A well written fascinating look at Elizabeth Hardwicks complicated life. Cathy Curtis an excellent job of revealing the true author her life ,marriage . her writing her friends the people around her.I highly recommend this well written engaging informative book.#netgalley #ww.norton

You have to admire Cathy Curtis's courage in tackling a biography of Elizabeth Hardwick: Hardwick was famed for her dismay at the current state of biography. As crisp and tart as its subject herself, this is a meticulously researched study of a woman who preferred to keep her private life from the public eye. Highly recommended.

This book is about Elizabeth Hardwick's life but includes what seems to be an exhaustive review of her writing as well. Some of the literary review was used to flesh out Elizabeth's life experiences, since she drew from them in her writing. Cathy Curtis relied heavily on direct quotes from various letters. The direct quotations could be distracting at times, although I could see a lot of research went in to the writing of this book.

There were interesting sections, including her views on second wave feminism and the treatment of female literary characters.
The shift in Elizabeth's attitude toward life was interesting as well. She was cynical, even caustic, before she married. After several horribly difficult years with an unfaithful and mentally ill man, she was much more likely to show appreciation for simple things. Her kindness toward her ex-husband was touching.

Overall, though, I feel the book collapsed under the weight of minute detail. Hard-core Elizabeth Hardwick fans may appreciate the thorough coverage, but I felt the book was way too long.

I was given an ARC of #SplendidIntelligence by #NetGalley