Russell H. Greenan
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Russell Henry Greenan (September 17, 1925 – July 22, 2023) was an American author with an established readership in the United States and Europe, particularly France. His first book '' It Happened in Boston?'' was reprinted in 2003 in the U.S.A. as a 20th Century Rediscovery by
Modern Library The Modern Library is an American book publishing Imprint (trade name), imprint and formerly the parent company of Random House. Founded in 1917 by Albert Boni and Horace Liveright as an imprint of their publishing company Boni & Liveright, Moder ...
. His fourth book '' The Secret Life of Algernon Pendleton'' was made into a motion picture titled ''The Secret Life of Algernon'' in 1997.


Background

Greenan grew up in the Bronx, had a tour of duty in the US Navy, and after attending
Long Island University Long Island University (LIU) is a private university in Brooklyn and Brookville, New York, United States. The university enrolls over 16,000 students and offers over 500 academic programs at its main campuses, LIU Brooklyn and LIU Post on Long I ...
on the
G.I. Bill The G.I. Bill, formally the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944, was a law that provided a range of benefits for some of the returning World War II veterans (commonly referred to as G.I. (military), G.I.s). The original G.I. Bill expired in ...
, went to live in Boston in the early 1950s. For several years he worked as a traveling salesman selling industrial machine parts in remote corners of
New England New England is a region consisting of six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York (state), New York to the west and by the ...
. His savings enabled him to travel to
Nice Nice ( ; ) is a city in and the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative city limits, with a population of nearly one millionHarvard Square Harvard Square is a triangular plaza at the intersection of Massachusetts Avenue (Boston), Massachusetts Avenue, Brattle Street (Cambridge, Massachusetts), Brattle Street and John F. Kennedy Street near the center of Cambridge, Massachusetts, C ...
naming it The Cat and Racquet after the story by
Honoré de Balzac Honoré de Balzac ( , more commonly ; ; born Honoré Balzac; 20 May 1799 – 18 August 1850) was a French novelist and playwright. The novel sequence ''La Comédie humaine'', which presents a panorama of post-Napoleonic French life, is ...
.The business was short-lived, but the experience provided an abundance of material for his subsequent career as a writer. In 1966, by then aged 40, he left his job as a ball bearing sales manager and traveled with his wife and three children to return to Nice with the intention of taking a year to finish a novel. This work was eventually published by
Random House Random House is an imprint and publishing group of Penguin Random House. Founded in 1927 by businessmen Bennett Cerf and Donald Klopfer as an imprint of Modern Library, it quickly overtook Modern Library as the parent imprint. Over the foll ...
in 1968 titled ''It Happened in Boston?'' to significant acclaim. Greenan maintained his career as an author by dividing his time between Europe and the U.S.A. and concentrating exclusively on writing novel-length works. His fiction appeared in a magazine on only one occasion, when an excerpt from his sixth book '' The Bric-a-Brac Man'' featured in
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along with
Alex Haley Alexander Murray Palmer Haley (August 11, 1921 – February 10, 1992) was an American writer and the author of the 1976 book '' Roots: The Saga of an American Family.'' ABC adapted the book as a television miniseries of the same name and ...
's book ''
Roots A root is the part of a plant, generally underground, that anchors the plant body, and absorbs and stores water and nutrients. Root or roots may also refer to: Art, entertainment, and media * ''The Root'' (magazine), an online magazine focusin ...
''. To date ten novels by Russell H. Greenan have been published in the U.S.A. and France. Over 40 different editions of these novels have appeared in five languages. Russell H. Greenan died in
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
, on July 22, 2023, at the age of 97.


