As the New York Yankees' star centerfielder from 1936 to 1951, Joe DiMaggio is enshrined in America's memory as the epitome in sports of grace, dignity, and that ineffable quality called "class." But his career after retirement, starting with his nine-month marriage to Marilyn Monroe, was far less auspicious. Writers like Gay Talese and Richard Ben Cramer have painted the private DiMaggio as cruel or self-centered. Now, Jerome Charyn restores the image of this American icon, looking at DiM...

"In this brilliant and hilarious jailbreak of a novel, Charyn channels the genius poet and her great leaps of the imagination." —Donna Seaman, Booklist (starred review)Jerome Charyn, "one of the most important writers in American literature" (Michael Chabon), continues his exploration of American history through fiction with The Secret Life of Emily Dickinson, hailed by prize-winning literary historian Brenda Wineapple as a "breathtaking high-wire...

When Babe Ragland makes the hapless Boston Red Sox in a Spring Training tryout, he becomes baseball's "seventh Babe." He soon establishes himself as an acrobatic third baseman, and his rookie fright is soon replaced by a fierce competitiveness and a chip on his shoulder the size of the Green Monster.Ragland clashes with his teammates, the entire American League, and finally the mighty Kenesaw "Mountain" Landis, which results in his sudden ejection from the major leagues - the only ...

**Jonah is a teenager torn between the life of the streets and a life of art and opportunity in 1950s New York City.The first young adult novel by the award-winning writer of noir and American life who the Los Angeles Times called “Absolutely unique among American writers."**Jonah Salt is incarcerated in a juvenile detention center in the Bronx, after getting busted for burglary and gang activity. His probation officer gets him out and at the behest of his public s...

An intimate portrait of the world’s most iconic opera singerMaria Callas, called La Divina, is widely recognized as the greatest diva who ever lived. Jerome Charyn’s Callas springs to life as the headstrong, mercurial, and charismatic artist who captivated generations of fans, thrilling audiences with her brilliant performances and defiant personality.Callas, an outsider from an impoverished background, was shunned by the Italian opera houses, but ...

Teddy Roosevelt comes to comic life in Jerome Charyn’s “tremendous[ly] fun . . . delightful novel” (Ron Charles, Washington Post).Widely considered “one of our most rewarding novelists,” Jerome Charyn “has upped the ante” (Larry McMurtry) by re-creating the voice of Theodore Roosevelt through his derring-do adventures as New York City police commissioner, Rough Rider, and soon-to-be twenty-sixth president. Beginning with his sickly childhood and concluding...

**Apple Books • Best Books of the MonthA Publishers Weekly Summer Reads SelectionNarrated by a starry-eyed lesbian, Big Red reimagines the tragic career of Rita Hayworth and her indomitable husband, Orson Welles.**Since he first appeared on the American literary scene, Jerome Charyn has dazzled readers with his “blunt, brilliantly crafted prose” (Washington Post). Yet Charyn, a beloved comedic novelist, also possesses an extraordinary knowl...

Bubbling potions can be bad for your health! Just ask Dr. Jekyll. By day, he's a kind doctor. But by night, he's the merciless kill Mr. Hyde. And all because of a magic formula. Will anybody find out the horrible secret of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde?

Jerome Charyn’s “daring” and “memorable” (The New Yorker) historical novel renders the inner life of our sixteenth president like never before.This unforgettable portrait of Abraham Lincoln and the Civil War effortlessly mixes humor with Shakespearean-like tragedy to create an achingly human portrait of the sixteenth president. Charyn conducts an orchestra of historical figures and fictional extras centered around a profoundly moral but troubled commander ...

A shattering biographical novel of J.D. Salinger in combatJ.D. Salinger, mysterious author of The Catcher in the Rye, is remembered today as a reclusive misanthrope. Jerome Charyn’s Salinger is a young American WWII draftee assigned to the Counter Intelligence Corps, a band of secret soldiers who trained with the British. A rifleman and an interrogator, he witnessed all the horrors of the war—from the landing on D-Day to the relentless hand-to-han...

A black defense attorney struggles with his obsession with the laziest whore in HarlemFrom his penthouse in posh Sugar Hill, Edward Parkchester rules over Manhattan. A silver-tongued defense attorney with a flourishing criminal sideline, he has fame, fortune, and the respect of uptown and downtown alike. But for the right working girl he will throw it all away.He meets her at the Brig—a high-class cathouse that caters to the upper crust of Harlem society. He...

Longlisted for the Frank O’Connor International Short Story AwardBrooklyn is dead. Long live the Bronx! In Bitter Bronx, Jerome Charyn returns to his roots and leads the literary renaissance of an oft-overlooked borough in this surprising new collection.In Bitter Bronx, one of our most gifted and original novelists depicts a world before and after modern urban renewal destroyed the gritty sanctity of a land made famous by ...