Robert Girardi
Encyclopedia
Robert Girardi is an American author
, writing on the themes of mystery
or detective fiction
, and religion
, like an American Graham Greene
, and loser narrator
, like Sam Lipsyte
.
, Virginia
, a suburb of Washington, D.C., the youngest of four children (two sisters and one brother), and educated in Springfield, Athens, and Paris. "...I went to Catholic school, and she told us stories from the Bible. Then she left, and a Greek woman came and told us Greek myths. So as a narrative, it was the best education that you could get." His father was a CIA agent starting in Vienna, then Athens (during the military coup), and then Paris.
He co-created, wrote, and edited an underground newspaper in high school, titled The New Wave, then The Lee Wave, which included a comic strip titled "Gumshoe".
He majored in Studio Art at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. He was first published during his undergraduate years in the Virginia Literary Review. After a brief stint at the Graduate Film School of the University of Southern California, he transferred to the University of Iowa where he graduated from the Writer's Workshop
with an M.F.A. in Fiction Writing in 1986. He also received the James Mitchener Fellowship for the manuscript of an early novel.
Girardi labored for a decade, working at numerous odd jobs, writing seven unpublished novels, and several unproduced screenplays, before getting his first novel into print. Finally, an editor for Delacorte Press found the manuscript for Madeleine's Ghost
on a friend's coffee table and fell in love with the story. "If I hadn't been published, I would have gone mad. I was getting very bitter. I don't know what I would have done. I would probably have joined the priesthood."
Girardi followed with Vaporetto 13
, and The Pirate's Daughter
. He collected some novellas and short stories with ethical and religious themes, entitled A Vaudeville of Devils: Seven Moral Tales
. He also wrote the autobiographical piece for the Washingtonian, about his 'spooky' upbringing, (notwithstanding his comments about the abuse of memoir).
After this flurry of publishing activity, he returned to Hollywood with his teleplays for Judging Amy
and Joan of Arcadia
An old friend of his, Barbara Hall named the family Girardi in the series. A film adaptation of Vaporetto 13 was optioned for a film by Warner/Di Novi. In 2003, Roland Joffé
, was ready to start filming his novella "Sunday Evenings at Contessa Pasquali’s", but quit.
When he came back to mystery fiction with The Wrong Doyle
, it was with a small British publisher. Apparently, the reorganization, of Delacorte Press after the purchase of Random House
by Bertelsmann
, cooled their ardor for a well regarded novelist. Delacorte was repositioned as a young readers imprint. His books went out of print.
He was spring 2008 writer-in-residence at Goucher College.
His novel, Gorgeous East couldn't get a review in The Washington Post.
He was married to Linda Girardi; they have three children.
He lives in an apartment on MacArthur Boulevard, Washington, D.C.
His manuscripts are held at Georgetown University.
American literature
American literature is the written or literary work produced in the area of the United States and its preceding colonies. For more specific discussions of poetry and theater, see Poetry of the United States and Theater in the United States. During its early history, America was a series of British...
, writing on the themes of mystery
Mystery fiction
Mystery fiction is a loosely-defined term.1.It is often used as a synonym for detective fiction or crime fiction— in other words a novel or short story in which a detective investigates and solves a crime mystery. Sometimes mystery books are nonfiction...
or detective fiction
Detective fiction
Detective fiction is a sub-genre of crime fiction and mystery fiction in which an investigator , either professional or amateur, investigates a crime, often murder.-In ancient literature:...
, and religion
Religion
Religion is a collection of cultural systems, belief systems, and worldviews that establishes symbols that relate humanity to spirituality and, sometimes, to moral values. Many religions have narratives, symbols, traditions and sacred histories that are intended to give meaning to life or to...
, like an American Graham Greene
Graham Greene
Henry Graham Greene, OM, CH was an English author, playwright and literary critic. His works explore the ambivalent moral and political issues of the modern world...
