Frank Yerby
Personal Information
Description
Frank Yerby was born in Augusta, Georgia, the son of a mixed-race marriage (his father was African American and his mother was caucasian). In 1937 he obtained a B.A. in English at Paine College and in 1938 he got an M.A. in English at Fisk University. After university, he taught English at Florida A. & M. College (now Florida A. & M. University) in Tallahassee, Florida for one term and then moved to Southern University in Baton Rouge, LA, where he taught for another year. He disliked teaching and moved instead to Detroit, Michigan, to work for the Ford Motor Co., which gave him time for writing. His first book, The Foxes of Harrow (1946), was a romance novel set in the Antebellum South. Although it became a best-seller (making him the first African-American to produce a best-seller in the U.S.) and went on to become a 20th Century Fox film called "Foxes", he was criticized for showing a lack of racial consciousness in his work. Critics called The Foxes of Harrow another "Gone With The Wind." Although he objected to this criticism, his novels of the 1950s and 1960s began to address issues of race. In 1955 he left the United States in protest against racial discrimination and moved to Spain, where he remained for the rest of his life.
Books
Great Expectations and Related Readings
Great Expectations / novel by Charles Dickens -- The duke's children / short story by Frank O'Connor -- selection from Silent Dancing / autobiographical essay by Judith Ortiz Cofer -- You are a part of me / poem by Frank Yerby -- Time does not bring relief / poem by Edna St. Vincent Millay -- The pleasant Marey / article by Fyodor Dostoevsky -- The spinster's day/Journada de la soltera / poem by Rosario Castellanos ; translated by Magda Bogin -- The jilting of Granny Weatherall / short story by Katherine Anne Porter -- The house on the hill / poem by Edward Arlington Robinson.
The tragedy of King Lear with related readings
King Lear by William Shakespeare On Sitting Down to Read King Lear Once Again by John Keats Student Matinee, Stratford by Margaret Stinson Caporushes by Flora Annie Steel King Lear in Respite Care by Margaret Atwood Nothing Shall Come of Nothing by Mairi MacInnes Wise Enough to Play the Fool by Isaac Asimov Send in the Clowns by Goenawan Mohamad Refrain by Mary Jo Salter Goneril by Karel Capek I Dream of Lear by Jerry W, Ward, Jr, The Blind lxading the Blind by Lisel Mueller A Dog, a Horse, a Rat by A.S. Byatt The Happy Ending Kmg Lear by Nahum Tate Why Lear Must Die by Victor Hugo Cordelia by Anna Jameson Calm After Storm by Frank Yerby Why King Lear Is the Cruellest Play by Frank Kermode
Captain Rebel
Here is Frank Yerby's bestselling novel, set in Civil War New Orleans and on the perilous seas of the great Southern blockade runners. Regardless of his Southern upbringing, Tyler Meredith is NO GENTLEMAN!!! Whispers followed the powerful figure of Tyler Meredith, as he strode through New Orleans in the spring of 1861. This strong and ruthless man mocked southern chivalry, did not care which side won the war, and laughed at the nation of the sacred purity of southern womanhood. For Tyler Meredith, war was for the making of profits, and women were for the taking of pleasure. Though men hated him, they could not defeat him--and though women scorned him, they could not resist him . . . not even the proud beauty who was wife to his best friend....
The Devil's Laughter
Giant Cardinal 4th Printing: Down the street came a parade of children; they were beating a small keg for a drum and playing homemade flutes. And on the ends of improvised pikes, they bore the heads of three cats, still dripping blood. After witnessing the continuing spectacle of human heads being daily paraded through Parisian streets, the French children had become little monsters. Paris was so filled with hatred for everyone and everything that reason, itself, stood decapitated. So during the French Revolution, Parisians and their society sank into abject depravity. This was the society that Jean Paul Marin, who at the age of twenty, was beaten and imprisoned by the noble class and by the age of twenty five helped create the inhumane society required for the great bloodletting of the Napoleonic wars.--GoodReads Review** Copy of First Giant Cardinal edition printed from LibraryThing: ![alt text]
Gillian
DAMNED BY DESIRE Beautiful, sensual Gillian MacAllister had seen her mother degraded by men, and vowed not to follow in her footsteps. Instead Gillian would use men as her tools of pleasure and ambition, to be discarded when they had served their purpose. No man could resist her, no man could keep her, as she climbed the rungs of power and privilege from the raw Southern steel town of Birmingham in the 1890's to the glittering and corrupt capitals of Europe, moving ever closer to her moment of ultimate, overwhelming truth. Temperamental Gillian, heiress of an Alabama fortune, was capable of great loving kindness. But her appetite for corrupting and ruining lives was stronger. One of the many people whose life she ruined murdered her. Now Geoffrey Lynne must find out who done it before his brother, Gregory, is hung for the crime. Geoffrey knows Gregory is innocent. The only problem is that Gregory has confessed and his execution has been scheduled.
