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Laura Claridge
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The Lady with the Borzoi: Blanche Knopf, Literary Tastemaker Extraordinaire Kindle Edition

by Laura Claridge (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
3.9 out of 5 stars 55 ratings

Left off her company's fifth anniversary tribute but described by Thomas Mann as "the soul of the firm," Blanche Knopf began her career when she founded Alfred A. Knopf with her husband in 1915. With her finger on the pulse of a rapidly changing culture, Blanche quickly became a driving force behind the firm.

A conduit to the literature of Langston Hughes and the Harlem Renaissance, Blanche also legitimized the hard-boiled detective fiction of writers such as Dashiell Hammett, James M. Cain, and Raymond Chandler; signed and nurtured literary authors like Willa Cather, Elizabeth Bowen, and Muriel Spark; acquired momentous works of journalism by John Hersey and William Shirer; and introduced American readers to Albert Camus, André Gide, and Simone de Beauvoir, giving these French writers the benefit of her consummate editorial taste.

As Knopf celebrates its centennial, Laura Claridge looks back at the firm's beginnings and the dynamic woman who helped to define American letters for the twentieth century. Drawing on a vast cache of papers, Claridge also captures Blanche's "witty, loyal, and amusing" personality, and her charged yet oddly loving relationship with her husband. An intimate and often surprising biography, The Lady with the Borzoi is the story of an ambitious, seductive, and impossibly hardworking woman who was determined not to be overlooked or easily categorized.

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  1. Print length
    416 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Farrar, Straus and Giroux
  4. Publication date
    April 12, 2016
  5. File size
    8.1 MB
  6. Page Flip
    Enabled
  7. Word Wise
    Enabled
  8. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[M]eticulous, groundbreaking. [...] Claridge illuminates a radiant facet of American publishing and women's history as she portrays Blanche Knopf in all her brainy and aesthetic glory and elegant fortitude." --Donna Seaman, Booklist (Starred Review)
"Claridge's lucid and sympathetic portrait of an unconventional and pathbreaking woman mired in a marriage that left her emotionally bereft but professionally empowered, will resonate with any reader who, like Blanche Knopf, has ever found salvation in books."--Emily Bingham, author of Irrepressible
"At turns reviled and adored, fragile and invincible, free and shackled, Blanche Knopf was often denied credit for the success of the publishing firm she founded with her husband, and that bears his name alone. Laura Claridge's biography of a woman and the books she loved shows in particular how much French existentialism and hard-boiled detective fiction owe to Blanche Knopf's daring, independent vision. With a winning eye to detail, with empathy and wit, Laura Claridge gives Blanche Knopf her hard-earned seat at the high table of literary modernism."--Alice Kaplan, author of Dreaming in French
"Blanche Knopf emerges as a revelation in this first biography: Elegant, highly strung, unappreciated and lonely in her marriage, she was a brilliant editor, a writer's best reader, and essential to the creation of the great house of Knopf. No Blanche, no Knopf."--Dorothy Gallagher, author of Lillian Hellman: An Imperious Life

About the Author

Laura Claridge has written books ranging from feminist theory to biography and popular culture, most recently the story of an American icon, Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners (Random House), for which she received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. This project also received the J. Anthony Lukas Prize for a Work in Progress, administered by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.Born in Clearwater, Florida, Laura Claridge received her Ph.D. in British Romanticism and Literary Theory from the University of Maryland in 1986. She taught in the English departments at Converse and Wofford colleges in Spartanburg, SC, and was a tenured professor of English at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis until 1997.She has been a frequent writer and reviewer for the national press, appearing in such newspapers and magazines as The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and the Christian Science Monitor. Her books have been translated into Spanish, German, and Polish. She has appeared frequently in the national media, including NBC, CNN, BBC, CSPAN, and NPR and such widely watched programs as the Today Show.Laura Claridge and her husband live in New York's Hudson Valley.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B015MQA1LO
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Farrar, Straus and Giroux (April 12, 2016)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ April 12, 2016
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 8.1 MB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 416 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    3.9 out of 5 stars 55 ratings

About the author

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Laura Claridge

Laura Claridge

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Laura Claridge has written books ranging from feminist theory to biography and popular culture, most recently the story of an American icon, Emily Post: Daughter of the Gilded Age, Mistress of American Manners (Random House), for which she received a National Endowment for the Humanities grant. This project also received the J. Anthony Lukas Prize for a Work in Progress, administered by the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Born in Clearwater, Florida, Laura Claridge received her Ph.D. in British Romanticism and Literary Theory from the University of Maryland in 1986. She taught in the English departments at Converse and Wofford colleges in Spartanburg, SC, and was a tenured professor of English at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis until 1997.