, and loser narrator
Narrator
A narrator is, within any story , the fictional or non-fictional, personal or impersonal entity who tells the story to the audience. When the narrator is also a character within the story, he or she is sometimes known as the viewpoint character. The narrator is one of three entities responsible for...
, like Sam Lipsyte
Sam Lipsyte
Sam Lipsyte is an American novelist and short story writer.The son of the sports journalist Robert Lipsyte, Sam Lipsyte was born in New York City and raised in Closter, New Jersey...
.
I think the world is much more of a place in which a man can be rescued by cows from pirates than it is this Raymond CarverRaymond CarverRaymond Clevie Carver, Jr. was an American short story writer and poet. Carver is considered a major American writer of the late 20th century and also a major force in the revitalization of the short story in the 1980s....
world: "The man picked up a cup of coffee. He put it down. He knew there would be no coffee today."
[referring to Daphnis and ChloeDaphnis and ChloeDaphnis and Chloe is the only known work of the 2nd century AD Greek novelist and romancer Longus.-Setting and style:It is set on the isle of Lesbos during the 2nd century AD, which is also assumed to be the author's home. Its style is rhetorical and pastoral; its shepherds and shepherdesses are...
]
I'll always be slightly out of sync with my contemporaries. I've never felt fully American - despite valiant attempts, I cannot bring myself to enjoy pro football or shopping malls. At the same time, I'm certainly not European. Instead I'm something in between, a perennial expatriate, a refugee from the gray skys over France, from the screech of the train coming in to the Gare St. Lazare, from the wind blowing cold off Mount Olympus through the cracks around our bathroom window.
Biography
Girardi was born in SpringfieldSpringfield, Virginia
Springfield is a census-designated place in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States and a suburb of Washington, D.C. The Springfield CDP is recognized by the U.S. Census Bureau with a population of 30,484 as of the 2010 census. Homes and businesses in bordering CDPs including North Springfield,...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
, a suburb of Washington, D.C., the youngest of four children (two sisters and one brother), and educated in Springfield, Athens, and Paris. "...I went to Catholic school, and she told us stories from the Bible. Then she left, and a Greek woman came and told us Greek myths. So as a narrative, it was the best education that you could get." His father was a CIA agent starting in Vienna, then Athens (during the military coup), and then Paris.
He co-created, wrote, and edited an underground newspaper in high school, titled The New Wave, then The Lee Wave, which included a comic strip titled "Gumshoe".
He majored in Studio Art at the University of Virginia, Charlottesville. He was first published during his undergraduate years in the Virginia Literary Review. After a brief stint at the Graduate Film School of the University of Southern California, he transferred to the University of Iowa where he graduated from the Writer's Workshop
Iowa Writers' Workshop
The Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
with an M.F.A. in Fiction Writing in 1986. He also received the James Mitchener Fellowship for the manuscript of an early novel.
Girardi labored for a decade, working at numerous odd jobs, writing seven unpublished novels, and several unproduced screenplays, before getting his first novel into print. Finally, an editor for Delacorte Press found the manuscript for Madeleine's Ghost
Madeleine's Ghost
Madeleine's Ghost is a well-regarded first mystery novel by Robert Girardi.-Publishing history:An editor for Delacorte Press found the manuscript for Madeleine's Ghost on a friend's coffee table and fell in love with the story.-Criticism:...
on a friend's coffee table and fell in love with the story. "If I hadn't been published, I would have gone mad. I was getting very bitter. I don't know what I would have done. I would probably have joined the priesthood."
Girardi followed with Vaporetto 13
Vaporetto 13: A Novel
Vaporetto 13 is a mystery novel set mainly in Venice, Italy, by Robert Girardi. The title refers to the Vaporetto, which is a motorized water taxi commonly used in Venice, Italy.-Plot:...
, and The Pirate's Daughter
The Pirate's Daughter: A Novel of Adventure
The Pirate's Daughter is a well regarded Mystery novel by Robert Girardi.-Criticism:Washington Post Book World, 29 June 1997"Girardi...has a real gift for language and the apt metaphor or simile....His peripheral characters, a rich, eccentric lot, are fascinating." -- William Browning...