Work

Greenan established a reputation as an inventive novelist working within the genre of
crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
. His second novel ''Nightmare'' (1970 USA) was followed by ''The Queen of America'' (1972 USA), ''The Secret Life of Algernon Pendleton'' (1973 USA), ''Heart of Gold'' (1975 USA), '' The Bric-a-brac Man'' (1976 USA), ''Keepers'' (1979 USA), ''Can of Worms'' (1987 USA), '' Doomsnight'' (1991 France) and '' Glamour Doom'' (2002 France). Greenan's work has appeared in several anthologies both in English and French. Amongst these is the version of ''The Bric-a-Brac Man'' in the Detective Book Club series ''3 Thrillers in 1''. The novels are plot-driven stories where a central character is drawn inexorably into a predicament that exposes the brittleness of human
equanimity Equanimity is a state of psychological stability and composure which is undisturbed by the experience of or exposure to emotions, pain, or other phenomena that may otherwise cause a loss of mental balance. The virtue and value of equanimity is ...
and the delusion of
self-determination Self-determination refers to a people's right to form its own political entity, and internal self-determination is the right to representative government with full suffrage. Self-determination is a cardinal principle in modern international la ...
. The structure of a Greenan story hinges, as in ancient Greek
tragedy A tragedy is a genre of drama based on human suffering and, mainly, the terrible or sorrowful events that befall a tragic hero, main character or cast of characters. Traditionally, the intention of tragedy is to invoke an accompanying catharsi ...
, on a reversal of fortune as likely to be caused by a fatal mistake or 'hamartia' as by a flaw of character. However, Greenan plays with the idea of the flawed character and is known for creating protagonists who appear to have lost a normal relationship with reality but whose motives impress the reader as being reasonable and even judicious. As the story progresses and the characters' fates become clear, the result is as likely to be comedy as tragedy. The author secures his readers’ trust by grounding extraordinary events in settings described in verifiable detail, often including street names of actual locations in which the author lived. The predominant setting is Boston, Massachusetts, including
Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...
and
Brookline Brookline may refer to: Places in the United States * Brookline, Massachusetts, a town near Boston * Brookline, Missouri, a village * Brookline, New Hampshire, a town * Brookline (Pittsburgh), a neighborhood in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania * Brookl ...
, where all the stories except ''Keepers'' and ''Nightmare'' take place.
Rhode Island Rhode Island ( ) is a state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Connecticut to its west; Massachusetts to its north and east; and the Atlantic Ocean to its south via Rhode Island Sound and Block Is ...
is the backdrop to ''Keepers'', and ''Nightmare'' is set in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. Carefully researched references to antiques, art history, literature and classical history are also an important element in the novels’ construction as are the detailed descriptions of domestic chores or eating. Into this solidly founded
realism Realism, Realistic, or Realists may refer to: In the arts *Realism (arts), the general attempt to depict subjects truthfully in different forms of the arts Arts movements related to realism include: *American Realism *Classical Realism *Liter ...
Greenan introduces the flourishes of imagination – often assisted by
pun A pun, also known as a paronomasia in the context of linguistics, is a form of word play that exploits multiple meanings of a term, or of similar-sounding words, for an intended humorous or rhetorical effect. These ambiguities can arise from t ...
s and word play – that have prompted critics to describe the works variously as ‘macabre’, ‘exuberant’, ‘gore’, ‘endearing’ or simply ‘extravaganzas’.


It Happened in Boston?

''It Happened in Boston?'' is the most widely published of Greenan's novels. The book is a richly detailed story narrated by a singularly brilliant artist with a passion for Old Master techniques who develops an obsession to seek divine justice through an encounter with God. From its first appearance in 1968 in the United States the book has since been printed in a further 12 different editions including translations into Dutch, German, Spanish, French and Italian. The most recent edition is being published by Diogenes Verlag in
Zürich Zurich (; ) is the list of cities in Switzerland, largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is in north-central Switzerland, at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich. , the municipality had 448,664 inhabitants. The ...
in 2010. The Modern Library- 20th Century Rediscoveries edition published by Random House in 2003 includes an introduction by
Jonathan Lethem Jonathan Allen Lethem (; born February 19, 1964) is an American novelist, essayist, and short story writer. His Debut novel, first novel, ''Gun, with Occasional Music'', a genre work that mixed elements of science fiction and detective fiction, ...
and an afterword by the author reflecting on the novel's origins in his own childhood and the reasons for its continued appeal decades after the first printing.


