedy (1985) (Jerry Kennedy series)
- Imposters (1986)
- Outlaws (1987)
- The Sins of the Fathers (1988)
- Wonderful Years, Wonderful Years (1988)
- Trust (1989)
- Victories (1990)
- The Mandeville Talent (1991)
- Defending Billy Ryan (1992) (Jerry Kennedy series)
- Bomber's Law (1993)
- Swan Boats at Four (1995)
- Sandra Nichols Found Dead (1996) (Jerry Kennedy series)
- A Change of Gravity (1997)
- The Agent (1999)
- At End of Day (2000)
Collections
- The Sins of the Fathers: Stories by George V. Higgins (André DeutschAndré DeutschAndré Deutsch was a British publisher.After having learned the business of publishing working for Francis Aldor with whom he was interned in the Isle of Man during the Second World War and who had introduced him to the industry, André Deutsch left Aldor's employment after a few months to continue...
1988) - The Easiest Thing in the World: The Unpublished Fiction of George V. Higgins (2004)
Politics
- The Friends of Richard Nixon (1975)
- Style Versus Substance, a book about Boston Mayor Kevin White and his relations with the press (1984)
External links
- Bibliography, at Fantastic Fiction
- The George V. Higgins Collection, at the University of South CarolinaUniversity of South CarolinaThe University of South Carolina is a public, co-educational research university located in Columbia, South Carolina, United States, with 7 surrounding satellite campuses. Its historic campus covers over in downtown Columbia not far from the South Carolina State House...