An odour of sanctity
9th century Spain--an age of brutal battles to the death and dungeons equipped with thumbscrews and spiked boots. An age of perfumed harems where acts of love were spiced with the erotic mysteries of the Orient. a time when merchants, princes, thieves and whores, Christians, Islamic Arabs, Berbers, Yemenites, Greeks and Jews were trapped in an inferno of embattled peoples and faiths. Only such an age could have spawned Alaric Tendisson - the mighty Spanish nobleman whose extraordinary capacity for love was matched only by the violence of his destiny. GOODREADS member reviews: Cliff Morrison rated it 3 of 5 Stars - liked it: Whether Frank Yerby's novels were set in the past or the present, his style could be rhetorically long-winded, his characters wildly inconsistent and his overall plots haphazardly developed. Despite all that, in "An Odor of Sanctity" and several other works Yerby had, in large supply, the often under-appreciated ability to tell a story that compels a reader’s attention. Sarah Rigg rated it 4 of 5 Stars - really liked it: I read this as a preteen, I think, but I'm guessing on the read date. I still remember a couple of images from this historical novel, particularly how everybody was kind of smelly and covered it up with perfume, and the main character having an image in his mind of St. Agatha holding out her breasts that were cut off as part of her torture at the hands of Roman prefect Quintianus. I didn't realize at the time I read the book that Yerby is African American and a bit of a legend in his time for his success as a writer. I want to read more by him now! Gerry Germond rated it 2 of 5 Stars it was ok: (medieval-history, fiction) In 1955, author Frank Yerby moved to Spain as a protest against racial discrimination in the U.S. It looks like he spent a decade learning about and researching early Medieval Spain under the Goths and the Emirate of Córdoba under Abd ar-Rahman II. An Odor of Sanctity (the term is a Catholic belief) and the book is about a non-believer who becomes, well, read the book, in spite of what he thinks. We have the usual Yerbyisms: the able hero who is more protagonist, a romantic triangle (several, in fact), Great & Awful Truths delivered in whispers, while women “wail” about something or other. Best of all, we have more great history about life in Spain under Goths and Moors. It took me a while to read the book, because it seemed to drag in places and I lost track when and where our protagonist-come-hero made a major transformation. The pace was regained toward the end of the story. No spoilers for you but I sensed author Yerby has great respect for both Christians and Muslims alike while holding fanatics of both sects in cold contempt. Good for him. It would be sorely tested today (he died in 1991). Donna rated it 5 of 5 Stars - it was amazing: I found this old first edition (1965) hardbound book with jacket on sale for seventy five cents while I was on vacation. It looked like it might be a fun read. This book was very interesting and fun to read. It is quite the swashbuckler with a philosophical theme about religion, love, romance, tolerance, sainthood and martyrdom. I also had fun after reading the book tracing the actual history of the era and figuring out who the author based the main character on. In doing that I learned about the Martyrs of Cordoba, the culture of the Moors of early al Andalus and the Visigoths who ruled the area until the Moors moved into Spain. I also discovered that the inspiration for the main character is loosely modeled after a Visigoth king that lived a few centuries earlier. The story is exciting, sexy and intelligently written. I also found the final chapters quite shocking and realized that this part of the story had to be based on historical events. Yes, truth can be stranger than fiction.