She has been a frequent writer and reviewer for the national press, appearing in such newspapers and magazines as The Wall Street Journal, Vogue, The Boston Globe, Los Angeles Times, and the Christian Science Monitor. Her books have been translated into Spanish, German, and Polish. She has appeared frequently in the national media, including NBC, CNN, BBC, CSPAN, and NPR and such widely watched programs as the Today Show.

Laura Claridge’s biography of iconic publisher Blanche Knopf, The Lady with the Borzoi, will be published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux April, 2016.

Laura Claridge and her husband live in New York’s Hudson Valley.

Customer reviews

3.9 out of 5 stars
55 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the book's story fascinating, describing it as a brilliant read about a hugely talented woman. Moreover, the book gives a sense of her spirit, with one customer noting her inspiring accomplishments. However, the author quality receives mixed reviews, with some finding it an interesting biography while others consider it one of the worst written biographies.

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11 customers mention "Story quality"8 positive3 negative

Customers find the book's story fascinating and engaging, with one customer noting its interesting contradictions.

"...books published by Knopf, the book also provides a very interesting mini-history of much of the important literature during this period and its key..." Read more

"...Claridge's volume tells half a great story: that of the publishing world in the first half of the Twentieth Century...." Read more

"One of the worst written biographies I have ever read. A compilation of non sequiturs, cliches, and unintentionally hilarious observations...." Read more

"An invaluable story for everyone interested in books & publishing, not to mention character study...." Read more

7 customers mention "Readability"7 positive0 negative

Customers find the book to be a brilliant read.

"I absolutely loved this book! What an amazing life to lead!" Read more

"...The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the development of American publishing during the first two-thirds of the 20th century...." Read more

"Really great and informative book... and thank God for Blanche Knopf...." Read more

"...brings her to life, breathes her past into something relevant and wonderful!" Read more

5 customers mention "Talent"5 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate Blanche Knopf's talent, with one noting her struggles to be recognized for her achievements.

"...house that she built with her husband and her struggles to be recognized for her achievements...." Read more

"...power the reader to an emotional reading of this determined,hugely talented woman. John Neufeld,author of..." Read more

"This brilliantly researched biography of (and written by) an exceptionally talented and fascinating woman is a treat!..." Read more

"A very interesting story of a determined and talented woma" Read more

3 customers mention "Spirit"3 positive0 negative

Customers appreciate the spirit of the book, with one noting how it captures Blanche Knopf's inspiring life and accomplishments.

"I absolutely loved this book! What an amazing life to lead!" Read more

"...more of the developing publishing world, this book also gives a sense of the spirit, wit, and humor of the times...." Read more

"...Not only are Blanche's vision and accomplishments inspiring, life in the 1920's and 30's was complex and full of interesting contradictions! Enjoy it!" Read more

7 customers mention "Author quality"4 positive3 negative

Customers have mixed opinions about the author of the biography, with some finding it interesting while others describe it as one of the worst written biographies.

"Blanche Knopf (1894-1966) is the subject of this interesting biography--but it is as much a bio of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., the publisher and the..." Read more

"One of the worst written biographies I have ever read. A compilation of non sequiturs, cliches, and unintentionally hilarious observations...." Read more

"...has a wonderful pacing as she reveals and unravels this fascinating woman of culture and and paradoxes....Her relationship with her husband was just..." Read more

