A Writing Life

A Writing Life i Stanley Weintraub 2019 Age 90 ii A Writing Life: Revisiting the Past Stanley Weintraub David A. Weintraub & Michel W. Pharand Coeditors | ELT Press | www.eltpress.org NUMBER THIRTY-THREE 1880–1920 BRITISH AUTHORS SERIES ELT Press © 2020 [email protected] All Rights Reserved iii ISBN 978–0–944318–79–9 E-Book Edition ISBN 978–0–944318–80–5 At Johns Hopkins University Press Project MUSE Open Access Library of Congress Control Number 2020936795 TYPOGRAPHY & DESIGN Cover Display Type: Gill Sans Ultra Bold Text Type: Berkeley Oldstyle Black & Plantin COVER & TEXT Designed by Robert Langenfeld Printer: McNaughton Gunn Saline, Michigan iv DEDICATED TO my family, friends, neighbors, students, colleagues and fellow soldiers, both known and unknown to me, with gratitude for allowing the threads of their lives to weave the tapestry of mine; and to Rodelle, my Charlotte, who as my wife and partner of seven decades edited and coauthored my writing life v Wherefore I perceive that there is nothing better than that a man should rejoice in his own works; for that is his portion; for who shall bring him to see what shall be after him? Ecclesiastes 3:22 vi Contents PHOTOS & ILLUSTRATIONS x–xiii BOOKS BY STANLEY WEINTRAUB xiv–xvii OED CITATIONS BY STANLEY WEINTRAUB xviii–xxi PREFACE I Making the Most of Possibilites xxii–xxv PREFACE II Acquiring a Name xxvi–xxx BOOK I CHAPTER 1 A Kid’s War I: Beginnings, 1929–1941 1–31 CHAPTER 2 A Kid’s War II: The Real Thing, 1941–1945 32–55 vii CHAPTER 3 Kid to Khaki, 1946–1951 56–80 CHAPTER 4 Korea, 1951–1953 81–103 CHAPTER 5 War in the Wards, 1952–1953 104–134 CHAPTER 6 Golden Gates, 1953–1956 135–157 CHAPTER 7 Beginning Again, 1956–1965 158–188 CHAPTER 8 Beardsley and Beyond, 1966–1968 189–213 CHAPTER 9 The Whistler Decade, 1969–1977 214–243 INTERLUDE 244–245 viii BOOK II CHAPTER 10 Victoria and Its Successors 246–263 CHAPTER 11 Victorian Sunset 264–279 CHAPTER 12 Pearl Harbor and After 280–300 CHAPTER 13 Victorian Aftermath 301–321 CHAPTER 14 Farewell, Victoria! 322–333 CHAPTER 15 Wartime Christmases 334–352 CHAPTER 16 American Wars 353–360 EPILOGUE 361–363 AFTERWORD Tributes to Stanley Weintraub by Fellow Bernard Shaw Scholars 364–374 ix Photos & Illustrations Frontispiece Stanley Weintraub 2019 Age 90 Fig. 1 Preface I The “Stanley Tree”: a pine branch, decorated with illustrated matchbook covers, made by his children and grandchildren to look like miniature copies of Stan’s published books Fig. 2 Chapter 1 Stanley Weintraub at age 3, in 1932 Fig. 3 Chapter 1 War cards, printed by Gum, Inc., of Philadelphia in 1942 Fig. 4 Chapter 1 Stan’s first book, The Complete Sherlock Holmes, which he reread in its entirety every year, for nearly 80 years, for his birthday. Fig. 5 Chapter 2 Admission ticket to Army War Show to raise funds for the Army Emergency Relief Fund Fig. 6 Chapter 2 Family portrait, 1942: front: father Ben, mother Ray; back: brother Herb, sister Gladys, Stan (age 13) Fig. 7 Chapter 2 Stanley at the Bat Fig. 8 Chapter 3 Family portrait, 1947. Left to right: Stan (age 18), Ray, Gladys, Ben, Herb Fig. 9 Chapter 3 Stan, late 1940s, prepared to run laps in Shakespeare class Fig. 10 Chapter 4 Stan in Korea, in uniform, with a short-lived mustache x Fig. 11 Chapter 4 