Critical reception

Russell H. Greenan's work was regularly reviewed in the ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' by critics such as
Newgate Callender Harold Charles Schonberg (29 November 1915 – 26 July 2003) was an American music critic and author. He is best known for his contributions in ''The New York Times'', where he was chief music critic from 1960 to 1980. In 1971, he became the fi ...
and
Christopher Lehmann-Haupt Christopher Lehmann-Haupt (June 14, 1934 – November 7, 2018) was an American journalist, editor of ''The New York Times Book Review'', critic, and novelist, based in New York City. He served as senior Daily Book Reviewer from 1969 to 1995. Bi ...
. Other writers include
David Rowbotham David Harold Rowbotham (27 August 1924 – 6 October 2010) was an Australian poet and journalist. Early life Rowbotham was born in the Darling Downs of Queensland, in the city of Toowoomba. He attended Toowoomba Grammar School and later st ...
writing in ''
The Courier-Mail ''The Courier-Mail'' is an Australian newspaper published in Brisbane. Owned by News Corp Australia, it is published daily from Monday to Saturday in tabloid format. Its editorial offices are located at Bowen Hills, in Brisbane's inner norther ...
'',
Anne Tyler Anne Tyler (born October 25, 1941) is an American novelist, short story writer, and literary critic. She has published twenty-five novels, including '' Dinner at the Homesick Restaurant'' (1982), '' The Accidental Tourist'' (1985), and '' Breathi ...
in the ''
Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', David L. Ulin in ''
Bookforum ''Bookforum'' is an American book review magazine devoted to books and the discussion of literature. After announcing that it would cease publication in December 2022, it reported its relaunch under the direction of ''The Nation'' magazine six mo ...
'' and Peter S. Prescott in '' Look magazine''. Anne Tyler selected ''It Happened in Boston?'' for her contribution to a series of articles titled ''Rediscoveries'' that appeared in Book World, the reviews section of ''
The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'', concluding that the book had “the power to reawaken our sense of life's possibilities.” At the time the book was out of print, but as a result of her article,
Bantam Books Bantam Books is an American publishing house owned entirely by parent company Random House, a subsidiary of Penguin Random House; it is an imprint of the Random House Publishing Group. It was formed in 1945 by Walter B. Pitkin Jr., Sidney B. K ...
brought out a new paperback version simultaneously with ''The Secret Life of Algernon Pendleton'' and the first edition of ''A Can of Worms''. All of these featured distinctive cover illustrations by the artist Stephen Hall. The crime writer
Lawrence Block Lawrence Block (born June 24, 1938) is an American crime writer best known for two long-running New York-set series about the recovering alcoholic P.I. Matthew Scudder and the gentleman burglar Bernie Rhodenbarr. Block was named a Grand Ma ...
includes references to Greenan's novels in several manuals that he has written on the craft of fiction writing. ''Telling Lies for Fun & Profit: A Manual for Fiction Writers'' and ''Writing the Novel: From Plot to Print''.


Literary style

I get the feeling that through some oversight or taxonomical confusion (Mr. Greenan's books are difficult to classify, therefore hard to explain) not enough readers are aware of what delightful fun he is poking at the notion that human beings are superior to skunk cabbages.
Greenan's work explored the parameters of
crime fiction Crime fiction, detective story, murder mystery, crime novel, mystery novel, and police novel are terms used to describe narratives or fiction that centre on criminal acts and especially on the investigation, either by an amateur or a professiona ...
and was often described as
macabre In works of art, the adjective macabre ( or ; ) means "having the quality of having a grim or ghastly atmosphere". The macabre works to emphasize the details and symbols of death. The term also refers to works particularly gruesome in natu ...
. While for a time he was a member of
Mystery Writers of America Mystery Writers of America (MWA) is a professional organization of mystery and crime writers, based in New York City. The organization was founded in 1945 by Clayton Rawson, Anthony Boucher, Lawrence Treat, and Brett Halliday. It presents the E ...
, his stories did not fall regularly into the genre of
mystery fiction Mystery is a genre fiction, fiction genre where the nature of an event, usually a murder or other crime, remains wiktionary:mysterious, mysterious until the end of the story. Often within a closed circle of suspects, each suspect is usually prov ...
. On occasion the novels were actively marketed as
horror fiction Horror is a genre of speculative fiction that is intended to disturb, frighten, or scare an audience. Horror is often divided into the sub-genres of psychological horror and supernatural horror. Literary historian J. A. Cuddon, in 1984, defin ...
, for example when ''Nightmare'' was subtitled A Contemporary Tale of Horror and ''Queen of America'' was introduced as “Meet Miss Psycho. She's the shock experience of your life.” on the cover a US paperback. But while all of Greenan's work depict murderous acts, the publishers' use of the label horror contradicted reviewers’ characterization of the author's ''oeuvre'' as charming
gothic fiction Gothic fiction, sometimes referred to as Gothic horror (primarily in the 20th century), is a literary aesthetic of fear and haunting. The name of the genre is derived from the Renaissance era use of the word "gothic", as a pejorative to mean me ...
However these works were also consistently praised as
black comedy Black comedy, also known as black humor, bleak comedy, dark comedy, dark humor, gallows humor or morbid humor, is a style of comedy that makes light of subject matter that is generally considered taboo, particularly subjects that are normally ...
. A recurring theme raised by reviewers is the difficulty of categorizing this author's work. In his study titled ''The Birth of Death and Other Comedies: The novels of Russell H. Greenan'', the writer Tom Whalen draws widely on American literary tradition as he finds a niche for Greenan's output. “Crime fiction then? In that crimes occur, especially murders, though his novels shed this genre's conventions faster than the best of them, Hammett, say, or Cain, Goodis, Bardin, Thompson, Highsmith, or Himes.” “He descends from the romance tradition of
Hawthorne Hawthorne often refers to the American writer Nathaniel Hawthorne. Hawthorne may also refer to: Places Australia *Hawthorne, Queensland, a suburb of Brisbane Canada * Hawthorne Village, Ontario, a suburb of Milton, Ontario United States * Hawt ...
and Poe, where allegory and dream mingle with and illuminate realism.” Notwithstanding the prevalence of “The ''
doppelgänger A doppelgänger ( ), sometimes spelled doppelgaenger or doppelganger, is a ghostly double of a living person, especially one that haunts its own fleshly counterpart. In fiction and mythology, a doppelgänger is often portrayed as a ghostly or p ...
'', the trickster, the
psychotic In psychopathology, psychosis is a condition in which a person is unable to distinguish, in their experience of life, between what is and is not real. Examples of psychotic symptoms are delusions, hallucinations, and disorganized or incoher ...
and the jokester” who populate these works, Whalen's search for underlying themes draws out consistent Catholic references to demonstrate how Greenan's writing can be usefully considered as theological fiction.
In the house of fiction, theological narratives reside in a special room (upstairs, back) decorated in Gothic realism where metafiction may sleep with fantasy, because God, as Ludwig Feuerbach proposed in ''Das Wesen des Christentums'' (1841), is always and only a concept, though regrettably turned by most humans into hard logic-defying fact. From these premises theological fictions rise. At this level of abstraction, one that posits a participative Deity, fantasy often partakes of madness. Either it's me that's mad, Greenan's characters say, or it's the world.
The papers of Russell H. Greenan including manuscripts and correspondence are in the
John Hay Library The John Hay Library (known colloquially as the Hay) is the second oldest library on the campus of Brown University in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is located on Prospect Street opposite the Van Wickle Gates. After its constructi ...
at
Brown University Brown University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Providence, Rhode Island, United States. It is the List of colonial colleges, seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the US, founded in 1764 as the ' ...
,
Providence, Rhode Island Providence () is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Rhode Island, most populous city of the U.S. state of Rhode Island. The county seat of Providence County, Rhode Island, Providence County, it is o ...
and in the Howard Gotlieb Archival Research Center in
Boston University Boston University (BU) is a Private university, private research university in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. BU was founded in 1839 by a group of Boston Methodism, Methodists with its original campus in Newbury (town), Vermont, Newbur ...
.


