Jerome David Salinger born January 1st 1919 in New York City was an American author who is best known for his novel The Catcher In The Rye. Despite his slim body of work a reclusive lifestyle he is one of the most famous authors of the 2oth century. His most famous landmark novel The Catcher in the Rye set a new course for literature in the post World War II and his short stories many of which were published in the New Yorker inspired the early careers of many upcoming writers such as Phillip Roth, John Updike and Harold Brodkey.
Salinger was the youngest of two children, and was the only boy born to Sol Salinger the son of a rabbi who ran a thriving cheese and ham business with his Scottish born wife Miriam. At the time of Salinger’s childhood mixed marriages like these were looked down upon by society, and so his mothers non Jewish heritage was hidden, and it was hidden so well that it was only after a young Salinger’s bar mitzvah at the age of fourteen that he learned of his mothers roots.
Despite his apparent intelligence Salinger who was known as Sonny wasn’t much of a student, and often and truanted his lessons. After flunking out of McBurney school near his home in New York’s Upper West Side, he was shipped off by his parents to Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
After he graduated from Valley Forge, Salinger returned home for a short time, and attended the New York University for a short time of a year. After the year was up he headed off to Europe, flush with some cash and encouragement from his father. His father instructed him to learn another language and bone up on the important business. But Salinger who spent most of his time about five months in Vienna overseas paid closer attention to language rather than business.
Upon returning home Salinger made another attempt at college, enrolling at the Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. He then returned to New York where he took night classes at Columbia University, where he met a professor named Whit Burnett who would in time change his life
Upon returning home Salinger made another attempt at college, enrolling at the Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. He then returned to New York where he took night classes at Columbia University, where he met a professor named Whit Burnett who would in time change his life.
Burnett was not just a good teacher he was also the editor of a magazine named Story, an influential publication that showcased short stories written by authors. Burnett sensed Salinger’s talent as a writer, and pushed him to write and soon his work was not just appearing in Story but in other big name publications such as Collier’s and the Saturday Evening post.
Just as his career was starting to set off, World War II was to put a stop to any plans Salinger had. Following the attack on Pearl Harbour Salinger was drafted into the army, where he served from the years 1942-1944. His stressful but short military career saw him land in Utah beach in France during the Normandy invasion. He was also to be a part of the Battle of the Bulge. During his time in the army however Salinger continued to write chapters for a novel whose main character would be a deeply unsatisfied young man whose name would be Holden Caulfield.
Just as his career was starting to set off, World War II was to put a stop to any plans Salinger had. Following the attack on Pearl Harbour Salinger was drafted into the army, where he served from the years 1942-1944. His stressful but short military career saw him land in Utah beach in France during the Normandy invasion. He was also to be a part of the Battle of the Bulge. During his time in the army however Salinger continued to write chapters for a novel whose main character would be a deeply unsatisfied young man whose name would be Holden Caulfield.
In 1946 Salinger returned to New York and he quickly set to resuming his life as a writer, and would soon find his work published in his favourite magazine, The New Yorker. Salinger continued to push on with his work and on his novel. In the year 1951 The Catcher in the Rye was published. The book gained its share of positive reviews, but some critics were not so kind. A number of people saw Caulfield and his quest for something pure in a ‘phony’ world as promoting immoral views, and that the character seemed unhinged and crazy.
But in time the American reading public enjoyed the book, and the Catcher in the Rye became a integral part of the high school literature curriculum. To this day the book has sold more than 120 million copies worldwide. Through the sales Caulfield has become as entrenched in the America psyche as much as any fictional character. Mark David Chapman who was the man who assassinated John Lennon was found with a copy of the book at the time of his arrest, and he explained that the reason for the shooting of John Lennon could be found in the books pages.
Unsurprisingly The Catcher in the Rye vaulted Salinger to a level of unrivalled fame, and for the still young writer who had fiercely boasted in college about his numerous talents the success seemingly craved early in life which became something to run away from once it arrived.
In the year 1953 two years after the publication of the novel The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger pulled up the stakes in New York City and retreated to an secluded 90- acre home in Cornish, New Hampshire. There Salinger did his very best to cut of contact with the public and significantly showed his literary output.
Two collections of his work, Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roof Beam and Carpenters all of which appeared in the New Yorker were published in book form in the early 1960s
On the 19th June 1965 edition of the New Yorker the entire issue was dedicated to a new short story written by Salinger. The story was the 25,000 word “Hapworth 16, 1924”. This piece was to be the last piece Salinger published while he was alive.
Despite all the efforts Salinger put into keeping his life private, not all of his life was kept out of the public eye. In the year 1966 a woman named Claire Douglas sued for divorce from Salinger, stating that if the relationship continued it “would seriously inure her health and endanger her reason”.
About six years later Salinger found himself in another relationship, with a college freshman named Joyce Maynard. Her story ‘An 18 year old looks back on life’ had appeared in the New York Times and caught the interest of Salinger.
Salinger and Maynard lived together in Cornish for 10 months before he kicked her out. In the year 1998 Maynard wrote about her life with Salinger, in a salacious memoir that painted him as a controlling and obsessive man. A year later she auctioned off a series of letters Salinger had written her while they were together. The letters fetched a whopping $156,500, but the buyer a computer programmer later returned them to Salinger as a gift.
In the year 2000 Salinger’s daughter Margaret wrote a equally negative account of her father, that like Maynard’s earlier book was met with mixed reviews from the readers.
For Salinger other relationships followed his affair with Maynard. For some time he dated a actress named Ellen Joyce, but he later married a young nurse named Colleen O’Neill. The two were married up to his death on January 27th 2010, at his home in Cornish.
