The Life of William Faulkner: A Critical Biography

"Richard Gray's study of Faulkner is biographically and historically informative in the most appropriate way; it is also critically sophisticated, lucid, and continuously accessible. Avoiding the usual biographical reductionism which subsumes a writer's work to its psychological or sociological context, Gray traces the inter-relationships between the man, the time, the place, and the writing, with exemplary and illuminating tact and insight. Frankly, I do not see how it could be better done; and, to anyone embarking on any kind of study of Faulkner, this is the first book I would recommend." Professor Tony Tanner, University of Cambridge

"... much more than a level-headed biography, it's a profound and beautifully written interpretation of Faulkner and his work. Gray combines formidable knowledge of Southern literature, culture, and history with wide-ranging critical expertise, giving us a work that is both thoroughly grounded in Faulkner's world and richly provocative in its interpretation of that world. Few writers on Southern literature possess Gray's breadth of knowledge and depth of insight. The Life of William Faulkner goes far to solidify Gray's position as one of the premiere critics in the field." Professor Robert H. Brinkmeyer, Jr, University of Mississippi

"The critical discussions are the strength of this volume, especially the commentaries on the novels written from 1929 to 1935. Recommended." T. Bonner, Jr. Xavier University of Louisiana, Choice

"... the book exhibits some expository strengths, such as in illustrating how the economic history of the South, specifically the dominance of cotton and the sharecropping system, connects to the motifs in his fiction." Virginia Quarterly Review