As First Lieutenant, Medical Service Corps, in Korea, 1952 Fig. 12 Chapter 5 In front of POW camp walls, Christmas Day, 1952, in Korea Fig. 13 Chapter 5 Bronze star medal certificate Fig. 14 Chapter 5 Bronze star medal Fig. 15 Chapter 6 Rodelle, Age 20 in 1953, shortly after leaving her pony-tail days behind Fig. 16 Chapter 6 Wedding portrait of Stanley and Rodelle, June 6, 1954 Fig. 17 Chapter 7 Stan and Rodelle with Mark, age 1, 1957 Fig. 18 Chapter 7 Young Professor Weintraub, late 1950s Fig. 19 Chapter 7 Party sketch of Stan and Rodelle, drawn by an Esquire house artist at Christmas, 1959 Fig. 20 Chapter 7 Dust Jacket of Private Shaw and Public Shaw, 1963 Fig. 21 Chapter 7 Stan and Rodelle with (left to right) Mark, David, and Erica, 1962 Fig. 22 Chapter 7 Dust Jacket of War in the Wards with inscription to Rodelle Fig. 23 Chapter 8 Stan with editor and wife Rodelle, 1968 Fig. 24 Chapter 8 Dust Jacket of Beardsley, 1967 Fig. 25 Chapter 8 Sitting in front of retaining wall at home xi Fig. 26 Chapter 9 On the set of Book Beat with Robert Cromie, 1974 Fig. 27 Chapter 9 Sculpture of a brain, commissioned by the Institute for the Arts and Humanistic Studies and awarded to scholars honored as Fellows of the Institute Fig. 28 Chapter 9 Stan, posing in 1995, with a war-torn Japanese “meatball” flag Fig. 29 Chapter 9 Dust Jacket of Whistler, 1974 Fig. 30 Chapter 9 Plaster cast of bronze bust of Stan, cast by friend and Penn State artist Samuel Sabean. Original bronze in the West Chester University Library. Fig. 31 Chapter 10 Dust Jacket of Victoria, 1987 Fig. 32 Chapter 10 Posing with a pair of Queen Victoria’s underpants Fig. 33 Chapter 11 Presenting “Shaw Lecture” in English Reading Room at Cal State University Northridge, 1979, with copy of London Yankees on the coffee table Fig. 34 Chapter 12 With statue of Victoria while on Victoria tour in Australia, 1988 Fig. 35 Chapter 13 Dust Jacket of Charlotte and Lionel: A Rothschild Love Story and Stan’s dedication: “For Rodelle—My Charlotte” Fig. 36 Chapter 14 Stan, still authoring books, in his early 80s Fig. 37 Chapter 15 Dust jackets for Silent Night: The Story of the World War I Christmas Truce (2001) and six other wartime Christmas books: General Washington’s Christmas Farewell: A Mount Vernon Homecoming, 1783 (2003), 11 Days xii in December: Christmas at the Bulge, 1944 (2006), General Sherman’s Christmas: Savannah, 1864 (2009), Pearl Harbor Christmas: A World at War, December 1941 (2011), Christmas Far From Home: An Epic Tale of Courage and Survival During the Korean War (2014), and The Recovery of Palestine, 1917: Jerusalem for Christmas (2017) Fig. 38 Chapter 15 Stan, in his Washington State University “Grandad” t-shirt, assisted by “Granna” Rodelle, telling the first graders at Thomas Jefferson Elementary School in Pullman Washington, about George Washington. His youngest grandson, Noah, is in the front row directly in front of Stan. Fig. 39 Chapter 16 Stan, age 74, in 2003, in his home office, while writing Iron Tears. Brass sculpture for Institute for the Arts and Humanistic Studies is on the shelf at the bottom right Fig. 40 Chapter 16 Stan, age 77, in 2006, while writing 15 Stars Fig. 41 Chapter 16 Dust Jacket of Iron Tears Fig. 42 Epilogue Stan in his home office in 