"...The author continually digresses into boring incidentals and ramblings into the future of every character mentioned...and we are talking..." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Mrs Books
    5.0 out of 5 stars A brilliant read!
    Reviewed in the United States on September 23, 2022
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    I absolutely loved this book! What an amazing life to lead!
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  • Ronald H. Clark
    4.0 out of 5 stars One of America's Great Publishers at Work
    Reviewed in the United States on May 18, 2016
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    Blanche Knopf (1894-1966) is the subject of this interesting biography--but it is as much a bio of Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., the publisher and the American publishing industry. Co-founder of the house in 1915, it was really Blanche who was the indefatigable spark plug whose ceaseless activity drove Knopf into the first ranks of American publishers. The book is essential reading for anyone interested in the development of American publishing during the first two-thirds of the 20th century. Given the enormous range of important books published by Knopf, the book also provides a very interesting mini-history of much of the important literature during this period and its key writers. For example, BK was a great friend of Henry Mencken as well as publisher of his classic "The American Language;" so the reader learns a good deal about this fascinating character. The same is true of Willa Cather and other authors. One key to Blanche's success was she hunted out potential authors, went out and met them, and continue to serve as their "den mother" during their often challenging lives. I doubt if our huge corporate publishers today (including Knopf absorbed by Random House in 1960) devote such TLC to their authors as she did.

    Blanche directed Knopf to publish a wide range of foreign authors, including Freud, Gide, Thomas Mann, Kafka, Sartre, Camus and Simone de Beauvoir. Potential controversy did not scare her off, as witnessed by her publication of "The Second Sex" as well as a host of black writers discovered in her forays into Harlem, including James Baldwin and Langston Hughes. But she also had a great eye for fun books like Julia Child's trailblazing work on French cooking. And Knopf published lots of mysteries selected by BK, including books by Dashiell Hammett (who really required a lot of baby sitting), Raymond Chandler and Ross McDonald. She also seems to have known many eminent folks in the smaller and more intimate New York of her day, including Justice Robert Jackson, Scotty Reston, John Hersey and Tom Dewey. She also managed several important foreign goodwill trips for the government to Latin American and Europe along the way.

    I have always been a fan of Knopf books because of the outstanding level of craftsmanship and typography they manifest. This too is large ascribable to her impeccable taste. From the outset of the house's founding in 1915, she insisted that Knopf would publish only the highest quality books--a tradition that continues today. Knopf did not fall into the trap of seeking to publish only best sellers; more moderate but perennial solid titles were its goal. l had long been curious about Knopf and I thank the author for informing me of many key details as she examines Blanche's interesting life. The book is supported by solid research reflected in extensive notes and solid bibliography and index. Quite an interesting read about an important cultural figure.
    7 people found this helpful
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  • Lilith Island
    5.0 out of 5 stars Blanche Knopf--What an amazing lady!
    Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2020
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    Really great and informative book... and thank God for Blanche Knopf. Because of her, we have "by now, twenty-seven Knopf writers [who] had won the Pulitzer Prize, and sixteen the Nobel." A force of nature, come what may, plowing through a complicated life with grace and verve. Well written and researched, I also appreciated the selected bibliography and index. Thank you, Laura Claridge!
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  • Charlus
    2.0 out of 5 stars Saint Blanche
    Reviewed in the United States on May 21, 2016
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    Not every biographer winds up liking their chosen subject. But rarely does biography devolve into hagiography as in this book.

    Claridge's volume tells half a great story: that of the publishing world in the first half of the Twentieth Century.This aspect of the book, skimming across Knopf's greatest hits and names - Dashiell Hammett, Langston Hughes, Thomas Mann, Freud - is the best reason to pick up this book. Since each chapter is dotted with anecdotes concerning these writers, this is what keeps one turning the page.

    However, its ostensible subject is far more problematic. Claridge's mission is made clear at the outset, to correct, posthumously, a great injustice, to credit Blanche Knopf, wife of Alfred and co-founder of their publishing company, with her role in its accomplishments. Unfortunately, in trying to correct the balance, she stacks her arguments to the point where a corrective to the corrective is needed.

    Her thesis is easily summed up. Everything Blanche does is good, everything Alfred does is bad.The accumulation of arguments in this vein becomes increasingly comical as the book progresses, as well as increasingly irritating. Alfred, one is made to understand, is cold, domineering, dogmatic, a poor manager, unloving, etc. Blanche is warm, perceptive, people love her, etc. But reading between the lines, another picture presents itself.

