''The Grandmothers'' is a 1927 novel by

Glenway Wescott Glenway Wescott (April 11, 1901 – February 22, 1987) was an American poet, novelist and essayist. A figure of the American expatriate literary community in Paris during the 1920s, Wescott was openly gay.Eric Haralson, ''Henry James and Queer Mo ...

which received the Harper Novel Prize. Based upon Wescott's own life and family, it is told through the eyes of young Alwyn Tower who leaves the farm to live in Europe, but who remains haunted by his long-dead family members – grandparents, great-uncles and aunts, whose lives were shattered by the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

. Each chapter is devoted to a different family member. Written in a lyrical, poetic style, it is Wescott's most enduring work.

Editions

*''The Grandmothers, a Family Portrait'', Harper & Brothers (1927) *...with an introduction by Fred B. Millett, Harper & Brothers (1950) *...with an introduction by

John W. Aldridge John W. Aldridge (September 26, 1922 – February 7, 2007) was an American writer, literary critic, teacher and scholar. He was a professor of English at the University of Michigan, director of the Hopwood Program, and USIA Special Ambassador to ...

, Arbor House (1986) *...with an introduction by Sargent Bush, Jr., University of Wisconsin Press (1996)

References

External links

* Full text of
The Grandmothers
' (first edition) at the Internet Archive 1927 American novels {{1920s-novel-stub