Edwin Mullhouse

Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954, by Jeffrey Cartwright is the critically acclaimed[1] debut novel by American author Steven Millhauser, published in 1972 and written in the form of a biography of a fictitious person by a fictitious author.[2] It was Millhauser's best known novel until the publication of his Pulitzer Prize-winning Martin Dressler in 1997,[1] and according to Patrick McGrath writing in The New York Times it is his best work.[3] Edwin Mullhouse is described by Publishers Weekly as a 'cult novel'.[4]

Edwin Mullhouse: The Life and Death of an American Writer 1943-1954, by Jeffrey Cartwright
First edition
AuthorSteven Millhauser
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
PublisherAlfred A. Knopf
Publication date
1972
Media typePrint
Pages305
ISBN0-394-48009-0

Plot introduction

Jeffrey Cartwright plays Boswell to Edwin Mullhouse's Johnson,[1] and writes his biography. Edwin is an "eccentric young show-off who fancied himself something of a literary wonder";[2] he writes a novel at age ten, but dies mysteriously at age eleven.[5]

The biography is divided into three parts:[6]

  1. The Early Years: Aug. 1, 1943 – Aug. 1, 1949: The "pre-literate years" in which Cartwright tells of Edwin's birth and childhood in Newfield, Connecticut including time spent in Kindergarten.
  2. The Middle Years: Aug. 2, 1949 – Aug. 1, 1952: The "literate years" when Edwin attends school; his tragic obsession with Rose Dorn featuring prominently.
  3. The Late Years: Aug. 2, 1952 – Aug. 1, 1954: The "literary years" cover the writing of Edwin's novel Cartoons and his untimely death.

Publication history
  • 1972, US, Knopf, ISBN 0-394-48009-0, Hardback
  • 1978, US, Avon, ISBN 0-380-01946-9, Paperback
  • 1979, UK, Routledge & Kegan Paul, ISBN 0-7100-0147-9, Pub date Mar 1979, Hardback
  • 1985, US, Penguin, ISBN 0-140-07782-0, Paperback
  • 1996, US, Vintage, ISBN 0-679-76652-9, Paperback
  • 1998, UK, Phoenix, ISBN 0-753-80467-0, Pub date Oct 1998, Paperback

References
  1. http://www.ric.edu/faculty/rpotter/millhauser.htm Steven Millhauser by Dr. Russell A. Potter, Rhode Island College
  2. The Library Journal, 15th Aug 1972
  3. Artists and Automatons: Creators and creations of every sort populate Steven Millhauser's fictional world
  4. http://www.publishersweekly.com/978-0-679-76652-0 Publishers Weekly fiction review
  5. https://www.amazon.com/Edwin-Mullhouse-American-1943-1954-Cartwright/dp/0679766529
  6. http://www.curledup.com/edwin.htm
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