Best Selling Books by Dorothy Parker

"Dorothy Parker collected most of her verse in three compilations from 1926-31, but some of her most entertaining and heartbreaking work was unknown to the general public until 1996, when Stuart Y. Silverstein collected 121 of Mrs. Parker''s "lost" poems and free verses in Not Much Fun. Now Mr. Silverstein has added several previously un-collected items, and has expanded his critically acclaimed introduction, in this revised and updated edition ofNot Much Fun." "The heretofore "lost" poem reproduced here was likely typed by Dorothy Parker herself - note the four typographical errors - after her affair with the philandering reporter Charles MacArthur. The original typescript is preserved in the archives of the Special Collections of the Fales Library of New York University." --Book Jacket.

During the early years of her literary career Dorothy Parker wrote more than 300 poems and verses for a variety of popular magazines and newspapers. Many of these were collected in three volumes of poetry. It is the remainder, which she failed to collect and whose very existence has been unkown to most people for more than half a century, that comprise this volume.

The blackly comic play about the oppressed lives of women in 1950s New York One of literature''s leading humorists, Dorothy Parker drew from the dark side of her imagination to pen The Ladies of the Corridor, a searing drama about women living on their own in a New York residence hotel. Loosely based on Parker''s life, and co-written with famed Hollywood playwright Arnaud d''Usseau, The Ladies of the Corridor exposes the limitations of a woman''s life in a drama teeming with Parker''s signature wit. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Parker''s first book of light, witty, and sometimes cynical verse was a best-seller when it appeared in 1926.

In ''The Collected Stories of Dorothy Parker,'' readers are presented with a masterful compendium of tales that encapsulate the wit, sarcasm, and keen observations of early 20th-century society. Parker''s literary style is characterized by her sharp dialogue and poignant insights into the lives of her characters, often exposing the complexities of love, loss, and the existential struggles of the American experience. Set against the backdrop of the Jazz Age, these stories reflect the cultural shifts of the 1920s and 1930s, delivering a potent cocktail of humor and melancholy that remains strikingly relevant to contemporary audiences. Dorothy Parker, an influential member of the Algonquin Round Table, was known for her brilliant commentary on social norms and gender roles. Her experiences as a journalist, critic, and poet undoubtedly informed her fiction, enabling her to weave compelling narratives that challenge societal expectations. Driven by her own tumultuous personal life and a fierce intellect, Parker crafted stories that resonated with the discontent and aspirations of her era, establishing her as a literary icon. For readers seeking a rich literary experience infused with both humor and heartfelt depth, ''The Collected Stories of Dorothy Parker'' is an essential addition to any bookshelf. Parker''s unparalleled voice offers profound commentary on the human condition, inviting readers to reflect on the complexities of life with both laughter and introspection.

Short story, winner of the 1929 O. Henry Award. The big blonde in question is Hazel Morse, who, when we meet her, is "a model in a wholesale dress establishment", whose thoughts are largely devoted to men. Then she meets Herbie Morse, an attractive man and a heavy drinker. Where will events now take her?

This is a satirical book from the Academy Award nominated author – Dorothy Parker. The book describes men that the author herself knew, who are chatty, fatuous and often petty. Full with wit and humorous remarks the book proves her literary output as a "wisecracker".

"With a biting wit and perceptive insight, Dorothy Parker examines the social mores of her day and exposes the darkness beneath the dazzle." -- Provided by publisher.

Dorothy Parker’s complete weekly New Yorker column about books and people and the rigors of reviewing. When, in 1927, Dorothy Parker became a book critic for the New Yorker, she was already a legendary wit, a much-quoted member of the Algonquin Round Table, and an arbiter of literary taste. In the year that she spent as a weekly reviewer, under the rubric “Constant Reader,” she created what is still the most entertaining book column ever written. Parker’s hot takes have lost none of their heat, whether she’s taking aim at the evangelist Aimee Semple MacPherson (“She can go on like that for hours. Can, hell—does”), praising Hemingway’s latest collection (“He discards detail with magnificent lavishness”), or dissenting from the Tao of Pooh (“And it is that word ‘hummy,’ my darlings, that marks the first place in The House at Pooh Corner at which Tonstant Weader Fwowed up”). Introduced with characteristic wit and sympathy by Sloane Crosley, Constant Reader gathers the complete weekly New Yorker reviews that Parker published from October 1927 through November 1928, with gimlet-eyed appreciations of the high and low, from Isadora Duncan to Al Smith, Charles Lindbergh to Little Orphan Annie, Mussolini to Emily Post

"This collection covers the six years Mrs. Parker wrote a monthly theatre column, first for Vanity Fair, from 1918 to 1920, and then on Ainslee''s, from 1920 to 1923"--Page xv.

