Hamilton Basso
Encyclopedia
Joseph Hamilton Basso was an American novelist and journalist.
Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Basso worked as reporter for several newspapers in New Orleans, wrote 11 novels, primarily about the South and was an associate editor at The New Yorker
for more than 20 years. His best-known work is the novel The View from Pompey's Head
, a story of a New York
attorney who returns to his Southern home to investigate a mystery surrounding a famous writer. The book spent almost a year on the bestseller lists in 1954.
.
Basso died in 1964, at age 59, in Weston, Connecticut
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Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Basso worked as reporter for several newspapers in New Orleans, wrote 11 novels, primarily about the South and was an associate editor at The New Yorker
The New Yorker
The New Yorker is an American magazine of reportage, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons and poetry published by Condé Nast...
for more than 20 years. His best-known work is the novel The View from Pompey's Head
The View from Pompey's Head
The View from Pompey's Head is a novel by Hamilton Basso which spent 40 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List after it was published by Doubleday in 1954....
, a story of a New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
attorney who returns to his Southern home to investigate a mystery surrounding a famous writer. The book spent almost a year on the bestseller lists in 1954.
Awards
His 1959 novel The Light Infantry Ball, a prequel to The View from Pompey's Head, was a finalist for the 1960 National Book AwardNational Book Award
The National Book Awards are a set of American literary awards. Started in 1950, the Awards are presented annually to American authors for literature published in the current year. In 1989 the National Book Foundation, a nonprofit organization which now oversees and manages the National Book...
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Basso died in 1964, at age 59, in Weston, Connecticut
Weston, Connecticut
Weston is a town in Fairfield County, Connecticut. The population was 10,179 at the 2010 census. The town is served by Route 57 and Route 53, both of which run through the town center. About 19% of the town's workforce commutes to New York City, about to the southwest.Like many towns in...
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Novels
- Relics and AngelsRelics and AngelsRelics and Angels is the first published novel by American author Hamilton Basso. It was published in 1929....
(1929) - Cinnamon Seed (1934)
- In Their Own Image (1935)
- Courthouse Square (1936)
- Days Before Lent (1939)
- Wine of the Country (1941)
- Sun in Capricorn (1942)
- The Greenroom (1949)
- The View from Pompey's HeadThe View from Pompey's HeadThe View from Pompey's Head is a novel by Hamilton Basso which spent 40 weeks on The New York Times Bestseller List after it was published by Doubleday in 1954....
(1954) - The Light Infantry Ball (1959)
- A Touch of the Dragon (1964)
Nonfiction
- Beauregard: The Great Creole (biography) (1933)
- Mainstream (biographical sketches) (1943)
- The World from Jackson Square: A New Orleans Reader (Introduction; edited by Etolia S. Basso) (1948)
- A Quota of Seaweed: Persons and Places in Brazil, Spain, Honduras, Jamaica, Tahiti, and Samoa (travel sketches) (1960)
Further reading
- The Road from Pompey's Head: The Life and Work of Hamilton Basso (1999) by Inez Hollander Lake
- "Calder Willingham and Hamilton Basso: Dimly remembered, works that disturb and enlighten", by James Sallis, Boston Herald