The Late John Marquand

The acclaimed social historian and author of Our Crowd presents a colorful portrait of the Pulitzer Prize–winning writer.

John Marquand, the great literary satirist and chronicler of New England elites, could have been a character in one of his own beloved novels. Here, Stephen Birmingham presents a lively narrative of Marquand's life, drawing on personal interviews with friends and family.


Raised in Newburyport, Massachusetts, Marquand was both an insider and outcast of the old money set. After attending Harvard and serving overseas in World War I, he began writing stories that captured the lives, manners, and morals of wealthy families confined by their own privilege. Marquand himself joined the ranks of these exclusive families by marrying into them—twice.


In The Late John Marquand, Birmingham provides an intimate portrait of the man behind such works as H. M. Pulham, Esquire, and The Late George Apley, which won the Pulitzer Prize in 1938.