A Woman Called Fancy
Men offered everything they possessed to possess her -- but there was only one man she wanted. From him she asked only love. A Woman Called Fancy, published in 1951, is Frank Yerby's first novel with a female protagonist. Set in Augusta, Georgia, the novel covers the period from 1880 to 1894 and traces the rise of the heroine, a beautiful South Carolina woman, from poverty to prominence among Augusta's artistocrats. Fancy fled an incestuous marriage arranged by a drunken father. She had little education and no money. But with the priceless gifts of courage, honor and high personal integrity, Fancy won out against all odds and wrenched from life a position of respect and security.... a life that was secure against everyone except her husband. Court Brantley, had already killed one man for her and Fancy knew that if he ever found out about Jed Hawkins he would do so again. Warning: Many derogatory, ethnic slangs and other 'swear' words, used throughout this book. The taboo ''N'' word used to extreme, in line with the angry (now unacceptable), Post-Civil War language spoken, during that period, of more than one 'non-lily-white' race. HOWEVER, please read the entire historical novel, keeping in mind that the author/historian of this book was 1/2 African-American, 1/2 caucasian. _this opinion is not necessarily that of Open Library, but it is the opinion of this volunteer reviewer/editor - EDP. LibraryThing Review: Madamxtra (3 of 5 Stars/Apr 21, 2015) Honestly, I read this book for shear diversity, something outside my usual scope. I'm impressed; though I wasn't at first. The repeated used of the "N" word, the whinny women and barbaric men was getting to me, though the story was thoroughly interesting. Frank, the author surprised me be by delving into minds, heart-ships and lifestyles of 19th Century aristocrats, would-be abolitionists and down-trodden African (Negro) Americans. Franks depictions of Georgia has actually put that state on my list of places to visit. As for Fancy...you go girl...SMILE!!! GOODREAD Reviews: Anna (4 of 5 Stars/Jan 31, 2010 really liked it): Kind of a "missing link" between Jane Austin / Bronte sisters and Danielle Steele. A page-turning historical romance novel (written in 1951, set in 1880s) set in the context of post American Civil War Reconstruction class conflicts. The writer had very good insights into the male/female minds. John (4 of 5 Stars/Dec 29, 2012/really liked it/historical-novel: I never expected to read this book because of the title but when i found here on goodreads that it was Yerby's most popular book, I decided to read it. Was Quite upset when I realized it was going to be just what I had expected. Another love story. But am happy to have read it as it is right up there with the best of them. A love pentagon or hexagon I guess, with everyone being in love with everyone who did not love them. Well written. Andrea (5 of 5 Stars/Sep 30, 2011/it was ok): An interesting look at life in the south post Civil War. The beginning seemed pretty dumb until I realized that it was supposed to be because the main character was so uneducated. It was not a masterpiece but it was a entertaining story. Angelina (5 of 5 Stars/Jun 06, 2012/''it was amazing''): I really enjoyed reading A Woman Called Fancy by Frank Yerby. It's not my normal genre but it's about a young girl being forced to grow up in the mid to late 1800s. Good read! Stephanie Wills (5 of 5 Stars - Mar 30, 2015 ''it was amazing''): I enjoyed this book. It gives a good description of how things were in the south. It tells of the snobbery of the upper class and plight of the poor.
The serpent and the staff
"Ugarit, Syria, 1450 B.C.E. Eighteen-year-old Leah, the eldest daughter of a wealthy winemaker, is past the traditional age of betrothal. Vowed to wed the wealthy but cruel shipbuilder Jotham, Leah declines his offer of marriage after discovering that he and his family suffer from "the falling sickness." Enraged by her refusal and his ruined reputation, he blackmails Leah's father, a punishment forgiven only by offering Leah's hand in marriage. With no more options for another suitor and no male heir for her family, Leah must seek out the cure for Jotham's sickness or her family will face permanent ruin. During her quest Leah begins to burn with desire for Daveed, the handsome household scribe whose culture forbids their union. Daveed has been called by the gods to restore the Brotherhood, an elite fraternity of guardians at the great Library of Ugarit, rumored to contain the secret symbol of immortality within its ancient archives. If his plan succeeds, it may also save Leah's family from disaster. But even Daveed and Leah cannot fathom the extent of Jotham's sinister schemes to make Leah his bride once and for all. With rich historical detail, The Serpent and the Staff is a sweeping tale of love, betrayal, and how one family's faith can overcome the obstacles that life has in store for them"--
The old gods laugh, a modern romance
A war-battered but idealistic American reporter intervenes in a revolution against the dictator of a Caribbean country.