France

Foreign language editions of Greenan's ''It Happened in Boston?'' began to be published in 1970, with Dutch and Italian editions coming out that year. However Greenan's novels found their most consistent foreign language readers in France the only country to have published the full extent of his work. Since 1971 when ''Nightmare'' was published as ''L'Oeil dans la place'' new editions have been brought out by a broad range of publishers, the first being
Éditions Gallimard Éditions Gallimard (), formerly Éditions de la Nouvelle Revue Française (1911–1919) and Librairie Gallimard (1919–1961), is one of the leading French book publishers. In 2003, it and its subsidiaries published 1,418 titles. Founded by G ...
where ''L’Oeil dans la Place'', ''La Reine d’Amerique'' (''Queen of America'') and ''Je Vais Faire Un Malheur'' (''Keepers'') were produced as paperbacks in the :fr:Série noire collection. Further editions of ''C'est Arrivé à Boston?'' (''It Happened in Boston?''), ''Un Coeur en Or Massif'' (''Heart of Gold''), ''La Vie Secrète de Algernon Pendleton'' (''The Secret Life of Algernon Pendleton''), ''Bric-à-Braque'' (''Bric-a-Brac Man'') and ''Sombres Crapules'' (''A Can of Worms'') were published by Livre de Poche and :fr:Rivages/Noir. Further editions published by independent presses like Murder Inc and Crapule Production include the first editions of ''La Nuit du Jugement Dernier'' (''Doomsnight'') and ''Magique MicMac'' (''Glamour Doom''). The work has been translated by Marie-Françoise Husson, Jean-Paul Gratias, Roger Guerbet, Simone Hilling, Nathalie Godard, Aurélie Tronchet and others. Greenan's continued popularity in France is notable and he has remarked that, "The French, though they are open to a very broad range of writing, have a particular passion for noir, so these dark stories appeal to them. ''IHIB?'', my first book, was not the first to be printed there. It was the fifth." The author has cited his early literary influences as Honoré de Balzac's ''
La Comédie Humaine (; English: ''The Human Comedy'') is Honoré de Balzac's 1829–48 multi-volume collection of interlinked novels and stories depicting French society in the period of the Restoration (1815–30) and the July Monarchy (1830–48). ''La Com ...
'' and the work of Louis Ferdinand Céline. Whalen observes that “Greenan is more immediately entertaining than Céline, whose work he acknowledged as an influence, and at the same time just as dark, if not more so; a certain sneer sometimes creeps into Céline's prose, but never into Greenan's.”


