Mary McCarthy, author portrait
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Mary McCarthy

MARY MCCARTHY was born in Seattle on June 21, 1912. When her parents died in 1918 she was deposited with relations, as memorialized in Memories of a Catholic Girlhood, into ''circumstances of almost Dickensian cruelty and squalor." She later lived with Philip Rahv, whose Partisan Review she joined in 1937, and married eminent critic Edmund Wilson in 1938, the second of four marriages. Her scandalous, 1963 novel The Group spent two years on the New York Times bestseller list. Appalled by the book, Vassar College tried to revoke her degree. She died October 25, 1989 at New York Hospital.
The Oasis

Books

The Oasis

Three Penguin Random House Authors Win Pulitzer Prizes

On Monday, May 5, three Penguin Random House authors were honored with a Pulitzer Prize. Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in American letters. To date, PRH has 143 Pulitzer Prize winners, including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Josh Steinbeck, Ron Chernow, Anne Applebaum, Colson Whitehead, and many more. Take a look at our 2025 Pulitzer Prize

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Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Pride Month is a time to both celebrate the accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community and recognize the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live

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