    Blanche is anorexic (although that label is never used), episodically alcoholic, depressed and periodically suicidal (two attempts are quickly glossed over and Alfred of course is blamed for one of them). Her son loathed her and she was a serial philanderer, with married men, who liked to show off her lovers' gifts to her husband but then couldn't understand why he bore her any resentment. None of this would matter if Claridge didn't repeatedly explain any fault of Blanche's as due to the failings of others. Even the most minor. A mistake in German spelling in a letter she wrote is blamed on her secretary (p.193).

    Claridge writes "Unlike Alfred, whose writing was too ponderous for readers to finish, Blanche had a clear, direct style"(p.196). Do we get any comparative examples? A quote critical of Blanche (p.236) was apparently from someone who "sounds if she is jealous of Blanche". When she is out to steal an author from another publishing house, "unlike poaching, following up on news of an unhappy author was entirely ethical"(p.265). The distinction is lost on me.

    Cliches abound. "Her lenses were so thick they looked like the bottom of Coke bottles"(p.259). Blanche "had never been one to dwell in sorrow; she was wont to feel great pain at her losses and then determinedly resume her life"(p.270). "She had wanted to challenge convention, to push the boundaries"(p.282). Plus omniscience is presumed in the author. "Her poor diet had created distinctive claws, surely reminding her and Alfred of the bird girl in Green Mansions"(p.333). Surely? How does she know?

    When admiration becomes sycophantic, 340 pages of text becomes a slog. It isn't that Blanche Knopf doesn't deserve recognition for her many immense accomplishments. She just deserves a better biography.
    18 people found this helpful
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  • pixie martin
    3.0 out of 5 stars More wanted
    Reviewed in the United States on March 26, 2017
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    Wanted to learn more about Blanche as a person and professional. HOW did she manage to entice so many authors -- not simply that she did.
    2 people found this helpful
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  • Cathleen A. Sterling
    5.0 out of 5 stars Claridge has a wonderful pacing as she reveals and unravels this fascinating woman ...
    Reviewed in the United States on April 23, 2016
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    Ms. Claridge has a wonderful pacing as she reveals and unravels this fascinating woman of culture and and paradoxes....Her relationship with her husband was just how she existed, but her relationships with authors was how she lived. Ms. Claridge brings her to life, breathes her past into something relevant and wonderful!
    4 people found this helpful
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  • J. J. Pinchbeck
    1.0 out of 5 stars One of the worst written biographies I have ever read
    Reviewed in the United States on April 25, 2016
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    One of the worst written biographies I have ever read. A compilation of non sequiturs, cliches, and unintentionally hilarious observations. The following representative passage says it all:

    "In March, barely settled down from the Gershwin affair, the singer Mary Ellis took up with the British actor Basil Sydney, causing Alfred's brother, Edwin, to threaten suicide. (Ellis, who would marry five times before she proclaimed herself a lesbian, later wrote that she'd married Edwin only out of pity when he lost his hand while they were dating.) The drama continued through mid-April, but matters finally came to a head and the couple divorced amicably."

    I can only assume that the head in question was not lost as well.
    5 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Symington
    5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
    Reviewed in Canada on May 3, 2016
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    An important addition to the developing history of publishing in the USA.
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  • MOrr
    2.0 out of 5 stars Ultimately dull
    Reviewed in Canada on November 7, 2022
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    I persevered for two-thirds of the book and then gave up. There is far, far too much of who was at a party on this exact date at this exact address, who exactly Blanche had dinner with on this night, when she set off for Europe on which ship and when she returned on which ship.

    I bought this because Blanche played a small but interesting role in "Julia" with Sarah Lancashire. In it we see how she worked as an editor, and we see that she thought cookbooks weren't worth Judith Jones's time. There is none of that in this book -- no sense of how Blanche approached editing her authors (though long lists of the authors she signed and many quotes from reviews of the time, most of long-forgotten authors). If that interests you, great. If Blanche Knopf as a human being interests you, look elsewhere.
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  • francyne Rosenthal
    1.0 out of 5 stars One Star
    Reviewed in Canada on May 18, 2016
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    Very disappointing not interesting .
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