Cover art

The illustrators commissioned to create original work for the book jacket designs produced a distinct range of images clearly inspired by the stories. These include the darkly comical visions of Stephen Hall whose covers appeared in the Bantam Books editions of ''The Secret Life of Algernon Pendleton'', ''It Happened in Boston?'' and ''A Can of Worms''. The unique fold out covers of the Crapule Production editions printed in France featured illustrations by the renowned Henri Galeron :fr:Henri Galeron. The Random House editions included original work by Stan Zagorowski, Paul Bacon, Ken Braren, Ted DeBosier. The cover of the
Mondadori Arnoldo Mondadori Editore () is the biggest publishing company in Italy. History The company was founded in 1907 in Ostiglia by 18-year-old Arnoldo Mondadori who began his publishing career with the publication of the magazine ''Luce!''. In 19 ...
edition of ''It Happened in Boston?'' reproduces the painting “Oedipus Rex“’’ (1922) by
Max Ernst Max Ernst (; 2 April 1891 – 1 April 1976) was a German-born painter, sculptor, printmaker, graphic artist, and poet. A prolific artist, Ernst was a primary pioneer of the Dada movement and surrealism in Europe. He had no formal artistic trai ...
while the recent reprint by SchirmerGraf features a detail of “Sweet Bird of Youth” (2005) by the Scottish artist
Jack Vettriano Jack Vettriano (born Jack Hoggan, 17 November 1951 – 1 March 2025) was a Scottish painter, known for his distinctive figurative style, often depicting scenes of romance, mystery, and nostalgia. Largely self-taught, Vettriano gained internatio ...
.


Film adaptation

''The Secret Life of Algernon Pendleton'' was made into a film titled ''The Secret Life of Algernon'' (1997) starring
John Cullum John Cullum (born March 2, 1930) is an American actor and singer. He has appeared in many stage musicals and dramas, including '' Shenandoah'' (1975) and '' On the Twentieth Century'' (1978), winning the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor in ...
, who co-wrote the screenplay and played the part of Algernon opposite
Carrie-Anne Moss Carrie-Anne Moss (born August 21, 1967) is a Canadian actress. After early roles on television, she rose to international prominence for her role of Trinity in ''The Matrix'' series (1999–present). She has starred in '' Memento'' (2000), for ...
playing Madge Clerisy. It won The Best of the Fest award for Comedy for the director Charles Jarrott at Breckinridge Festival of Film in 1998 and was nominated Best TV Movie and Best Original Music Score at the Gemini Awards in 2001.The Secret Life of Algernon (1997)
/ref>


Bibliography

;Novels''Crime Fiction II: A Comprehensive Bibliography, 1749–1990'' A Completely Revised and Updated Edition (Garland Reference Library of the Humanities) Routledge, 1994 *'' It Happened in Boston?'' New York: Random House, 1968 *''Nightmare'' New York: Random House, 1970 *''The Queen of America'' New York: Random House, 1972 *''The Secret Life of Algernon Pendleton'' New York: Random House, 1973 *''Heart of Gold'' New York: Random House, 1975 *''The Bric-a-Brac Man'' New York: Random House, 1976 *''Keepers'' New York: St Martin's Press, 1978 *''A Can of Worms'' New York: Bantam Books, 1987 *''La nuit du jugement dernier'' tr. Marie-Françoise Husson Paris: Crapule Production, 1990 *''Magique MicMac'' tr. Aurélie Tronchet, Paris: Murder Inc., 2002 *''Dread of Night'' London: Daemonax Books, 2009 *''Nether Netherland'' London: Daemonax Books, 2013


References


External links

* Official site
russellhgreenan.info


*
The Secret Life of Algernon at imdb
{{DEFAULTSORT:Greenan, Russell H. 1925 births 2023 deaths 20th-century American male writers 21st-century American male writers 20th-century American novelists 21st-century American novelists American male novelists American mystery writers American horror writers Long Island University alumni Writers from the Bronx Novelists from New York City United States Navy personnel of World War II