John Berendt
Personal Information
Description
The son of two writers, John Berendt grew up in Syracuse, New York. He earned a B.A. in English from Harvard University, where he worked on the staff of The Harvard Lampoon. After graduating in 1961, he moved to New York City to pursue a career in publishing. He was editor of New York magazine from 1977 to 1979, and wrote a monthly column for Esquire from 1982 to 1994.
Books
Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil
Read John Berendt's Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil in Large Print. All Random House Large Print editions are published in a 16-point typefaceShots rang out in Savannah's grandest mansion in the misty,early morning hours of May 2, 1981. Was it murder or self-defense? For nearly a decade, the shooting and its aftermath reverberated throughout this hauntingly beautiful city of moss-hung oaks and shaded squares. John Berendt's sharply observed, suspenseful, and witty narrative reads like a thoroughly engrossing novel, and yet it is a work of nonfiction. Berendt skillfully interweaves a hugely entertaining first-person account of life in this isolated remnant of the Old South with the unpredictable twists and turns of a landmark murder case.It is a spellbinding story peopled by a gallery of remarkable characters: the well-bred society ladies of the Married Woman's Card Club; the turbulent young redneck gigolo; the hapless recluse who owns a bottle of poison so powerful it could kill every man, woman, and child in Savannah; the aging and profane Southern belle who is the "soul of pampered self-absorption"; the uproariously funny black drag queen; the acerbic and arrogant antiques dealer; the sweet-talking, piano-playing con artist; young blacks dancing the minuet at the black debutante ball; and Minerva, the voodoo priestess who works her magic in the graveyard at midnight. These and other Savannahians act as a Greek chorus, with Berendt revealing the alliances, hostilities, and intrigues that thrive in a town where everyone knows everyone else. Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil: A Savannah Story is a sublime and seductive reading experience. Brilliantly conceived and masterfully written, this enormously engaging portrait of a most beguiling Southern city is certain to become a modern classic.From the Trade Paperback edition.
Hiding My Candy
The Lady Chablis, the outrageously charming drag queen made famous in John Berendt's bestselling Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil, takes us on an unforgettable tour of Savannah, spiced with special recipes and beauty tips, in telling the story of a triumphant life filled with passion, humor, flair, and resourcefulness. At a club in Tallahassee she found her drag mother, who would set her on the path to stardom. Playing clubs in Atlanta, Chablis began taking hormones to grow breasts, and developed her stage routine--but, also in Atlanta, she was arrested for "falsification of identification." The Doll's been busted, dusted, cheated out of men and money. She's lived as the Grand Empress of Scrapin' to Get By, she's beat up bad-mouthed bouncers, known love sweet and tender, mean and rough, legal and outlawed--and she's survived, honey, she's flourished!--From publisher description.