A Quintessential Dickensian Character Who Fled the Nazis To Live the American Dream
Georgette Bennett’s new biography recounts the life of Gary ‘Pips’ Phillips, a bold charmer, who seduced his way to wartime safety.
By CARL ROLLYSON
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CARL ROLLYSON
Cape May County, New Jersey
Carl Rollyson is a Book Reviewer for the Sun.
Mr. Rollyson is the author of The Life of William Faulkner and The Last Days of Sylvia Plath. He has published fourteen biographies and has written about biography for the Wall Street Journal, the Washington, Post, the San Francisco Chronicle, the New Criterion, and other publications.
Latest Articles
A Fine Literary Tribute to the ‘Rosies’ Who Kept America Running During World War II
Two books illustrate the similarities betwen women welders in wartime and female stunt riders during Hollywood’s golden age.
By CARL ROLLYSON
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A Masterfully Constructed Epic Biography Vividly Chronicles How Bennett Cerf Built a Storied American Publishing House
Gayle Feldman has produced a magisterial account of one of the great American publishers and the industry he built up.
By CARL ROLLYSON
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A Hollywood Sex Symbol Who Cared Little About Stardom
In reality, ‘La Dolce Vita’ star Anita Ekberg never fawned over men and punched them out when they got out of line.
By CARL ROLLYSON
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The First Lady of American Theater Gets a First-Rate Biography
Kathleen Spaltro’s study of Ethel Barrymore speaks to the power of biography to possess an understanding not secured anywhere else.
By CARL ROLLYSON
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A Life Devoted to Faith, Hope, and Mystery
A new biography chronicles Elizabeth Jordan — reporter, novelist, women’s suffrage campaigner and lover of Frances Hodgson Burnett.
By CARL ROLLYSON
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A New Biography Revisits the 1940s Black Dahlia Murder Mystery, and More
William J. Mann’s new book is not merely about who murdered Elizabeth Short, but an inquiry into why we read biography,
By CARL ROLLYSON
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‘Starry and Restless’ — but Also Sidelined in the Literary Pantheon
Rebecca West and Jessica Mitford had profoundly different ideas about society and economic redistribution.
By CARL ROLLYSON
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Judy Blume’s Biographer Contends With How To Be as Candid as His Bestselling Author Subject
‘Judy Blume: A Life’ has generated controversy over what a biographer should include or exclude.
By CARL ROLLYSON
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Extracting Enchantment From the Austen and Brontë Production Industries
As Jane Austen and Emily Brontë grow in popularity, two biographies look to the past to generate light.
By CARL ROLLYSON
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A Formidable Leading Lady Who Thought of Herself as a Character Actress
A new biography of Lauren Bacall captures the queenly actress but cannot penetrate her guardedness.
By CARL ROLLYSON
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‘The Trembling Hand’ Provocatively Calls Out the Romantic Poets for Perpetuating Racist Tropes
In ‘The Trembling Hand’ Mathelinda Nabugodi declares a fascination with the Romantic Poets, but takes them to task for perpetuating a ‘white supremacist ethic.’
By CARL ROLLYSON
||Culture