Joseph Hergesheimer was a prominent American writer

Writer

A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....

 of the early 20th century known for his naturalistic novels of decadent life amongst the very wealthy.

Biography

Hergesheimer was born in Philadelphia and initially studied as a painter but quickly turned to writing. He established an early reputation with his first novel The Lay Anthony in 1914

1914 in literature

The year 1914 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*The literature of World War I makes its first appearance.*November 7 - The first issue of The New Republic magazine is published....

. Three Black Pennys, which followed in 1917

1917 in literature

The year 1917 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* January - Francis Picabia produces the first issue of the Dada periodical 391 in Barcelona....

, chronicled the fictional lives of three generations of Pennsylvania ironmasters and cemented the author's style of dealing with upperclass characters through a floridly descriptive style he referred to as "aestheticism." Hergesheimer also received critical recognition for his novels Java Head

Java Head

Java Head is a prominent cape at the extreme western end of Java, at the Indian Ocean entrance to the Sunda Strait. Java Head is a bluff at the sea's edge with higher land beyond, visible from a significant distance at sea, with deep water close to the shore....

(1919

1919 in literature

The year 1919 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Winifred Holtby and Vera Brittain return to Somerville College, Oxford, to complete their education following war service.*Two paintings by E. E...

), Linda Condon

Linda Condon

Linda Condon is a novel by U.S. writer Joseph Hergesheimer first published in 1919 and, like its author, almost completely forgotten today.-Plot introduction:...

(1919), and Balisand (1924

1924 in literature

The year 1924 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* Ford Madox Ford publishes the first book of a four-volume work titled Parade's End published between 1924 and 1928.-New books:*Michael Arlen - The Green Hat...

).

Hergesheimer's reputation fluctuated wildly in his own lifetime, from a peak of acclaim and popularity in the 1920s to almost total obscurity by the time of his death. Java Head, a miscegenation

Miscegenation

Miscegenation is the mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, sexual relations, and procreation....

 story told from multiple viewpoints that is generally considered his best novel, was a considerable popular success, and his flamboyant, ornate, highly descriptive style (which can be seen to best effect in works like the travelogue San Cristobal de la Habana) was considered elegant and powerful. Hergesheimer's manner of writing, known at the time as the "aesthetic" school, remained in demand throughout the 1920s (with F. Scott Fitzgerald

F. Scott Fitzgerald

Francis Scott Key Fitzgerald was an American author of novels and short stories, whose works are the paradigm writings of the Jazz Age, a term he coined himself. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest American writers of the 20th century. Fitzgerald is considered a member of the "Lost...

's The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby is a novel by the American author F. Scott Fitzgerald. First published in1925, it is set on Long Island's North Shore and in New York City from spring to autumn of 1922....

being the most durable example of a book written in this style). Sinclair Lewis

Sinclair Lewis

Harry Sinclair Lewis was an American novelist, short-story writer, and playwright. In 1930, he became the first writer from the United States to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Literature, "for his vigorous and graphic art of description and his ability to create, with wit and humor, new types of...

's novel Babbitt

Babbitt (novel)

Babbitt, first published in 1922, is a novel by Sinclair Lewis. Largely a satire of American culture, society, and behavior, it critiques the vacuity of middle-class American life and its pressure on individuals toward conformity....

includes an extensive passage in which the title character reads from Three Black Pennies. A 1922 poll of critics in Literary Digest

Literary Digest

The Literary Digest was an influential general interest weekly magazine published by Funk & Wagnalls. Founded by Isaac Kaufmann Funk in 1890, it eventually merged with two similar weekly magazines, Public Opinion and Current Opinion.-History:...

voted Hergesheimer the "most important American writer" working at the time. Hergesheimer's works of long-form and short fiction sold well with both male and female readerships; a 1929 teaser in for an upcoming serialized story in Cosmopolitan

Cosmopolitan (magazine)

Cosmopolitan is an international magazine for women. It was first published in 1886 in the United States as a family magazine, was later transformed into a literary magazine and eventually became a women's magazine in the late 1960s...

, for example, called Hergesheimer a writer "who understands women better than any writer alive today."

Tastes changed decisively in the 1930s, however, with both critics and writers favoring a more terse, tough-guy style. Hergesheimer's gift for flowery writing did not translate well in this new environment, and by the middle of the decade his popularity had fizzled. His last novel The Foolscap Rose, appeared in 1934. H.L. Mencken's diary describes Hergesheimer's frustration at the decline of his popularity and the lack of interest by his publishers, and according to one literary legend, when Hergesheimer asked why nobody was interested in his books anymore, Mencken replied, "I don't know, Joe. I'll always enjoy watching you swing from tree to tree."

