Marilyn Durham (née Wall, September 8, 1930 – March 19, 2015) was an American author of fiction. Her best-known novel is her first, ''
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' is a novel written by Marilyn Durham first published in 1972.
Plot
The novel is set in the American West in the 1880s, but is not written in a genre style. It is the story of Jay, a man of the West, and his offbe ...
'', which was made into a
film of the same name.
Early life
Durham was born in
Evansville, Indiana
Evansville is a city in, and the county seat of, Vanderburgh County, Indiana, United States. The population was 118,414 at the 2020 census, making it the state's third-most populous city after Indianapolis and Fort Wayne, the largest city in ...
, in 1930, to Russell and Stacy Birdsall Wall. Her father was an
L&N blacksmith. Durham attended Evansville College (now called the
University of Evansville
The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England.
UE offers more than 80 differ ...
) for a year (1949–50). She married Kilburn Durham, a field representative for Social Security, in November 1950, and settled into life as a wife and mother and self-described "frumpy housewife." The Durhams had two daughters, Elaine and Jennifer. Durham had a lifelong interest in the history of medieval England, archaeology, theology, and astronomy.
[Durham, M. "Cat Dancing Lady, ''Life'', 89.]
''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing''
One evening in 1969, Durham told her husband that she could write a novel better than any she had been reading lately. Eventually she set about doing this. While her daughters were in school, Durham began writing a novel at her dining room table. She made efforts to conceal her writing from her family because, in her words, "If it wasn't any good, I wanted to be the only one who knew. I didn't want egg on my face." Her husband discovered that she was writing when she had almost finished the sixth chapter, and she swore him to secrecy on the subject.
Durham sold ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' to
Harcourt Brace
Harcourt () was an American publishing firm with a long history of publishing fiction and nonfiction for adults and children. The company was last based in San Diego, California, with editorial/sales/marketing/rights offices in New York City a ...
, which published it in 1972. The novel is set in the American West and is the story of Jay Grobert, a man of the West, and his offbeat relationship with Catherine Crocker, a woman from the East who is fleeing an unhappy marriage. Jay kidnaps Catherine on his way to rob a train and together they travel through the Wyoming Territory. Catherine eventually discovers that Jay is haunted by the murder of his wife, a Shoshone Indian named Cat Dancing, and his actions after the murder. Pursued by Catherine's husband and a railroad agent, Catherine and Jay fall in love. The novel became a best-seller and was generally praised by reviewers for its deft character studies as well as its effortlessly entertaining style.
[Gale Reference Team, ''Durham, Marilyn''.]
The following year, the film version of the novel was released. Directed by
Richard C. Sarafian, ''
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' is a novel written by Marilyn Durham first published in 1972.
Plot
The novel is set in the American West in the 1880s, but is not written in a genre style. It is the story of Jay, a man of the West, and his offbe ...
'' starred
Burt Reynolds and British actress
Sarah Miles
Sarah Miles (born 31 December 1941) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in films '' The Servant'' (1963), '' Blowup'' (1966), ''Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' (1973), '' White Mischief'' (1987) and '' ...
. It would be Reynolds's first romantic movie. Many who regarded the novel highly were disappointed by its formulaic Hollywood treatment in the movie. Veteran screenwriter
Eleanor Perry had written the first script and told Durham that she loved her heroine. The studio then hired a number of "script doctors," who rewrote the characters, dialogue and the ending.
''Dutch Uncle''
Durham followed up the success of ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' with another character-driven Western novel, ''
Dutch Uncle
Dutch uncle is an informal term for a person who issues frank, harsh or severe comments and criticism to educate, encourage or admonish someone. Thus, a "Dutch uncle" is the reverse of what is normally thought of as avuncular or uncle-like (indu ...
'', which was published by Harcourt in 1973.
Although a bestseller, it was not as great a success as Durham's preceding book. Based on the success of ''Cat Dancing'', the movie rights to the book had been committed before Durham had completed writing it, but the studio ultimately declined to make the film.
[Corrigan, ''Housewife Durham''] Several options were taken on it by would-be film makers over the next forty years.
''Flambard's Confession''
Durham's next book would not be published until 1982, again by Harcourt. ''
Flambard's Confession'' is a work of historical fiction and a return to her primary intellectual passion: the history of medieval England. Like her previous two books, it was featured as a selection of the
Book of the Month Club
Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members ...
and was critically praised, but sold less well than her preceding works.
Later life
Durham spoke at writing workshops at the
University of Evansville
The University of Evansville (UE) is a private university in Evansville, Indiana. It was founded in 1854 as Moores Hill College. The university operates a satellite center, Harlaxton College, in Grantham, England.
UE offers more than 80 differ ...
,
University of Southern Indiana
The University of Southern Indiana (USI) is a public university just outside of Evansville, Indiana. Founded in 1965, USI enrolls 9,750 dual credit, undergraduate, graduate and doctoral students in more than 130 areas of study. USI offers program ...
, and numerous fiction writing groups in Evansville. From 1984-95, she worked as an instructor for McGraw-Hill's Continuing Education Center. In this position, she read and evaluated short fiction and instructed beginning novelists. She also taught Sunday school at Trinity United Methodist Church in downtown Evansville. She was planning a novel about the Spanish King Philip II and his son, Don Carlos, when she suffered a stroke in January 2012. Her novels have seen multiple reprintings and have been translated into many languages.
Her husband, Kilburn, died in 1994. She died on March 19, 2015, aged 84 in her native Evansville.
Awards
Durham won the fiction award of the Society of Midland Authors in 1973 for ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing.''
Bibliography
* ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' (1972)
* ''Dutch Uncle'' (1973)
* ''Flambard's Confession'' (1982)
Film adaptations
*''
The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing
''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' is a novel written by Marilyn Durham first published in 1972.
Plot
The novel is set in the American West in the 1880s, but is not written in a genre style. It is the story of Jay, a man of the West, and his offbe ...
'', 1973. Starring
Burt Reynolds,
Sarah Miles
Sarah Miles (born 31 December 1941) is an English actress. She is known for her roles in films '' The Servant'' (1963), '' Blowup'' (1966), ''Ryan's Daughter'' (1970), ''The Man Who Loved Cat Dancing'' (1973), '' White Mischief'' (1987) and '' ...
, and
Lee J. Cobb
Lee J. Cobb (born Leo Jacoby; December 8, 1911February 11, 1976) was an American actor, known both for film roles and his work on the Broadway stage. He often played arrogant, intimidating and abrasive characters, but he also acted as respectabl ...
. Directed by
Richard C. Sarafian.
Notes
References
*Corrigan, Sara Ann. "'Housewife Durham found Fame Writing Her Debut Novel", ''The Evansville Press'', August 5, 1987
*Durham, Michael. "The 'Cat Dancing' Lady Cures the Middle Aged Blahs," ''Life'', December 8, 1972, 89.
*Gale Reference Team. ''Biography - Durham, Marilyn (1930-)'', Contemporary Authors (Biography), 2002, Thomson Gale.
*Lewis, Barbara. "Burt Reynolds: Hollywood's New Sex God." ''Liberty Magazine'', Summer 1973.
External links
Evansville Press article on Marilyn Durham
{{DEFAULTSORT:Durham, Marilyn
1930 births
2015 deaths
20th-century American novelists
American women novelists
Western (genre) writers
Writers from Evansville, Indiana
University of Evansville alumni
20th-century American women writers
Novelists from Indiana