Despite the lack of published work over the last four decades of his life, Salinger continued to write. Those people who knew him said he worked everyday and specultation swirls about the amount of work that he may have finished. One estimate claims there may be as many as 10 finished novels locked away in his home.
Salinger was the youngest of two children, and was the only boy born to Sol Salinger the son of a rabbi who ran a thriving cheese and ham business with his Scottish born wife Miriam. At the time of Salinger’s childhood mixed marriages like these were looked down upon by society, and so his mothers non Jewish heritage was hidden, and it was hidden so well that it was only after a young Salinger’s bar mitzvah at the age of fourteen that he learned of his mothers roots.
Despite his apparent intelligence Salinger who was known as Sonny wasn’t much of a student, and often and truanted his lessons. After flunking out of McBurney school near his home in New York’s Upper West Side, he was shipped off by his parents to Valley Forge Military Academy in Wayne, Pennsylvania.
After he graduated from Valley Forge, Salinger returned home for a short time, and attended the New York University for a short time of a year. After the year was up he headed off to Europe, flush with some cash and encouragement from his father. His father instructed him to learn another language and bone up on the important business. But Salinger who spent most of his time about five months in Vienna overseas paid closer attention to language rather than business.
Upon returning home Salinger made another attempt at college, enrolling at the Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. He then returned to New York where he took night classes at Columbia University, where he met a professor named Whit Burnett who would in time change his life
Upon returning home Salinger made another attempt at college, enrolling at the Ursinus College in Pennsylvania. He then returned to New York where he took night classes at Columbia University, where he met a professor named Whit Burnett who would in time change his life.
Burnett was not just a good teacher he was also the editor of a magazine named Story, an influential publication that showcased short stories written by authors. Burnett sensed Salinger’s talent as a writer, and pushed him to write and soon his work was not just appearing in Story but in other big name publications such as Collier’s and the Saturday Evening post.
Just as his career was starting to set off, World War II was to put a stop to any plans Salinger had. Following the attack on Pearl Harbour Salinger was drafted into the army, where he served from the years 1942-1944. His stressful but short military career saw him land in Utah beach in France during the Normandy invasion. He was also to be a part of the Battle of the Bulge. During his time in the army however Salinger continued to write chapters for a novel whose main character would be a deeply unsatisfied young man whose name would be Holden Caulfield.
Just as his career was starting to set off, World War II was to put a stop to any plans Salinger had. Following the attack on Pearl Harbour Salinger was drafted into the army, where he served from the years 1942-1944. His stressful but short military career saw him land in Utah beach in France during the Normandy invasion. He was also to be a part of the Battle of the Bulge. During his time in the army however Salinger continued to write chapters for a novel whose main character would be a deeply unsatisfied young man whose name would be Holden Caulfield.
In 1946 Salinger returned to New York and he quickly set to resuming his life as a writer, and would soon find his work published in his favourite magazine, The New Yorker. Salinger continued to push on with his work and on his novel. In the year 1951 The Catcher in the Rye was published. The book gained its share of positive reviews, but some critics were not so kind. A number of people saw Caulfield and his quest for something pure in a ‘phony’ world as promoting immoral views, and that the character seemed unhinged and crazy.
But in time the American reading public enjoyed the book, and the Catcher in the Rye became a integral part of the high school literature curriculum. To this day the book has sold more than 120 million copies worldwide. Through the sales Caulfield has become as entrenched in the America psyche as much as any fictional character. Mark David Chapman who was the man who assassinated John Lennon was found with a copy of the book at the time of his arrest, and he explained that the reason for the shooting of John Lennon could be found in the books pages.
Unsurprisingly The Catcher in the Rye vaulted Salinger to a level of unrivalled fame, and for the still young writer who had fiercely boasted in college about his numerous talents the success seemingly craved early in life which became something to run away from once it arrived.
In the year 1953 two years after the publication of the novel The Catcher in the Rye, Salinger pulled up the stakes in New York City and retreated to an secluded 90- acre home in Cornish, New Hampshire. There Salinger did his very best to cut of contact with the public and significantly showed his literary output.
Two collections of his work, Franny and Zooey, Raise High the Roof Beam and Carpenters all of which appeared in the New Yorker were published in book form in the early 1960s
On the 19th June 1965 edition of the New Yorker the entire issue was dedicated to a new short story written by Salinger. The story was the 25,000 word “Hapworth 16, 1924”. This piece was to be the last piece Salinger published while he was alive.
Despite all the efforts Salinger put into keeping his life private, not all of his life was kept out of the public eye. In the year 1966 a woman named Claire Douglas sued for divorce from Salinger, stating that if the relationship continued it “would seriously inure her health and endanger her reason”.
About six years later Salinger found himself in another relationship, with a college freshman named Joyce Maynard. Her story ‘An 18 year old looks back on life’ had appeared in the New York Times and caught the interest of Salinger.
Salinger and Maynard lived together in Cornish for 10 months before he kicked her out. In the year 1998 Maynard wrote about her life with Salinger, in a salacious memoir that painted him as a controlling and obsessive man. A year later she auctioned off a series of letters Salinger had written her while they were together. The letters fetched a whopping $156,500, but the buyer a computer programmer later returned them to Salinger as a gift.
In the year 2000 Salinger’s daughter Margaret wrote a equally negative account of her father, that like Maynard’s earlier book was met with mixed reviews from the readers.
For Salinger other relationships followed his affair with Maynard. For some time he dated a actress named Ellen Joyce, but he later married a young nurse named Colleen O’Neill. The two were married up to his death on January 27th 2010, at his home in Cornish.
Despite the lack of published work over the last four decades of his life, Salinger continued to write. Those people who knew him said he worked everyday and specultation swirls about the amount of work that he may have finished. One estimate claims there may be as many as 10 finished novels locked away in his home.