Hergesheimer's reputation has not recovered from this low point, although he still has some champions. The weakness in his method can be seen in books like Cytherea, wherein the author's aesthetic concerns overwhelm all other aspects of the writing, resulting in thin plot and characterization and a certain precious quality in the descriptions. Indeed, Clifton Fadiman

Clifton Fadiman

Clifton P. "Kip" Fadiman was an American intellectual, author, editor, radio and television personality.-Literary career:...

 considered his novels to be "deficient in mere brain-power." On the other hand, his descriptive writing occasionally holds great power. When asked in 1962 what was his favorite American novel, Samuel Beckett replied "one of the best I ever read was Hergesheimer's Java Head

Java Head

Java Head is a prominent cape at the extreme western end of Java, at the Indian Ocean entrance to the Sunda Strait. Java Head is a bluff at the sea's edge with higher land beyond, visible from a significant distance at sea, with deep water close to the shore....

."

His short story "Tol'able David

Tol'able David

Tol'able David is a 1921 American silent film based on the Joseph Hergesheimer short story. It was adapted to the screen by Edmund Goulding and directed by Henry King for Inspiration Pictures....

" was made into a highly successful and acclaimed 1921 silent film

Silent film

A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...

. Other notable film adaptations include Java Head

Java Head (1923 film)

Java Head is an American drama film directed by George Melford and starring Leatrice Joy, Jacqueline Logan, Frederick Strong, Alan Roscoe, and Betty Bronson in a bit part. It was based on the novel Java Head by Joseph Hergesheimer....

(US, 1923), Wild Oranges

Wild Oranges

Wild Oranges is a 1924 silent drama film directed by King Vidor. On January 12, 2010 the film had its first home video release, on the Warner Archive DVD series.-Plot:...

(1924), and Cytherea

Cytherea (1924 film)

Cytherea is an American drama film which featured two dream sequences filmed in an early version of the Technicolor color film process.-Production background:...

(1924), and Java Head

Java Head (1934 film)

Java Head is a 1934 British historical drama film directed by Thorold Dickinson and J. Walter Ruben. It starred Anna May Wong, Elizabeth Allan, Ralph Richardson, Herbert Lomas and George Curzon...

(UK, 1934). Eight films and one television special were adapted from Hergesheimer's work.

Hergesheimer died in Sea Isle City, New Jersey

Sea Isle City, New Jersey

Sea Isle City is a city in Cape May County, New Jersey, United States. It is part of the Ocean City Metropolitan Statistical Area. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 2,114. Visitors raise the population to as much as 40,000 during the peak summer season from Memorial Day...

. He is buried at Oaklands Cemetery in West Chester, Pennsylvania

West Chester, Pennsylvania

The Borough of West Chester is the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 18,461 at the 2010 census.Valley Forge, the Brandywine Battlefield, Longwood Gardens, Marsh Creek State Park, and other historical attractions are near West Chester...

 next to his wife Dorothy (1884-1969).

Novels

• The Lay Anthony (Mitchell Kennerley, 1914; Alfred A. Knopf, 1919)
• Mountain Blood (Kennerley, 1915; Knopf, 1919)
• The Three Black Pennys (Knopf, 1917)
• Java Head (Knopf, 1919)
• Linda Condon (Knopf, 1919)
• Cytherea (Knopf, 1922)
• The Bright Shawl (Knopf, 1922)
• The Presbyterian Child (Knopf, 1923)
• Balisand (Knopf, 1924)
• Tampico (Knopf, 1926)
• swords and roses(Knopf, 1928,1929 from copyright date)
• The Party Dress (Knopf, 1930)
• Berlin (Knopf, 1931)
• The Foolscap Rose (Knopf, 1934)

Short stories

• Gold and Iron (Knopf, 1918) (Contains three novellas: Wild Oranges, Tubal Cain, and The Dark Fleece.)
• The Happy End (Knopf, 1919)
• Tol'able David
• Wild Oranges (Knopf, 1922)
• Tubal Cain (Knopf, 1922)
• The Dark Fleece (Knopf, 1922)
• Quiet Cities (Knopf, 1928)
• Tropical Winter (Knopf, 1933)

Belles-Lettres

• San Cristobal de la Habana (Knopf, 1920)
• From an Old House (Knopf, 1925) limited, signed edition, out of print
• Swords & Roses (Knopf, 1929)

External links

• Works by Joseph Hergesheimer at Internet Archive
  Internet Archive
  The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...
  
  
• Critical biography at simpleton