Dorothy Parker was an American poet and satirist, best known for her wit, wisecracks, and eye for 20th century urban foibles. From a conflicted and unhappy childhood, Parker rose to acclaim, both for her literary output in such venues as The New Yorker and as a founding member of the Algonquin Round Table. Following the breakup of the circle, Parker traveled to Hollywood to pursue screenwriting. Her successes there, including two Academy Award nominations, were curtailed as her involvement in left-wing politics led to a place on the infamous Hollywood blacklist. Parker went through three marriages (two to the same man) and survived several suicide attempts, but grew increasingly dependent on alcohol. Dismissive of her own talents, she deplored her reputation as a "wisecracker". Nevertheless, her literary output and reputation for her sharp wit have endured.

Using selected and arranged passages Barry Day tells the life of Dorothy Parker.

Best remembered as a member of the Algonquin Round Table, the fabled Jazz Age literay coterie, Dorothy Parker built a reputations as one of the era''s most beloved poets. Parker''s satirical wit and sharp-edged humour earned her a reputation as the wittiest woman in America. This Penguin Classics edition of her poetry - the companion to Parker''s Complete Stories and introduced by her noted biographer, Marion Meade - is the only complete collection available, showcasing the dry quips and piercingly introspective verse of a writer whose legend continues to fascinate. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.

Dorothy Parker''s quips and light verse have become part of the American literary landscape, but, as this collection of her complete short stories demonstrates, Parker''s talents extended far beyond brash one-liners and clever rhymes. Her stories not only bring to life the urban milieu that was her bailiwick but lay bare the uncertainties and disappointments of ordinary people living ordinary lives.

This volume contains all of Dorothy Parker''s poems excepting a few which she did not wish to retain among her collected poems. Broad in subject matter, essentially conservative in style, these poems exhibit intensity and clarity.

Now available as a stand-alone edition, the famous humorist’s second collection of poetry ranges from lighthearted self-deprecation to gleefully acid-tongued satire and dark comedy. One of the Jazz Age’s most beloved poets, Dorothy Parker earned her reputation as the wittiest woman in America with her popular light verse, which was regularly published in Vanity Fair, Life, and The New Yorker. Her debut poetry collection, Enough Rope, was a runaway bestseller, and she followed it up in 1928 with the equally delightful collection Sunset Gun. The poems gathered here range from barbed satires to light-hearted laments, all laced with Parker’s unmistakable sense of humor, one that manages to be both cynical and sparkling. Thought for a Sunshiny Morning It costs me never a stab nor squirm To tread by chance upon a worm. “Aha, my little dear,” I say, “Your clan will pay me back some day.”

Self-depricating, bitingly satirical, and surprisingly thought-provoking, Dorothy Parker’s first collection of poetry comments on love and the relations between men and women with quick wit and lyrical verse. First published as a collection in 1926, the poetry featured in Enough Rope reflects the famous wit that Dorothy Parker is so widely loved for. A founding member of the Algonquin Round Table writers’ group, Parker often presents a cynical analysis of love, which entertains as much as her verse captivates. This volume features many of Parker’s best-known poetry, including: -‘Threnody’ - ‘The Small Hours’ - ‘The False Friends’ - ‘The Trifler’ - ‘A Very Short Song’ - ‘A Well-Worn Story’ - ‘Convalescent’ - ‘The Dark Girl’s Rhyme’ Specialist poetry imprint Ragged Hand has proudly republished Enough Rope in this beautiful new volume and will make the perfect addition to the bookshelves of Dorothy Parker fans and those interested in Jazz Age poetry.

"Dorothy Parker was the most famous of the legendary group of humorists who met for luncheon at the Algonquin Hotel, New York, during the heyday of the nineteen-twenties. Mistress of the wisecrack and back-handed compliment, her trenchant satire owes much to her deep understanding of life and tender humour, and she remains one of the most quotable authors of the twentieth century. ..."--Back cover.

A little known, rediscovered letter: an SOS from a woman trapped on a Swiss mountaintop in a TB colony with no idea how to escape—that woman being Dorothy Parker. “Kids, I have started one thousand (1,000) letters to you, but they all through no will of mine got to sounding so gloomy and I was afraid of boring the combined tripe out of you, so I never sent them.” Thus starts a little-known and until now unpublished letter by Dorothy Parker from a Swiss mountaintop. Parker wrote the letter in September 1930 to Viking publishers Harold Guinzburg and George Oppenheimer—she went to France to write a novel for them and wound up in a TB colony in Switzerland. Parker refers to the letter as a “novelette,” yet there is nothing fictional about it. More accurately, the biting composition reads like a gossipy diary entry, typed out on Parker’s beautiful new German typewriter. She namedrops notable figures like Ernest Hemingway and Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald while covering topics running from her various accidents and health problems to her opinions on dogs, literary critics and God. The writing is vintage Parker: uncensored, unedited, deliciously malicious, and certainly one of the most entertaining of her letters—or for that matter any letter—that you’ll ever read. This edition features an introduction, notes, and annotations on notable figures by Parker biographer Marion Meade.

Complete with two volumes of short stories and three of poetry, plus play reviews, uncollected articles, later stories, book reviews, and an afterword by W. Somerset Maugham.