Stephen Gardner Birmingham (May 28, 1929 – November 15, 2015) was an American author known for his social histories of wealthy American families, often focusing on ethnicity — Jews (his "Jewish trilogy": ''
Our Crowd
''Our Crowd: The Great Jewish Families of New York'' (1967) is a history book by American writer Stephen Birmingham. The book documents the lives of prominent New York Jewish families of the 19th century. Historian Louis Auchincloss called it " ...
'', ''The Grandees'', ''The Rest of Us''), African-Americans (''Certain People''), Irish (''Real Lace''), and the Anglo-Dutch (''America's Secret Aristocracy''). He also wrote several novels, also about wealthy people.
Biography
Birmingham was born in
Andover, Connecticut
Andover is a rural town in Tolland County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 3,151 at the 2020 census. Andover is home to Andover Elementary School for grades K–6 while grades 7–12 go to R.H.A.M. middle and high schools. Andover ...
in 1929 to Editha Birmingham (''née'' Gardner) and Thomas Birmingham, a lawyer of Irish descent.
[Real Lace, Foreword, xi] He was not born into an upper-class family, but attended the elite
Hotchkiss School
The Hotchkiss School is a coeducational University-preparatory school#North America, preparatory school in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States. Hotchkiss is a member of the Eight Schools Association and Ten Schools Admissions Organization. It i ...
, of which he later recalled "there were no blacks, maybe one Chinese person, who was the son of a missionary, and a quota on Jews."
He received a
Bachelor of Arts degree
Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...
in English from
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
in 1950, and then worked as an advertising copywriter for Needham Harper Steers (now DDB Worldwide) in New York City. Among his clients was the popular magazine ''
Ladies' Home Journal
''Ladies' Home Journal'' was an American magazine last published by the Meredith Corporation. It was first published on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States. In 18 ...
'', for which Birmingham was credited with coining the slogan "Never underestimate the power of a woman."
He was a teacher of writing at the
University of Cincinnati
The University of Cincinnati (UC or Cincinnati) is a public research university in Cincinnati, Ohio. Founded in 1819 as Cincinnati College, it is the oldest institution of higher education in Cincinnati and has an annual enrollment of over 44,00 ...
and also studied for a time in England. He married Janet Tillson in 1953 and they had three children, but later divorced.
Birmingham had a great interest in the upper classes, and wrote numerous books about the wealthy in the United States, generally focusing on their ethnicity, national origins, and geographic locale. His biographies include those of
Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis
Jacqueline Lee Kennedy Onassis ( ; July 28, 1929 – May 19, 1994) was an American socialite, writer, photographer, and book editor who served as first lady of the United States from 1961 to 1963, as the wife of President John F. Kennedy. A pop ...
,
Wallis Warfield Windsor, and novelist
John Marquand
John Phillips Marquand (November 10, 1893 – July 16, 1960) was an American writer. Originally best known for his Mr. Moto spy stories, he achieved popular success and critical respect for his satirical novels, winning a Pulitzer Prize for ''T ...
. His study of the
African-American upper class
The African-American upper class is a social class that consists of African-American individuals who have high disposable incomes and high net worth. The group may include highly paid white-collar professionals such as academics, engineers, law ...
— ''Certain People'' — generated some controversy and was panned by ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
''.
His other books, however, were often acclaimed. His trilogy of books on American Jews: ''
Our Crowd: The Great Jewish Families of New York'', ''The Grandees: America's Sephardic Elite'', and ''The Rest of Us: The Rise of America's Eastern European Jews'' are perhaps his best known works. ''Our Crowd'' was on
''The New York Times'' Bestseller List for 47 weeks; its notoriety led to people often mistakenly assuming Birmingham was Jewish himself.
Birmingham died on November 15, 2015, at the age of 86 in New York City, from lung cancer.
Works
Non-fiction
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Fiction
Short stories
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Novels
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*Birmingham, Stephen. (1993). ''Carriage Trade''. Bantam.
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*Birmingham, Stephen (1964). ''Those Harper Women: A Novel''. McGraw-Hill.
*Birmingham, Stephen (1959). ''Barbara Greer''. Little Brown & Co.
*Birmingham, Stephen (1966). Fast Start, Fast Finish
*Birmingham, Stephen (1961). The Tower of Love
*Birmingham, Stephen (1958). Young Mr Keefe
References
External links
Stephen Birmingham's bioShades of Fortune (Magill Book Reviews)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Birmingham, Stephen
Cultural historians
Hotchkiss School alumni
Williams College alumni
1929 births
2015 deaths
Writers from Cincinnati
People from Tolland County, Connecticut