1976 Fig. 43 Epilogue Portrait of the author xiii Books by Stanley Weintraub April 19, 1929–July 28, 2019 Bernard Shaw The Shaw Review, ed. (1956–1980) SHAW: The Annual of Bernard Shaw Studies, vols. 1–10, ed. (1981–1990) An Unfinished Novel by Bernard Shaw, ed. (1958) Private Shaw and Public Shaw: A Dual Portrait of Lawrence of Arabia and G.B.S. (1963) Desmond MacCarthy’s The Court Theatre 1904–1907, ed. (1966) Cashel Byron’s Profession by George Bernard Shaw, ed. (with Harry T. Moore) (1968) Shaw: An Autobiography 1856–1898, ed. (1969) Shaw: An Autobiography 1898–1950. The Playwright Years, ed. (1970) Journey to Heartbreak: The Crucible Years of Bernard Shaw 1914–1918 (1971) Bernard Shaw’s Nondramatic Literary Criticism, ed. (1972) Saint Joan: Fifty Years After—1923/4–1973/4, ed. (1973) Saint Joan by Bernard Shaw, ed. (1975) The Portable Bernard Shaw, ed. (1977) Heartbreak House: A Facsimile of the Original Typescript, ed. (with Anne Wright) (1981) The Unexpected Shaw: Biographical Approaches to G.B.S. and His Work (1982) The Playwright and the Pirate: Bernard Shaw and Frank Harris, A Correspondence, ed. (1982) Bernard Shaw, The Diaries 1885–1897, ed., 2 vols. (1986) Bernard Shaw on the London Art Scene, 1885–1950, ed. (1989) Bernard Shaw: A Guide to Research (1992) Arms and the Man and John Bull’s Other Island by Bernard Shaw (with Rodelle Weintraub) (1993) xiv Books by Stanley Weintraub Heartbreak House and Misalliance by Bernard Shaw (with Rodelle Weintraub) (1995) Shaw’s People: Victoria to Churchill (1996) Who’s Afraid of Bernard Shaw?: Some Personalities in Shaw’s Plays (2011) Bernard Shaw Before His First Play: The Embryo Playwright (2015) The Victorians Whistler: A Biography (1974) Four Rossettis: A Victorian Biography (1977) Victoria: An Intimate Biography (1987) Disraeli: A Biography (1993) Uncrowned King: The Life of Prince Albert (1997) Edward the Caresser: The Playboy Prince Who Became Edward VII (2001) Charlotte and Lionel: A Rothschild Love Story (2003) Victorian Yankees at Queen Victoria’s Court: American Encounters with Victoria and Albert (2011) Farewell, Victoria! English Literature 1880–1900 (2012) The 1890s The Yellow Book: Quintessence of the Nineties, ed. (1964) Reggie: A Portrait of Reginald Turner (1965) The Savoy: Nineties Experiment, ed. (1966) Beardsley: A Biography (1967) The Literary Criticism of Oscar Wilde, ed. (1968) The Green Carnation by Robert Hichens, ed. (1970) The Portable Oscar Wilde: Revised Edition, ed. (with Richard Aldington) (1974) Beardsley: Imp of the Perverse (1976) The London Yankees: Portraits of American Writers & Artists in England 1894–1914 (1979) American Military & Political History The War in the Wards: Korea’s Unknown Battle in a Prisoner-of-War Hospital Camp (1964) xv A Writing Life The Last Great Cause: The Intellectuals and the Spanish Civil War (1968) A Stillness Heard Round the World: The End of the Great War: November 1918 (1985) Long Day’s Journey Into War: Pearl Harbor and a World at War (1991) The Last Great Victory: The End of World War II, July/August 1945 (1995) MacArthur’s War: Korea and the Undoing of an American Hero (2000) Iron Tears: America’s Battle for Freedom, Britain’s Quagmire (2005) 15 Stars.

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