. He collected some novellas and short stories with ethical and religious themes, entitled A Vaudeville of Devils: Seven Moral Tales
A Vaudeville of Devils: Seven Moral Tales
A Vaudeville of Devils: 7 Moral Tales is a collection of short stories and novellas by Robert Girardi.-"The Dinner Party":The short story, loosely set in Portugal, is a synthesis between "The Masque of the Red Death", Our Man in Havana, and Shikasta.First published in TriQuarterly Review, Issue 99...
. He also wrote the autobiographical piece for the Washingtonian, about his 'spooky' upbringing, (notwithstanding his comments about the abuse of memoir).
After this flurry of publishing activity, he returned to Hollywood with his teleplays for Judging Amy
Judging Amy
Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...
and Joan of Arcadia
Joan of Arcadia
Joan of Arcadia is an American television fantasy/family drama telling the story of teenager Joan Girardi , who sees and speaks with God and performs tasks she is given. The series originally aired on Fridays, 8-9 p.m...
An old friend of his, Barbara Hall named the family Girardi in the series. A film adaptation of Vaporetto 13 was optioned for a film by Warner/Di Novi. In 2003, Roland Joffé
Roland Joffé
Roland Joffé is an English-French film director who is known for his Oscar nominated movies, The Killing Fields and The Mission. He began his career in television. His early television credits included episodes of Coronation Street and an adaptation of The Stars Look Down for Granada...
, was ready to start filming his novella "Sunday Evenings at Contessa Pasquali’s", but quit.
When he came back to mystery fiction with The Wrong Doyle
The Wrong Doyle
The Wrong Doyle is a Mystery, or Crime novel by Robert Girardi.-Plot introduction:Tim Doyle after much wandering abroad, returns to his roots on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, investigating the legacy of his Uncle Buck.-Plot summary:...
, it was with a small British publisher. Apparently, the reorganization, of Delacorte Press after the purchase of Random House
Random House
Random House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
by Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann
Bertelsmann AG is a multinational media corporation founded in 1835, based in Gütersloh, Germany. The company operates in 63 countries and employs 102,983 workers , which makes it the most international media corporation in the world. In 2008 the company reported a €16.118 billion consolidated...
, cooled their ardor for a well regarded novelist. Delacorte was repositioned as a young readers imprint. His books went out of print.
He was spring 2008 writer-in-residence at Goucher College.
His novel, Gorgeous East couldn't get a review in The Washington Post.
He was married to Linda Girardi; they have three children.
He lives in an apartment on MacArthur Boulevard, Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
His manuscripts are held at Georgetown University.
Novels
- Madeleine's GhostMadeleine's GhostMadeleine's Ghost is a well-regarded first mystery novel by Robert Girardi.-Publishing history:An editor for Delacorte Press found the manuscript for Madeleine's Ghost on a friend's coffee table and fell in love with the story.-Criticism:...
, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1995. - The Pirate's Daughter: A Novel of AdventureThe Pirate's Daughter: A Novel of AdventureThe Pirate's Daughter is a well regarded Mystery novel by Robert Girardi.-Criticism:Washington Post Book World, 29 June 1997"Girardi...has a real gift for language and the apt metaphor or simile....His peripheral characters, a rich, eccentric lot, are fascinating." -- William Browning...
, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1997. - Vaporetto 13: A NovelVaporetto 13: A NovelVaporetto 13 is a mystery novel set mainly in Venice, Italy, by Robert Girardi. The title refers to the Vaporetto, which is a motorized water taxi commonly used in Venice, Italy.-Plot:...
, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1997. - A Vaudeville of Devils: Seven Moral TalesA Vaudeville of Devils: Seven Moral TalesA Vaudeville of Devils: 7 Moral Tales is a collection of short stories and novellas by Robert Girardi.-"The Dinner Party":The short story, loosely set in Portugal, is a synthesis between "The Masque of the Red Death", Our Man in Havana, and Shikasta.First published in TriQuarterly Review, Issue 99...
, Delacorte Press (New York, NY), 1999. - The Wrong DoyleThe Wrong DoyleThe Wrong Doyle is a Mystery, or Crime novel by Robert Girardi.-Plot introduction:Tim Doyle after much wandering abroad, returns to his roots on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, investigating the legacy of his Uncle Buck.-Plot summary:...
, Sceptre (London, England), 2002, Justin, Charles (Boston, MA), 2004. - Gorgeous EastGorgeous East-Plot introduction:John Smith, an out of work actor, after toxic relationships in Istanbul, and Paris, joins the French Foreign Legion.-Criticism:Library Journal:Equal parts update of Beau Geste and gonzo parody, Girardi’s latest novel is .....
, St. Martin's PressSt. Martin's PressSt. Martin's Press is a book publisher headquartered in the Flatiron Building in New York City. Currently, St. Martin's Press is one of the United States' largest publishers, bringing to the public some 700 titles a year under eight imprints, which include St. Martin's Press , St...
, October 13, 2009, ISBN 9780312565862
Magazine Articles / Short Stories
- "Nose Job", The New RepublicThe New RepublicThe magazine has also published two articles concerning income inequality, largely criticizing conservative economists for their attempts to deny the existence or negative effect increasing income inequality is having on the United States...
, (November 13, 1995) - "The Dinner Party", TriQuarterlyTriQuarterlyTriQuarterly Online is a not-for-profit American literary magazine published twice a year at Northwestern University that features fiction, nonfiction, poetry, drama, literary essays, reviews, a blog, and graphic art....
, Issue 99 (Spring/Summer 1997) - "Spooks on the Roof", WashingtonianWashingtonian (magazine)Washingtonian is a monthly magazine distributed in the Washington, DC area since 1965. The magazine describes itself as "the magazine Washington lives by." The magazine's core focuses are local feature journalism, guide book-style articles, and real estate advice.-Editorial Content:Washingtonian...
, (April 2000)
Teleplays
- "Imbroglio", Judging Amy, (2001)
- "Vanity, Thy Name is Human", Joan of Arcadia, (First Aired 5/07/2004)
Criticism
Reviews
Robert Girardi is the only writer I know of who is working successfully in the neglected tradition of Guy de MaupassantGuy de MaupassantHenri René Albert Guy de Maupassant was a popular 19th-century French writer, considered one of the fathers of the modern short story and one of the form's finest exponents....
, Isak Dinesen, and Edgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan PoeEdgar Allan Poe was an American author, poet, editor and literary critic, considered part of the American Romantic Movement. Best known for his tales of mystery and the macabre, Poe was one of the earliest American practitioners of the short story and is considered the inventor of the detective...
--with as protean an imagination and as dexterous a pen as any of theirs. You can read these seven moral tales for pure entertainment, then wait to see what else may linger. Madison Smartt BellMadison Smartt BellMadison Smartt Bell is an American novelist. He was raised Nashville, and lived in New York, and London before settling in Baltimore, Maryland....
One of the great protean imaginations of the twentieth century, Robert Girardi combines a firm grasp of the real with a marvelously entertaining flair for the fantastic. The Wrong Doyle, as much as Vaporetto 13 or Madeline's Ghost, provides a ringing answer to the question: "What if a literary writer knew how to plot?" Madison Smartt BellMadison Smartt BellMadison Smartt Bell is an American novelist. He was raised Nashville, and lived in New York, and London before settling in Baltimore, Maryland....
See also
- Iowa Writers' WorkshopIowa Writers' WorkshopThe Program in Creative Writing, more commonly known as the Iowa Writers' Workshop, at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, Iowa, is a highly regarded graduate-level creative writing program in the United States...
- Catholic Authors